Wrap Up Winter! It is now Spring 2018 Part 1

Wrap Up Winter! It is now Spring 2018 Part 1

We changed the clocks at the weekend and it is Good Friday tomorrow. Therefore I thought I would write a blog wrapping up a few winter projects.

Two Tone Scarf Extension

http://lady-jane-quirky.blogspot.co.uk/2018/02/autumn-cape-long-term-project-inside.html

In the link above I was discussing my attempt at making a Two Tone Set. As you may recall I ran out of wool knitting the Scarf. Unfortunately I couldn’t get the Kingfisher Blue as it was discontinued so here is the finished item extended with the Petrol Blue Wool.

Merino Wool

I realised whilst finishing the Blue Scarf that I have difficulty remembering how much wool to buy. One of the reasons is because I have never really sat down and worked it out. Yes I am using a pattern but I am not using the yarn stated plus I have also adjusted it.

Therefore I thought I would measure and note as I go. The yarn I am using is King Cole Merino Blend DK super-wash wool. It is Shade 46 Aran 50g and approximately 115 yards in length.

Aran Beret

I am using 4mm needles and when finished the Rib measures approximately 7 inches wide when flat.  The height from Rib to apex is 6 Inches. This is when following the pattern correctly and using my usual tension.

Aran Gloves

The Gloves are made with the correct cast on and needles. However I tend to adjust the pattern by eye towards the finger tips. I usually deduct approximately 2 rows stocking stitch per finger depending on my tension. The end result is 9 inches from Rib to end of Little Finger. The Cuff is approximately 2.5-3 Inches across.

Aran Scarf Width

It is always when it comes to the Scarf that I get really lost trying to work out how much yarn is required. This is due to the fact that although I use the correct size needles (4mm) I don’t cast on the same amount of stitches each time.

The cast on amount is always divisible by 4. In this case 44 stitches and it has in this case resulted in a 3 Inch Rib.

Aran Scarf Length

Once I change the number of stitches it will affect the width. The pattern states that I should cast on 60 stitches. I found that far too wide when knitted so I reduced it. The length when knitting up one ball works out at 18.5 Inches *

So by removing 16 stitches I automatically increase the length. This means I need to buy fewer balls of wool. Increasing the cast on results on requires more balls.

Aran Brooch

The Brooch was knitted using 4mm needles. It measures approximately 2 Inches in diameter. I made a bit of a mess when sewing this up and it didn’t sit right. Therefore I had to unpick the fastening stitches, readjust the position and resew.

Aran Brooch Finished

After resewing I found a nice sparkly gem for the centre and proceeded to add Black Beads around it. Then all it needed was the safety pin added.

Comparison Results In Part 2

*

REMEMBER THESE NUMBERS ONLY WORK WHEN USING THE SAME TYPE OF WOOL AND YARDAGE!

Button Evolution Part 3 2018 Or A Stitch in Time Part 5?

I wasn’t too sure what name to give this blog as it deals with the Summer Cape and Toggles. I will let you decided which series of blogs it belongs with.

Summer Cape Gap Width Problem

I have a bit of a Gap Width problem with my Summer Cape. This is a result of two problems. One is that I have put on weight a bit of weight since it was originally made. The second problem is that with it being reclaimed yarn it has a tendency to stretch.

Unfortunately the belt I made to pull the edges together is no longer sufficient and I am going to come up with something else.

I-Cord and Loop

In order to combat the increasing gap and it falling off my shoulders I have decided to add fastenings to it. Luckily I have some of the cotton I used to knit the edging left.

I wasn’t quite sure exactly how much cord I needed. Therefore I knitted a test piece of approximately 7cm.I then sewed the tail ends together to make a Loop.

Toggle Sewn

I used the edge of the brown and grey as a marker and sewed on one of the Toggles I had taken off the Green Winter Cape.

Loop Sewn

Using the same marking point I sewed on a Loop on the underside of the opposite edging.

Pin Markers

Next I measured roughly 6 cm between each Toggle and marked the place with a pin. I then sewed each Toggle and Loop in place.

The Toggles were fine but the Loops looked awful. Therefore I unpicked them and reattached on the Front.

Toggles and Loops Finished?

I now have six Toggles and Loops in place. As you can see I haven’t put them all the way down. I am going to try it like this and see how I get along.

If I need more fastenings I will have to soak the other Toggles first. This is because most of them have dye marks from being on the Winter Cape. – Watch this space.

Button Evolution 2018 Part 2

Button Evolution 2018 Part 2

In the last blog I showed how I had altered the Green Winter Cape’s Hood fastenings over time. Now the Body of the Cape needed altering.

Cape Body - Pale Toggles

This is how the Cape is as present. I had previously removed the Buttons and changed to Pale Wooden Toggles.

Toggle by Toggle

 

There was wasn’t much space between the Button Holes. This coupled with the fact that the new Toggles were slightly larger made this change difficult. Therefore instead of removing all the Pale Toggles in one go I tried a different approach.

