I haven't used this shawl because it wasn't long enough to stay securely on my shoulders, and I couldn't find a shawl pin that I liked. I had been looking for one that wouldn't poke into my skin every time I moved. So, I searched through my stash for a button with a large shank, and within a few minutes had a way to secure this over my shoulders.
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It was easy to do -
… try, try again.
As soon as I saw the Lorna’s Laces Solemate yarn, I wanted to work with it. There was a lot of appeal: there was the cleverly named color Zombie BBQ; the promised warmth of the insulating technology of the 30% Outlast® fiber content; and of course the endearing way Mr. Tamdoll called it “Soul – é – matte” when I pointed it out to him in the store… like it was something exotic and foreign.
Let me say now – these are not good reasons to buy 425 yard skeins of sock yarn when you have no intention of making socks.
My first project attempt (1) was a cowl. A lacy, intricate pattern that after 2 or 3 attempts I decided weren’t worth the effort because you couldn’t see the lace through the color changes of the yarn. And seriously, it would take a really, really long time to knit all that on size 2 needles. So after a few days of project seeking & brainstorming… even considering sock making!.. I thought of making the yarn into a cord.
I pulled out my little cord maker and figured that 425 yards would give me about 100 yards of workable, much thicker yarn.
Two movies and many, many cranks of the handle later…. I ended up with 29 yards of cord (2). Only 29!!!! Well, now I felt stuck that I would have to unravel it all, because what the heck do you make with only 29 yards? Well, you can see from pictures (3) & (4) that I made it work. For picture (3), I used size 50 needles, cast on 5 & knit away. It was too loose and ropy looking, so I tried size 35 needles for picture (4). Casting on 7 stitches worked perfect for it and now I have a roomy cowl to keep me warm.
I am so, so pleased! It’s really unique this way, but I’m beginning to wonder with all the thinking, winding, knitting and re-knitting, if working all 425 yards on size 2 needles would have been quicker in the end?
I think that I came to the cord idea by looking at lots of projects made with chunky yarns, and I had the Embellish-Knit! nearby on my desk. Somehow my brain put the ideas together & I’m glad it did. Do you ever come up with ideas and don’t know where they came from? or use your materials in unexpected ways?
Thanks for the comments on my last post! I don’t have an exact “how-to”.. but can tell you what I did to decorate the hearts. I didn’t make the base hearts –they were papier-mâché ones that I had in my stash for many years. Does anyone else do that? I save things for a long time, afraid that I’ll ruin them, or never have them again… it’s self-defeating I think.
I’ve been wanting to collage with sheet music for a while – I always see it done so nicely on other people’s blogs so I pulled out some music I’d been saving – and tore it up, focusing on “romantic” words. Then I went through my paper stash and took out coordinating papers, a poem from the back of a chocolate bar, along with tissue paper that had been stamped with permanent ink and images that I used in this 2010 decoupage project (I save everything!)
Using matte Gel Medium as glue (had Liquitex Matte Gel left over from that first project, too – it’s really nice and thick), I first pasted on the music-pieces. Next I pasted accent papers all around, layering them a little, covering the base completely. I made sure not to get the gel on top of any of the pieces, afraid that it would act as a resist to the paint later on.
In the afternoon when all was dry, I took out paints that I had at home – Golden Fluid Acrylics in Iridescent Gold Deep color, and a pink and burgundy glaze (Plaid brand, Folk Art paints). I just squirted a dollop onto wax paper and tried to brush on and blend the different colors, but wanted a more transparent look, so started smooshing and rubbing it all on with my fingers. I ended up finger painting all of them. It was fun, but my hands took a beating from all the washing.
Usually I’ll spray a fixative or a sealer when I’m done with a project like this, but I didn’t want to dull the shine from the paint. I went back once more to darken up some of the first pieces that I hadn’t been so bold with – and that was it! A half-dozen cute Valentine ornaments that can be used as an indoor decoration this winter.
Do you ever depart from your normal crafts? Have huge stashes of things you never use or are afraid to let go of? Save everything and then are really happy when you find a use for them? As I re-read this post, this is what I came away with, sounds a little wacky, but I know I’m not alone out there!
Look for this at the Craft schooling Sunday link party, too – lots of fun!
This is a super easy and quick project… it’s taken me longer to photograph and write up a how-to for this blog post than it did to create this bag. I whipped up a bunch a few nights ago to wrap some presents in and find it’s a great way to use the mounds of fabric that seem to multiply around here (t-shirts are fabric, too!). These an eco-friendly way to wrap presents – no paper filling up the recycling bin and they can be washed and reused (how about: a travel bag for shoes; toy pouch; makeup bag; lingerie bag; storage… how many ideas can you come up with?).
What you’ll need:
- Knit fabric – it doesn’t unravel or fray at the edges. (t-shirts are great!)
- Needle, thread, scissors – sewing by machine or hand – for machine sewing you will need a ball-point needle – essential to sew through knits smoothly.
- Ribbon, cord, shoelace, heavy yarn, etc… for drawstring.
- Safety pin or bodkin to help thread the drawstring.
- Embellishments optional – ribbon, embroidery floss, appliqués, fabric paint, etc. – whatever you can think of.
