Dying Dilemma 2025 Part 6

Dying Dilemma 2025 Part 6

As in my previous Blog I didn’t craft this but left it to a professional.

Coin Hip Scarf Black

This is a Black Hip Scarf that I brought whilst I was abroad in Egypt. It is known as a Coin Scarf for obvious reasons. The Coins are Silver in Colour.

Egyptian Hat

This is a Box type Hat with Cloth attached. It can be used as a Face Veil and has Gold Highlights.

Bead Hat

This is a different type of Belly Dancing Hat. It made from Beads. If I remember correctly I got this from somebody selling them on a Boat. I was taking a trip down the Nile in a Felucca.  They seemed to sell a lot of Beaded work in Southern Egypt which along with Sudan used to be the Kingdom of Nubia.

Black Organza Edged

I had picked this particular trim because of the mixture of Gold in the Hats and Silver in the Hip Scarf  Here it is beautifully Sewn to the Top of the Black Organza.

According to my friend Laura who owns Alyssa Rose Boutique it was a right pain to do. To which I replied why do you think I got you to do it instead of me.

Purple Velvet Hip Scarf

I cannot remember if this came from Egypt or later on from Tunisia. Regardless this is a far more sturdy Hip Scarf. The material is like Velvet and though you cannot really tell from the photograph it is a rich Purple colour.

This is by far my favourite Hip Scarf. I feel fantastic wearing it. Like the other Scarves it has Silver Coins.

Purple Chiffon Edged

I now have my lovely Purple Veil to go with my Hip Scarf. As much as I love to Craft sometimes its better to let a professional do it.

https://derbyclothhouse.co.uk/

https://www.alyssa-rose.co.uk/

Dying Dilemma 2025 Part 5

Dying Dilemma 2025 Part 5

First of all I have to confess that apart from the choosing of Materials I have not contributed Craft wise .As you may recall this whole process was started by enrolling in a Belly Dancing Class. Along with the Skirt I need more Paraphernalia. 

Lilac Veil

I had a Veil that was temporary one but I need to get a proper one. I should mention at this point that Veil doesn’t mean for the Face but is Tucked into the Waistband and used as a Prop.

Bought Veil

I bought a Veil online and what arrived was not at all what I wanted. First of all it was way too short in both width and length. Not only that the Material was terrible. It was so coarse and scratchy. Not at all something I would want next to my Skin.

Black Organza

Therefore I decided to make one. My friend Laura recommended a Fabric place so I took a trip to Derby to the Derby Cloth House.

The place was a lot bigger than I anticipated so I had so much choice. I settle on some lovely Black Organza to go with the Skirt that I had Dyed.

Purple Silk Chiffon

I had decided that since my Skirt hadn’t come out as I hoped and also because it was Damaged I would have two outfits. One outfit for practise that would be Black and a performance Outfit that would be Purple.

Black Edging

Now I had the Basic Material I needed to find some Edging to go with it. This posed a problem because there was so much to choose from. I finally settled on some that looked like Gold on Silver.

Purple Edging

With the Black sorted I moved on to the Purple. I found some much thinner Purple and Gold. I bought 2 metres of each.

Fancy Purple Edging

I found this Fancy Edging. Unfortunately there was only a metre left of it but I couldn’t resist it.

https://derbyclothhouse.co.uk/

Dying Dilemma 2025 Part 4

Dying Dilemma 2025 Part 4

A short blog this week as ending one section

Darker

After washing and drying this is the result. Though it is definitely Darker is definitely is not Black

Torn Edging

On careful Inspection I find that some of the Edging is Torn.

Repaired

I have now Repaired the Torn section. However I would like you to look at the three photographs above. These were taken in the same room with the same phone but the shades are completely different.

You would think that this was from three different skirts. Also though I did my best to Dye the Skirts evenly on the second photograph you can clearly see a difference. 

Dying Dilemma 2025 Part 1

Dying Dilemma 2025 Part 1

In the past few months I have been trying to improve my health by starting Belly Dancing. It hasn’t been a great success due to a series of accidents that has prevented me from attending. However I intend to persevere. 

Looks Black

I have a few bits and pieces of Belly Dancing attire that I brought back from holiday. However I need the bigger pieces as well as the accessories. 

Rather than immediately spending a fortune I thought i would see if I could make something. I had a Black Skirt that looks the right sort at the back of the wardrobe.

True Blue

Okay a small problem. Although it looked Black in the bedroom in better light its True Colour is a Dark Blue I needed to change the Colour to match a Top I had.

Dylon Black Dye

With shops like Wilko shutting and the major supermarkets not stocking any I had a real job to find any Dye at all. I finally came across some in a Fabric Shop.

Dylon Instructions

Bad news. Although I have got some Dye it is a Handwash rather than a Machine Dying Kit.

Long Marigolds

One thing I was positive about is that it is going to be extremely messy. Therefore I have taken the sensible approach and bought some Extra Long Marigold Gloves.

Crawling Creatures 2025 Part 8

Crawling Creatures 2025 Part 8

Even with both the Crab and Starfish finished I still have quite a bit of Clay left. Hm playtime I think.

Large Black Ball

I have lots of Black and White Clay left. Therefore I started with a Large Black Ball

Flattened Black

I Flattened the Ball with my Palm to make a Base.

Pull Tail

I tease some of the Black Clay out at the Bottom to make a Tail.

Knife Spiral

Taking a Knife I make a Rough Spiral in the Clay.

White Strip

Next I take some White Clay and make a Thin Strip.

Fill Spiral

I slowly begin to Fill the Spiral. It takes a couple of Strips to do this.

