Tuesday, April 27, 2010

I Do Stuff But I Don't Share

I'm trying to make some clothes. You'd think it could be a simple and quick thing to do for an old dressmaker, but that doesn't account for the Brilliant Idea that turns it into a long and difficult task.
I thought a knitted lining for the cuffs would look fantastic (and it will), so with the aid of the knitting calculator, I figured out the exact knitting increases etc. to do it. That was easy-ish. I found a couple of brilliant knitting books at the Oppy and found a favourite cable design and worked out how many repeats and how much either side etc. etc. Then, I lost my place and missed a crucial step in the cable and had to pull it back, which turned into a mathematical nightmare! I couldn't figure out where I was up to. Crikey!
And the only wool that suited is 2 ply! Of course.
It's all good now. Excepting that the jacket pattern needs adjusting.
What began as a simple thing - To Make A Jacket - had turned into a course in Patternmaking, an elaborate Brain Stretch in knitting design, a deeper understanding of Cable Methods, some very pretty new knitting needles and as yet no jacket! Ha ha ha! Perhaps my new, fit, boxer-cise body will be ready when the jacket is ready!
Then I soaked and washed this Pot Holder. The black fabric ran (I threw the black out ages ago but this is one of the first).
I said to the One True that it looked like he'd been beaten up or maybe fell of his bike, and he thought he needed a bandaid and some stitches. Still seems happy enough, even without counselling.

3 comments:

Robin said...

How do you make these? Do you have instructions?

Bobby La said...

I need to make some ore, so I should do a tutorial.... They're simple. The bacl layer is 2 layers of wool with an old raw silk or ironing board fabric in between (silk is fire retardenat as is wool). The front has less layers, just the heavy silk on the back I think... Then do the binding around the bottom of the front bit before pinning them together and adding binding all around.
As for the face... if you go through here:
http://robynefmelia.blogspot.com/search/label/Potholders
...you'll find some patterns or be able to print and copy pics... the eyes and mouth are done in a reverse applique (with fray stop). Embroider the teeth etc. after the lips. Teeth are satin stitch, lips are buttonhole. Eyes are often cretan but sometimes rough satin or straight stitches... depending on my mood.
Er... ah... does that help a bit?
x

Bobby La said...

More... I mean 'more'.