I’m not going to tell you how much fabric you’ll need since I don’t know what you’re wrapping. How to figure it out? If you were going to wrap it in paper, that’s about how much fabric you’ll need– you will need some of the overlap for your seams and the drawstring part – so it’s an easy estimate to just lay your item on your fabric and cut away, no rulers necessary. Same goes for cording and embellishments – they all go according to the size of the bag you’re making.
How To:
Cut out fabric:
Create drawstring casing - fold over one long edge so that your drawstring will fit inside and stitch close to the edge:
Turn to the right-side and embellish your bag:
Now fold, right-sides together and stitch around three sides – starting just below your casing:
If you like, you can fold up the bottom edge and sew across the two corner triangles that are formed. This will create a cute flat bottom for your bag. You can make very large triangles, too, if you want to make a wider bottom for your bag (it all depends on what the bag is for.) Bottom inside-out view:
Turn right-side out:
Almost done!
One more thing is to thread the cording. In the past I’ve used a safety pin or a pair of hemostats, but I picked up this “Elastic Pull-Thru” by Dyno at an antique store and it’s been super-handy. I found something similar online:
Threaded, knotted, gift added, cinched and now it’s ready to go:
Let me know if you make any of these, and add a link in the comments to share.
Happy Artful Thursday!
**I’m kind of tired of selling ribbons in my shop – if anyone wants all the yardage that I have left (it’s not all listed)– make me an offer, please!
Artful Thursdays are back! I have a super-quick project to share, made this in under an hour this morning – even with interruptions – it’s a great useful project and would make a nice gift, too.
What to do with all these?
Make a case! Somehow I’ve misplaced and re-purchased my size G hook three or four times. It’s a good thing I have a daughter who crochets now and needs somewhere to store her own hooks (and all my doubles!).
The first piece of fabric I grabbed out of my scrap basket happened to be the edge of a sheet – brilliant! No hemming needed! A pillowcase edge would work for this, too. Of course, you can add an allowance for hem to all these directions, iron and stitch them in place, too.
The fabrics:
Directions:
Cut 2 fabrics 10” x 7.5” – one of the outside fabric and one of a contrasting lining fabric.
Cut two more pieces 10” wide, making sure the hemmed edges are on the 10” edge. One will be 1.75” high and the other, 4.5” high. (Remember, if you need to add your own hems to these pieces, cut them about 1.5” taller, fold, press, fold, press & hem.)
Working with all the fabrics right-side up, lay the 4.5” piece on your lining fabric along the bottom of one long edge. Now you’ll stitch vertical lines over this piece.
Close-up of stitching vertical lines below. I usually use my presser-foot as a guide, but most are about 1/2” or a little more apart. It’s easy to just lift and turn the foot at the end of each row and make your way back up again in the other direction. If you have thicker hooks or those with cushioned handles – be sure to make wider rows.
Clip loose threads and lay a hair elastic along one side, tacking it down with a few stitches. Next, lay the 1.75” piece, right-side up, across the top edge of your lining fabric. Hair elastics are great for these projects, very sturdy! (In the picture my elastic appears in the middle of the fabric – I think it works better if it’s more toward the top third of the piece.)
Turn your outside fabric piece over and pin it to the layered pieces, all right-sides together.
Stitch it around all edges, leaving an opening along one side. I use a 3/8” seam allowance.
Next, trim around the piece, making sure to clip diagonally along the corners. I have pinking shears, but they’re not necessary.
Poke out corners with a round-tipped stick.
Once your piece is turned right-side out, give it a quick press with your iron and stitch closely around the edges, making sure to capture the opening and stitch it closed.
It’s done!
Ready to be a home for crochet hooks.
Rolls up easily for storage. 
My case is almost all filled up.
Mother-daughter crochet hook cases, complete!
Have a happy Thursday! Stop by and visit all the other crafty folks participating in the Artful Thursday project, too:
I’ve had this “Commandments” stamp for a while, and it’s always given me trouble when I use it on paper, so I thought I’d try fabric today. I had fabric remnants from curtain lining created years ago so thought this would be a great canvas to make a wall-art present for an upcoming Bat Mitzvah.
The image on the left was created when I placed the stamp face-down on the fabric in the “traditional” stamping method. The image on the right was created when I lay the fabric over the inked stamp and used a brayer to roll over the top.
Careful! Don’t let the fabric slip around.
Next, I cut out squares of cotton quilt-batting for the backs:
I layered the quilt batting and another piece of white fabric behind each piece, then using the free-motion foot on my sewing machine and metallic thread, I outlined some of the images that I stamped.
I kept going back, adding more details, then beads to make the image pop. I'm enjoying the mixed-media approach to art, I can incorporate all the things I love to do!
After I was satisfied with all the beads and quilting, I sewed a piece of sturdy wool felt to the back of the piece and added grommets to hold a hanger. Taking a tip from one of Paper Bird’s Artful Thursday tutorials, I used wire and beads to create a hanger.
On the back I embroidered the Hebrew words “Mazel Tov” - which translates to Good Luck, and is used as a “Congratulations”. I was glad to make this for a friend’s daughter and I hope she enjoys this unique piece!
Happy Artful Thursday.
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