Autumn Cape Bag 2022 Part 6

 Autumn Cape Bag 2022 Part 6

I have Picked Up as many Stitches as I could. 

Holes in Bag

 

Hmm. Things haven’t gone too well. I have created Holes in the Bag. I am going to have to sort those later. I want to crack on. 

Mark End of Row

 

Right the first thing is to make sure that I know where the End of the Row is. I have tied a piece of Wool around. Not sure where my Stitch Markers are.

Hunt the Needle

 

Then next part is tricky. I am going to have to find my other Needles, Stitch Markers and Stitch Holders.

This should have been easy but of course it wasn’t. My Needles had decided to slip out of their Covers. In the end I had to use a Needle Gauge on every single Needle to sort it.

First Stitch Holder

 

What I want to do is Pick Up 30 Stitches so I can carry on Knitting the Strap. Easier said than done. This is because I have to Pick Up 15 Stitches either side of the Marker.

I decided to do the most difficult Pick Up first. I therefore took a Stitch Holder and began to Slide it through the Stitches. I had to start at the 15^th Stitch and work back towards the Marker.

Too Tight

 

Have hit a Snag. It is Too Tight to get all the Stitches on the Stitch Holder with the other Needle still inside. 

So I have had to add a Second Stitch Holder to try and easy the pull from the back.

Autumn Cape Bag 2022 Part 5

Autumn Cape Bag 2022 Part 5

It just gets worse!

Sew up Sides

 

I had to think how I was going to Sew up the Sides. This is because the Edges did not match Colour-wise. In the end I decided to Sew up using Brown all the way. I Sewed the Tails in that were near the edges on the way.

Gap at Top

 

When I got near the Top I finished Sewing leaving a Gap. This is because I had reached the point where I had got it Twisted when joining together. I decided that I would just have to Bite the Bullet and Sew.

When I got to the Twisted Part I Sewed as Tightly as I could and created a slight Overlap. It made it a little Bulky but apart from that it wasn’t very disenable to the eye.

Pick up Stitches

I hate Picking Up Stitches at the best of times however to my Horror I realised that when I came to do so I had made a fundamental error. I frantically read through all my blogs.

It was no use. It must have been due to being so poorly but I had neglected to put down how many Stitches I had Cast On. Therefore I didn’t know how many to Pick Up.

I am going to have to Improvise.

Autumn Cape Bag 2022 Part 4

Autumn Cape Bag 2022 Part 4

I am not having a good time.

Unpicked Sigh

 

If there is one thing that I hate doing it is Unpicking. I always Drop Stitches and the ones I don’t Drop I end up Twisting. On this occasion it took me two whole days to sort out. It wasn’t helped by my constant coughing.

Cast Off

 

I eventually managed to carry on Knitting. This time I didn’t decrease at all. Therefore it too me much longer. You cannot see it very well in the above photograph as it has Rolled.

I have Knitted a few Inches before Casting Off. It isn’t quite as long as before but that is due to loss of Wool from the Unpicking Process.

Blanket Stitch

 

I left an unusually long Tail upon Casting Off. This is so I could Sew up the Bottom. I have used Blanket Stitch. This isn’t really the correct Stitch for the job.

There is a Stitch used in Knitting called the Mattress Stitch used for joining two pieces together. However I haven’t ever really got the hang of it. I am certainly in no fit state to try it now.

Around the Corner

 

I Blanket Stitched to the End. Then since this will have a great deal of weight on it I turned and Sewed back along the Piece. Since the Bottom was Brown I carried on around the Corner. Now I need to consider what to do next.

Autumn Cape Bag 2022 Part 3

 Autumn Cape Bag 2022 Part 3

I have managed to do some more Knitting but with being ill it is slow process.

Bag 14 Inches

 

I have got the Bag to 14 Inches in Length. I think this should be long enough as I will be adding to the Top and the Bottom.

Brown Edge

 

Now I am Changing from Coloured Pattern to Plain Brown. This is for two reasons. Firstly I am going to Decrease and it will make it simpler with one Colour.

The second reason is more prosaic. This going to be the Bottom of the Bag and often be placed upon the floor. Therefore Plain Brown is less likely to show the Dirt.

90 Stitches

 

I have been slowly Decreasing the Stiches over a handful of Rows. I have now only 90 Stitches on the Needle. This means the Knitting will now go a lot faster.

Wrong Shape

 

I am a COMPLETE IDIOT! I was having a sneaking suspicion that something was wrong but couldn’t work it out. I therefore kept on Knitting in the hope that it would reveal itself.

Well it has. It was only when I had nearly got to the end of the Wool and Folded that it struck me. I had completely forgotten that I was making the Bag out of one piece NOT TWO.

