Test Trouble 2024 Part 3

Test Trouble 2024 Part 3

Time to deal with those pesky Holes.

Blanket Stitch

To Strengthen the Material where the Holes are I decided to Fold the Material Lengthways and Blanket-Stitch. That solved one problem but created another.

To make a Scrunchie I needed to create a Tube for the Elastic. However I realised that would mean Folding the Material Widthways and that would make it quite thin. It also meant that it would be thicker.

Button

I tried a couple of different Needles. The thin ones would break and the thick ones would make big Holes in the already damaged material. I had to have a rethink.

I decided to forget the Scrunchie idea and change to a Headband. I Sewed Buttons on where I could see Holes and where the Material was thin.

Hem Elastic

I was still going to need to use Elastic so I took a small piece and Hemmed both Ends.

Attach at Back

I took the Hemmed Elastic and placed it face down at the Back of the Material and Sewed in place.  I did the same with the other End.

Headband

Well the Scrunchie did not go as planned but at least now I have a funky new Headband to keep my hair out of my eyes. 

Autumn Cape Bag 2022 Part 9

Autumn Cape Bag 2022 Part 9

Time to tackle the other side.

Using a Needle

 

Instead of mucking about with Stitch Holders I am going to try using another Needle to take the Stitches Off.

Five at a Time

 

To make things easier on myself I decided to Knit Five Stitches at a Time. It might be slow going but at least I am not going to Stab myself with a bunch of Stitch Holders.

Three Needles

 

That being said I now had 3 different Needles in the Bag. One in the big loop. One with the 30 Stitches on and One I am currently Knitting with.

Another 30 Stitches

 

Finally another 30 Stitches. Next I shall do the Purl Row so it matches the other side. I also need to remove all the Stitch Markers as I don’t need them now.

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.

Autumn Cape – A Long Term Project 2021 Toggle & Loops

Autumn Cape – A Long Term Project 2021 Toggle & Loops

The year 2020 was for me the year of the Face Mask! I have finally managed to put away my Sewing and get my Knitting back out.

Matching Fox Overlap

 

Frankly it was so long since I have worked on this project I had to go back and read my blog - Autumn Cape – A Long Term Project 2019 Toggle & Loops to remember where I left off.

After I sorted out my Needle and I-Cords I got my Cape and opened it fully. I then Folded over the Fox Side so the Loops Matched where the Toggles were on the Badger Side Interior.

Sewing Fox Overlap

 

With the Tail of the I-Cord I Sewed it Opposite the Adjoining Loop. I Sewed it through itself as well as the Wool.

Fox Overlap Tied

 

I then double checked that the Tie would hold. There was plenty of Cord left to make a Double Tie if I wished.

I decided that for now at least I was only going to Sew in One Tie on that Side and see how it held when I was wearing it. This is because with the extra Rows on the Top of the Overlap I didn’t want to throttle myself with it being too high.

Badger Overlap

 

I repeated the process with the Opposite Side. You may notice in the above photograph that the Wool used is a slightly different colour. Therefore I had to be extremely careful not to go completely through the other Side.

A Comfy Candy Cane Christmas 2019 Part 3

A Comfy Candy Cane Christmas 2019 Part 3

The Candy Cane is Dry so I can start adding the Yarn. I haven’t taken dozens of photographs of this as it would be extremely tedious. The process involved winding White and Red Yarn over the Cane at a slant and Gluing as I went.

Candy Cane Hook End

I am putting extra Yarn near the Hook end as that is where the Hand will be resting. However I have hit a snag. No matter how many times I have done this the Tip will just fall off.

Sew Single Yarn Thread

This is a bit of a nightmare. Since it is full of Foam the Needle will simply not go through with the Yarn. Therefore I have had to Unply the yarn until I have a Single Thread.

This I then Thread through the Needle and sew into the Foam. I have to do this Four times.

Candy Cane Bottom

Since my hands were aching from fighting with the Hook I switched to the Bottom. The Yarn was beginning to come away so I had to Re-Glue. You can just see the loose Yarn Threads at the top of the above photograph.

Hook Plied Yarn

Now all Four Threads were through I could Re-Ply them and pull through. This took some considerable force. However once this was secured the Yarn stayed put whilst I wound and Glued it.

Candy Cane Complete

 

The Candy Cane is now Complete. Once it is Dry it will be ready for Wrapping.

Autumn Cape – A Long Term Project 2019 Toggle & Loops

Autumn Cape – A Long Term Project 2019 Toggle & Loops

With so many projects on the go it seems that I never have time to finish the one I started a few years ago. This is quite annoying as it is getting so close to being a finished item.

Toggles Badger Side

For quite some time I have been unhappy with the Toggles on the Interior. I have difficulty keeping one Tied whilst trying to do the next one.

I also haven’t as yet decided how to Tie the Interior further up. As you can see in the photograph above only 4 Toggles are Sewn on.

Unravelled

I decided to make some more I-Cords. These were to be used as either replacements or as additional securing. However since they are Knitted on Double Ended Needles whilst travelling this particular one decided to completely Unravel.

4 I-Cords

I Knitted 4 I-Cords. Since this was going to be a Trial and Error basis I didn’t measure them. They are roughly the same Length as a Motorola G Mobile for those who are technical.

Testing Tie

I next Tested the I-Cord for Length. I wanted to make sure that it would Tie after it had been Sewn on. If they were massively to Long I could simply Unravel and make Shorter Ties.

The next step is to Sew one Tie into place and decided whether to use the Toggles or to Remove them from the Interior.

Owl say that’s an unusual Yule Gift 2018/19 – Part 2

Owl say that’s an unusual Yule Gift 2018/19 – Part 2

If you haven’t guessed what I am making yet maybe the next few pictures will give you a clue.

Foam Circle Cut Out

  

I take some Foam approximately a thumb joint thick. I draw two Circles and cut them out.

Stick Foam Pad

 

If you look carefully at the above photograph you should be able to see one of the Inner Circles that I drew.

This is because before sticking the Pad down I have shaped it slightly. I do not want the Foam to be flat. I want it to be slightly Dome Shaped

I made the Dome Shape a little piece at a time as I didn’t want the curve to be too sharp.

Tie Dry

Once I had finally got the shape I wanted then stuck a Foam Pad to each piece of Owl material. I have tied the Strips around it whilst it dries.

Purple Material

I have cut out two circles of Purple Material which I place over the Dome I then stick them to the Foam. Since the item is Circular the material needs to be folded over slightly.

Underside of Pads Part Sewn

In the photo above you can see that the material is folded over at an angle following the curvature of the Foam. The Pad on the right is not quite dry yet.

Tools of the Trade

One thing you have to be sure of is to use the right tools when crafting. I am trying to sew through both Foam and PVC material and in consequence have broken two of my needles.

Fortunately I possess quite a few. I have changed to my leather work needles to work with.

Owl Material Drawn

I sew around the material with my leather-work thread and then I pull it tighter. It now reminds me a little bit of a shower cap.

Velcro

 

When I had finished with the Pads I turned my attention to the Strips around it. I trimmed and hemmed the ends of the Strips then proceeded to add Velcro to them.

I stuck the Velcro on with glue then I waited for it to dry. Next I sewed around the edges of the Velcro to make sure they were secure.

Velcro Wrapped

Since these Strips are going to be Straps I had to make sure that I put the Velcro on the right way. Therefore I did one strap at a time.

I found that one part of the Velcro had to be on Top of the Strip and the other half had to be on the Bottom.

The above photograph shows this better than describing it. The left one is just stuck together. The right one is wrapped up to be tidy.

There you have it a pair of customised Owl Knee Pads.