Category Archives: Craftiness

Knitting, sewing, DIY, tutorials etc.

#7: Knit Myself a Sweater

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Why, you might ask, am I wearing a merino wool sweater when it’s 90 degrees outside?  Because I just finished knitting it, that’s why.

One of my 11 in 2011 goals was to completely knit a sweater, in a yarn that I actually like, and that fits in all the right places.  You’d think, being that I’ve been a knitting for almost ten years now, that I’d have already done this.  While I’ve knitted a few sweaters, most were either in crappy yarn, or fit poorly because I didn’t understand gauge, or both.  These past two winters have been bitter (by Florida standards), and I kept kicking myself for not knitting a decent sweater.  I wanted to actually have this one ready to wear before it gets cold.

 

This lovely is knitting with Malabrigo Merino, which is oh so fabulous.  The yardage on this yarn is fabulous.  I bought three of each color, but I only used two of the white.  I based the striping pattern on a Boden sweater from seasons past (don’t have the image anymore).  I followed Elizabeth Zimmerman’s percentage formula roughly, although I tweaked things here and there.  I also added decreases at the waist and increases at the bust, because I wanted to have shaping.  I kind of did my own thing with the neckline – I intended it to be more of a scoop than a crew, but I’m still satisfied with how it came out.

And yes, my sweater did take eight months.  That includes the gauge swatching, and ripping out the body after making it halfway when I realized that my gauge was off.  I’m a slow knitter, but it was worth it.  This sweater is so warm and cozy and amazing.  I guarantee you’ll be seeing it lots this winter!

 

DIY: Changing Cap Sleeves to Elastic Sleeves

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I’d had this tank top for ages.   While I loved how it looked with cardigans, I never liked it much by itself, because the cap sleeves were not so flattering to my arms.  A few weeks ago, I decided to get stitching and see if I could fix that.  Here’s my photo tutorial for what I did*:

Step 1: Mark where you will cut. I used pins to mark the cuts while wearing the shirt, so that I could see what they would look like.  If you have a dressform, that would work better, but I don’t (yet).  Make sure to leave about 1/2″ extra fabric to make an elastic casing.

Step 2: Take those scissors, and cut off excess fabric. But remember, measure twice, cut once.

Step 3: Press fabric to make casing. Your iron is your friend.  Use it wisely.

Step 4: Stitch, leaving a small opening for elastic. I think I used about a 5/8 hem.  How large yours is will depend on how wide the elastic you’ll be using is.

Step 5: Thread elastic through casing. If you don’t have one of those elastic threading things (sorry I don’t know the proper word), you should seriously think about getting one.  They’re insanely useful, and make working with elastic so much easier.

Step 6: Stitch elastic together, then place back in casing and stitch casing closed. Try to make sure that the elastic isn’t twisted.  It’s not very comfortable when that happens.

And…

Much more flattering.   Elastic sleeve holes make for a pretty casual look, but I think it fits the vibe of this top well.  I originally wanted to just do a regular hem, but without the elastic, the sleeve holes gapped in a very unflattering way.  Now it fits just fine, and looks great.  Happy sewing!

*I should note, this tutorial will really only work for tops which have a similar sleeve design.  There are many, many different types of cap sleeves, and this won’t fix them all.  Plus, it works best with jersey fabric – woven cotton wouldn’t look the same.

DIY: Layered Chain Necklace

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Last year, I posted about the beautiful layered chain necklaces I was noticing on Etsy.  I love them, but I never actually got around to buying one. Recently, I began to notice that I had quite a few silver chain necklaces and bracelets that I never wear.  With a few jump rings and a pair of pliers, I transformed them into a lovely diy chain necklace.

I started out with four necklaces and two bracelets.  The necklace with the largest links will be my base necklace, because it’s easier to work with.  I ended up not using the jump rings pictured, because they were to large to fit into the links of my base.  You can buy supplies like this at your local craft store.  Jewelry pliers would have been better, but I don’t own any yet.

Step 1: Remove end pieces.

Take the lobster clasps and end pieces off of your necklaces and bracelets.  Leave the small ring at the end of each chain intact – you will need these in the next step.

Step 2: Position necklaces and bracelets in the way that you would like them attached, and use small jump rings and pliers to attach them to your base necklace.