Crawling Creatures 2025 Part 7

Crawling Creatures 2025 Part 7

Continuing with my Star Project

Fill White

Taking some White Clay I fill in the Depression.

Black Balls

I Roll some Black Balls

Eye Eye

I pop the Balls on to make the Eyes for the Starfish.

Add Smile

I have Rolled a little piece of Orange to make a Smile as I want a happy Starfish

Dash of White

Again I am adding White Highlights to the Eyes.

Sort Red

Now I am going to Sort that pesky Red Mark. This was a bit tricky to remove without making a Mess. So I hit upon the idea of accentuating the Arms by Scouring them with a Knife.

Hereby Hangs A Tail 2025 Part 2

 Hereby Hangs A Tail 2025 Part 2

Now I have my Cord I can continue with my idea.

Attach End

I Attach one End of the Cored to the Bag. This is a good Thumbs Width from the Bottom Edge.

Attach Cloth

I have made a Hemmed Rectangle of Black Cloth. I am Attaching it to the Back of the Bag. I Sewed all along it.

Attach Other End

With the Black Cloth in place I Attach the other End of the Cord. I make sure that it is Secured so the Cloth will hide it when Folded.

Finished Cat

I have Sewed the Folded Material and now you cannot really tell that it was ever damaged. Also I can now hang this by its Tail.

Boxing Clever 2024 Part 2

 Boxing Clever 2024 Part 2

One bit stuck down now on with the rest.

Around the Bend

I have down one Face of the Box. I am going to Wrap the Material Around the Bend and to the other side of the Box.

All Six Sides

With the big pieces done and dried I carried on with the small Edges. I now have all Six Sides finished.

Okay I am now having a panic attack. My mother reminded me that old Ironing Board’s used to use Asbestos and I have been merrily Cutting it up and got pieces everywhere.

I have done some research and as far as I can tell mine isn’t that old. However now I cannot stop thinking about it and have decided to give it an extra Cover.

Pile of Pieces

I have emptied my craft cupboard and have a huge Pile of Pieces to sort through. I am sure that I have something big enough to Cover the Box.

Black to Basics

I have found some Basic Black Material. I have measured it and have enough.

Good Spread

I give the White a Good Spread of Glue making sure it gets into all the Corner. I will Cover five Sides and leave the one with the Push Button. This is because I don’t want to make it to difficult to open by covering it with too much cloth.

Hate It

Grr I Hate it when it does this. I had forgotten how porous the Material was. It is a good job that this is just the springboard for the real Covering.

Nott’s County Hat 2022

 Nott’s County Hat 2022

This blog is a follow on from the Nott’s County Scarf 2022

Black and White

 

I have a habit of over buying Yarn. My principle is I would rather have too much than too little. There is nothing worse than running out and not to be able to match the dye lot.

Hat Pattern

 

Since Covid hit we are unable to return unused Yarn. Therefore I asked Danny if he would like a Hat to go with his Scarf. He replied in the affirmative and therefore we went Pattern hunting.

It was amazing how difficult it was to find a simple Mans Beanie Pattern. In the end I bought a ladies one and would have to adjust as I went along.

Ribbed Stripe

 

My first adjustment was the Needle Size. I needed to make the Hat big enough for a Man. Since I didn’t want to muck about with the Stitches as it was a Ribbed Pattern I went up a Size and Knitted quite Loosely.

I was so intent on adding the first Stripe that I forgot to change Needles again. I didn’t realise until I had done that until the second Stripe. With this in mind I decided the best thing to do was to keep trying it against my boyfriend’s head.

Decreasing

 

I tried to keep the Stripes equal in Width whilst Decreasing. I decided to end with a Black Stripe to match the Bottom.

Hat Knitted

Once Knitted I had to Sew it up. I made a slight mistake Sewing up as I forgot to Reverse it on the Bottom for when it is Folded. Now I had to make a Pom-Pom. That is another story.

Pattern and Wool from Button Moon

https://www.facebook.com/buttonmoonarnold

Nott’s County Scarf 2022

 Nott’s County Scarf 2022

Sometimes I don’t pick projects sometimes they are picked for me. This is one of the cases when my boyfriend Danny decided he wanted me to Knit him a Nottingham County Football Scarf for Christmas.

Disaster

 

I had some Black Yarn from another project so started Knitting. I am not sure of the needle size as using the pair of wooden ones I had been given. I needed big Needles as the wool was Super Chunky.

However when I visited the shop in my hometown I discovered that they didn’t do the same Yarn in White. Now my Football knowledge isn’t great but I do know the colour scheme. I had to rethink.

Stylecroft Special

 

After a scout around and discussion with the owner we plumped for a Yarn called Stylecroft Special. The Yarn was not as Chunky so I now had to change Needles.

Garter Stitch

 

The Needle size was now a 6mm. I began to cast on and start Knitting a Garter Stitch. This particular Stitch was decided on when I explained the tendency for Stocking Stitch to Curve inwards.

Not long enough

 

I had tried with a various number of Stitches and finally decided that 30 was the right amount. Now I had to check the Length. I had decided that it wasn’t long enough.

I asked my boyfriend how he actually wanted it and he said like a square. I added more rows until I thought it looked right. I folded it Diagonally and lo and behold I had had Knitted an exact Square.

Add White

 

With the Black Square done I could now add the White Yarn.

Add Black

Now I could really see the Pattern emerging. I began to add the Black Yarn again and then repeated the Colour Scheme until it was long enough. My boyfriend is 6ft 2 so I decided a short Scarf would look ridiculous.

Since it had to end on a Black Square the Scarf ended up being approximately 7ft.

Sew Tails

I cast off the Yarn and then I had to turn my attention to the Tails and Sew them in so it looked neat. My next job will be making the Tassels.