Boxes Galore 2018 Part 6

Boxes Galore 2018 Part 6

This is the final part of Boxes Galore. Now I am working on the Circular Box

Gold Rush

Although this Box is a different shape the methodology that I am using is pretty much the same. I started with Gold Gems around the Inner Circle. I then repeated the process on the Outer Circle

Towards the Edge

The pattern of this Box reminded me a little of the Flower Box I had completed. Therefore I thought I would give a nod to that’s colouring.

I used the Gold Gems as a basis then I infilled the Central Circle with Bright Pink Gems. I then moved towards the Edge with Red Gems. In between the Red I added White which completed the second ring.

Up to the Edge

After the second ring I added the last colour which was Pale Pink. These combinations of colours took me up to the Edge. I decided to finish off the Edge with Gold Gems unfortunately that photograph did not come out.

A Trio of Boxes Galore

I now have A Trio of Boxes Galore. I hope you enjoyed this Blog.

Boxes Galore 2018 Part 5

Boxes Galore 2018 Part 5

I have entitled this Box my Flower Power Box because of its flowery pattern.

Flower Power Box

I have decided on a change of colour. I am starting with Red, Bright Pink and Pale Pink

Inner Petals

After the initial Inner Petals were finished using a Red, Pale Pink and Bright Pink I changed the order.

The alternative Inner Petals were Bright Pink, Red and finishing with the Pale Pink

All around Inner Petals

Now I had the basic pattern on all the Inner Petals I needed to join them up. This involved adding two extra Gems on the longer Petals.

Towards the Centre

I continued the process of adding extra Gems working towards the Centre.

Full Bloom

Once I had finished the Inner Petals I could start work on the Outer Petals. In addition to using the Red and Pink Gems I also added a Pale Purple. This helped spread out the other Gems and gave me flexibility when it came to designing the pattern.

There were two other possibilities with this Box. I could add more to the Centre and I could also put Gems around the Square lid. In the end I decided that less was more. Next blog is a new Box with a new pattern.

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