It may take a bit of trial and error to find how you would like your chains arranged.  I decided to attach the three necklaces together closer to the top of the chain, while I attached the two bracelets lower.  There’s an infinite number of ways to arrange your chains, and it’s pretty easy to change it if you change your mind.

And that’s it!  Say hello to your awesome diy chain necklace that costs next to nothing, since you likely already have most of the supplies.  I’ve already worn mine several times, and I think it will become a new staple for me.

“I turned on the light”

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I made this tunic over a month ago, but I didn’t get around to incorporating it into an outfit until last week. It’s so hot and muggy right now, that long sleeves and leggings are usually too warm.  But my school has a new a/c system now, and it’s freezing, so I get to wear clothes that aren’t completely seasonally appropriate.

This re-con really turned out beautifully, but I wish that the empire waist was just about an inch lower.  It would be a lot more flattering.  Unfortunately, because of how it’s designed, it’s something I can’t really alter.  Eventually, I’d love to make something like this from scratch, so I could correct that.  That is, whenever I actually have some time for from-scratch sewing.

As I’ve said before, I absolutely love my job, but the summer made me forget just how little free time I have while working.  I didn’t do any blog reading all week last week, and my projects and to-do’s pilled up.  I know I’ll relearn to budget my time again, but right now it’s a bit stressful.  Once I get into a routine, I know it’ll be a lot better.

Tunic: Re-con made from Target tunics by me
Leggings: Target
Shoes: Easy Street
Cuff: Vintage via Sherry’s Yesterdaze
Necklace: Chocolate Cake Jewels

Quote: Don’t Bump the Glump!: And Other Fantasies, by Shel Silverstein

Craftiness: Clothespin Bag

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Sometimes when I’m sewing, I get in “the zone”.  My creative juices start flowing, I start making up things without a pattern, experimenting to see what works and what doesn’t.  When this happens, I really don’t like to stop and take pictures at every step of the way – I just like to keep sewing and sewing until I have my finished project.

That’s what happened with this clothespin bag.  I don’t have an explanation, pattern, or tutorial.  I simply let myself focus completely on the creative process until it was done.  So please forgive me for not having more details.  Sometimes you just have to let the creative juices do their magic.  (And don’t worry, this isn’t replacing my frilly apron;  I just use the clothespin bag to hold extra clothespins for extra large loads of laundry.)

My Jewelry Organization

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As you probably know, I love to buy handmade and vintage jewelry.  In fact, jewelry is really one of my favorite things to buy. It always fits, no matter how much your weight fluctuates.  It can instantly transform an outfit.  And it’s just darn pretty to look at.

When you have a good amount of jewelry, you have to have some way to organize it, or you’ll never be able to find anything.  For awhile, I was tempted by expensive jewelry organizers that had a spot for every little piece of jewelry.  Since I couldn’t really afford those, I had to come up with my own, less expensive system.  And I love it.

I bought this wooden coat rack at a garage sale.  I think it maybe cost $1.  I use it to hang all my necklaces and non-cuff/bangle bracelets.  And yes, I keep them in rainbow order.  In fact, there’s a couple necklaces in there that I thrifted solely because they filled a color gap on my necklace display.

I inherited this vintage jewelry box from my grandmother.  I keep all my post earrings, rings and small jewelry in here.

I bought this vintage mug holder from Mask Snorkel Fins for $12 (which is still a whole lot cheaper than similar items at Urban Outfitters).  I use it to store all of my vintage bangle and cuff bracelets, which I’ve been acquired quite a few of lately.

This mesh star is another garage sale find – I think it was a couple bucks.  I use it to display all my large hoops and dangly earrings.

The total cost for all of this was under $20, and I love how it has character to it, unlike those expensive organizers I was looking at.

DIY: Kitchen Cloths from Scraps

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Since I sew a lot, I end up with lots of fabric scraps.  I especially end up with lots of t-shirt and jersey scraps and sometimes I’m not sure what to do with them.  This week, I found the perfect solution.  I wanted some reusable washcloths for cleaning my kitchen so I can kick the paper towel habit, but I didn’t want to spend money.  I took my jersey scraps and my terry-cloth scraps and combined them to make some awesome, patchwork kitchen cloths.

I sewed all my scraps together into two giant “blankets”, one of jersey and one of terry cloth, cut out 10 by 10 squares, and serged them together.  Then I took scraps of ribbon and bias tape, and stitched them to a corner so that I can hang the clothes on hooks.