This time I altered the Toggles one by one. This meant lining up the New Toggles was easier with the previous ones still fastened. I had to sew the Dark Toggles slightly further to the Hemline to adjust for length

In addition to this I had to very carefully cut the Button Holes to make them longer. Rather than using scissors I used a stitch un-picker so I could gently tease the fabric. I also kept stretching the Button Hole to increase the width.

Cape Body - Outer Finished

The outer fastenings were now complete. I now needed to turn my attention to the interior. The inside of the Cape had never originally had any fastenings. However I had to add some as the wind blew through.

Old Interior Fastenings

I have already removed the old Toggles. Next I had to remove the Loops. Previously I had sewn on Loops that were elastic. I realised afterwards that this was a mistake as strong winds had stretched them.

I-Cord

I had to really search through my sewing box until I found a Green that would blend in. I made an I-cord roughly 7 cm long knitted in Green Wool

Loop

Once I had the cord sewed together both ends to make a Loop. I used the excess tail of the wool to do this.

Interior Toggle Finished?

I then had to sew both Loop and Toggle in place. This is a test fastening. I may have to alter it but I won’t be able to tell until I have worn it. Then if it is satisfactory I will add additional Toggles.

Button Evolution 2018 Part 1

Button Evolution 2018 Part 1

For many years I have had a Winter Cape in Green Cloth. I did not make this myself it was made by a friend Sascha Semmler. He asked what kind of Cape I wanted and I said one suitable for the British Winter.

Winter Cape 2011

Copyright Unknown Tourist 2011

This photograph was taken at Stonehenge Winter Solstice 2011. We had met a couple of reporters who I vaguely seem to remember were European possibly French. They were very interested in all our outfits. This is a cropped group photograph so you can see the Cape better.

This Cape was made in two parts - the main Cape Body and a separate Hood. This gave me the option of using the Cape without the Hood when it wasn’t quite so cold.

Evolution of Buttons

In the Solstice photograph you can see that it is fitted with medieval type buttons. After wearing it in cold weather I found although the buttons were beautiful I had real trouble trying to do them up and undo them whilst wearing gloves.

Green Winter Cape Hood

I needed to replace the buttons with something I could use easier. As I was at the time doing re-enactment shows I need something suitable both practical and historical. I hit upon the idea of using Wooden Toggles. This shows the Hood as present.

Although the Toggles were practical I was never entirely happy with them. I found some made of wood but they were far too Pale for my liking. Unfortunately I had to use what I could find due to time restraints.

Pale Toggles Removed

Now all these years later I have finally decided to change them once again. First of all I removed all the old Toggles from the Hood.

After taking the Toggles off I had quite a great deal of thread left on the material as you can see in the photograph above. I removed this very carefully as I did not want to damage the cloth. There were the tiniest of raised marks left afterwards. I used these as markers as where to place the new Dark Wooden Toggles

Green Winter Cape Hood Finished

This is how the Hood looks now I have completely replaced the Pale Toggles. Next I will tackle the Body of the Cape

Autumn Cape A long Term Project 2018- Owl Nest

Autumn Cape A long Term Project 2018- Owl Nest

This blog is going to touch on some embellishments that I needed to do regarding enhancing the Back of the Cape.

Back Of The Cape

This is how the full length Back of the Cape looks at present before any embellishments are added.

Owl Close Up

 

This is a close up of the section I will be concentrating on first of all. As you can see directly around the Owl and Hollow it is quite plain.

Leaves For Use

I had a pile of knitted leaves left over from earlier usage. Before I started to try and add any I sorted the leaves into sizes. I want the larger leaves at the Bottom of the Cape

Roughly Pinned Leaves

I pinned the sorted leaves roughly around the bottom of the Owl’s Nest in the Hollow of the tree. I tried to make sure that none of the leaves placed covered up the Owl’s Talons.

Owl Nest Sewn Leaves

I tried to arrange the leaves in a natural formation so it looks like the Owl is nestled snuggly amongst them.

Too Much Brown Right Side

At the side of the Owl and along the Bottom of the Daytime piece is far too much Dark Brown. Therefore I added more leaves to break up the mass.

Less Brown Right Side

I have used the brighter coloured leaves to lighten up the area to the Right of the Owl. I may need to do more but I will have to knit more leaves first.

Too Much Brown Left Side

This area was more difficult to do as the Night Time Side is supposed to be naturally darker. Unfortunately when I knitted the Back Piece the idea of a Day Side and a Night Side hadn’t occurred to me. Therefore the colours are the same both sides of the trunk.

Less Brown Left Side

I needed to choose the colours carefully. I made sure that the new leaves I was adding to break up the Dark Brown were dark colours as used on the Night Time Side. I also extended the hanging branches a little so I could add a leaf to break up the mass of orange and red.

I will want to add further leaves but I need to make some more in smaller sizes before I can start.