Now I’ve got them hanging up near my paper towels, and I’m actually finding myself cleaning my kitchen more, because I love using these!  I keep my kitchen clean with a homemade mixture of white vinegar, water, dish soap and essential oils.  Being green is fun!

Before and After : Blue Tunic Re-con

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Before

You may be familiar with my matching blue and purple Target tunics that I thrifted awhile ago.  You can see the purple one here and the blue one here.  While I love how they fit, I’ve never really liked the length. They were too short to wear with leggings, but an awkward length for jeans.  I tried shortening the purple one a few months ago, but ended up not liking it.  Yesterday, I took inspiration from some amazing re-cons I’ve been looking at lately, and created a completely new tunic.

I measured my tunic against another tunic that I like the length of, and figured out that I needed to add about six inches.  I cut six inches off the bottom of the purple tunic (including the part I had cut off and re-attached).  I then sewed that onto the hem of the blue tunic.  This gave me the length that I wanted, but the color blocking looked odd.  I decided to add some purple details at the collar to give the tunic more continutity.

Inspired by Tatertots and Jello’s recent t-shirt refashion, I decided to create some flower details.  I cut circles from the purple fabric, using my lens cap as a pattern for the larger circle and a paper holder (not shown) to make the smaller circles.  The larger one has three layers and the smaller ones have two.  Following the tutorial, I folded the layers in half, and stitched in the middle, then folded the other way and stitched again.

After this, I sewed them onto the tunic, and stitched buttons in the middle. I chose blue buttons that were a similar tone to the blue part of the tunic, to help further continuity.

I absolutely love how the finished tunic turned out!  I can see myself wearing this a lot more than the old tunic.  It looks amazing with leggings and skinny jeans, and I could even wear it as a swimsuit cover up at the beach.  Next, I plan on fashioning the leftovers of the purple tunic into a new dress or tunic.  Hopefully, I’ll post that next week.

Crafty Interlude: Yoga Mat Bag

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I mentioned last week that I’ve gotten a lot of sewing done so far this summer.  Two of my favorite projects are in the above photo: my “new” yoga pants, and my yoga mat bag.  The pants are actually some Target pants that I bought a few years ago.  They had a tacky stripe down the sides, and the legs flared at the bottom.  I removed the stripes and took them in, so now they’re somewhere-near-but-not-quite harem pants.  I find that having a narrow hem works better for inversion poses.  It was great to make some awesome new yoga wear without spending any extra money.

I’m really, really proud of how this yoga mat bag turned out.  I made a duffle bag with this fabric awhile ago, but it was too short for a yoga bag, and it languished in my closet.  I undid all the seams and re-used the fabric and the zipper to make this bag.  I looked at a variety of mat bags on Etsy and other websites, until I got a good idea of what kind of design I wanted.  I drew out some sketches, and then winged it.  I didn’t get any process pictures, because I was in the “sewing zone” and I didn’t want to keep getting out my camera.

One important element I wanted to include was a water bottle holder.  I drink a lot of water when I practice, so I wanted something that could hold my reusable bottle without letting it fall out.  I added some elastic inside the top to insure that.

The top and bottom pieces of the tube were probably the most difficult parts to sew.  I didn’t want any seams showing, inside or out, so I took a long time pinning and sewing these circles, pricking my fingers many times.  Now I understand the purpose of thimbles.  It didn’t come out completely perfect, but its mine, and I love it.

Before and After: Vintage 80′s Blouse

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Before

Before

I bought this gorgeous vintage 80s blouse on my trip to Sherry’s Yesterdaze with Kristin of Bon Bon Rose Girls.  The fit was a little looser than I preferred, and the front had an odd length to it, so I decided to take it to my sewing machine to fix it.

Double Darts?

I started out by figuring out how much I wanted to take the shirt in.  I knew that the bust fit alright, as did the hem, so I wanted to add darts that would mainly take it in at the waist.  I’m not sure what the exact term for the technique above is, but I call them double darts.  I created them so that they would end at the bust and hem, with the most fabric being taken out right at the smallest part of my waist.  I created four of these double darts, two on the middle of the front panels and two on the back panel.  I also shortened the front panel hem, since it oddly dipped four inches lower than the rest of the blouse.

The end result is a lot more flattering on me, so I’m quite happy with it.


After

After

After


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