This means it is entirely the Wrong Shape and will have to be Unpicked.

Autumn Cape Bag 2022 Part 2

 Autumn Cape Bag 2022 Part 2

This project started badly and my luck hasn’t got any better!

Colour Problem

 

I have to be honest I have dropped a right Clanger. What I intended to do was Knit Plain Stitch around and around. For those that do not know this would give the same effect as Stocking Stitch.

The plan was great apart from one tiny detail. I had forgotten that I would be Changing Colours constantly. By Knitting in a Circle all the Tails would be at the wrong end.

Twisted Stitches

 

I therefore changed to Stocking Stitch. When I got to the end I noticed yet another Clanger. At one point I had dropped the Knitting and got it all Tangled.

I hadn’t noticed that when I started Knitting again that I had Twisted the Wool. Therefore I had created another Problem. After already Restarted once I was reluctant to do so again especially as this time I would have to undo all the Colours.

Time to Grow

Having Bit the Bullet I decided to deal with that particular Problem later with a bit of ingenious Sewing. I carried on Knitting until it got a bit longer. Then I needed to have a break before anything else went wrong.

Autumn Cape Bag 2022 Part 1

 Autumn Cape Bag 2022 Part 1

I have had a break from Knitting for a good while. Now I am getting back into it and I know Exactly what I want to make.

Wool and Needle Selection

 

I want to make a Bag to match my Autumn Cape. This is partly due to the numerous Balls of left over Wool. It was Knit Nottingham’s 12^th Anniversary so I bundled up what I had and went to get advice.

3.25mm Circular Needle

 

Eleanor was her fabulous self. Since the Bag would have to hold weight I wanted to discuss what size Needle I needed. We settled on my 3.25mm Circular Needle.

This is so when I Knitted and Joined I would only have to do a Plain Stitch but the Resulting Pattern would be Stocking Stitch.

Split Wool

 

Trying to decide how many Stitches to Cast on was tricky. I thought I would put an even number on to make life easier. I cannot remember exactly but I think it was about 200.

The way I Knit it doesn’t make much difference because I can guarantee that I will end up either Dropping a Stitch or Making New ones. Probably both knowing me.

Piles of Split Wool

 

Disaster! As soon as I had got to the End of the first Row I found the Wool had Split. I decided not to continue until I got home. I got back and unpicked everything.

I decided to be on the safe side and completely Unravel the Ball of Wool. It is a good job I did. I found that the Wool was Split in several places.

Joining the Round

 

Eventually I found a Small Ball that was long enough to Cast on and Knit the first Row. I could now begin to Join and Knit in the Round.

https://knitnottingham.co.uk/

Footy Fun 2022 Part 4

 Footy Fun 2022 Part 4

The Outside is completed so I am moving on to the Inside. For those that follow Football it will not be a surprise to know that Nottingham has two main Football Clubs in the City. Therefore I am making this a Tale of Two Footies.

Black Out

 

I am fortunate in the fact that both Clubs have White as one Colour. So I only had to Cut Out, Glue and place two pieces of Black Felt on the Inside.

Wrong Way

 

Speaking of Football I could have Kicked myself for not spotting this. I had been so concerned about getting the Letters even that I hadn’t noticed that I had picked them up in the Wrong Order.

It should have been N.C.F.C which stands for Nottingham County Football Club which are affectionately known locally as ‘The Magpies’. This is not to be confused with Newcastle United.

Own Goal

Not only had I Glued the Letters in the Wrong Order I didn’t notice this until uploading the photographs. This was AFTER I had wrapped the darn Box.

So I had to carefully Unwrap the Box so I could reuse the paper as was getting low. I tried valiantly to remove the Letters without causing damage but to no avail. This was a real Own Goal.

N.C.F.C

In the end I had to Glue another piece of Black Felt on Top of the Original. This time I was extra careful about the Position of the Letters. Thankfully no harm done and I could Wrap it back up ready for the Solstice.

Footy Fun 2022 Part 3

 Footy Fun 2022 Part 3

The paint has dried and I can move on to the next part.

All Change

 

Looking at the above photograph I believe I made a mistake in a previous blog. I had used Fabric Glue just not for the Paper Covering.

Red Top

I Measured, Cut, and Glued a piece of Red Felt to both the Top and the Bottom of the Box.

Trimming Time

 

After the Red had dried I trimmed off any Excess White Felt. I think this is when I corrected the White Overlap on the Front of the Box. This recent illness has fogged my brain up.

 Template Time

Remember the small Scraps of Felt I had Ironed at the beginning of the project. I used these to make the Letters that I needed.

This was far more difficult than I anticipated. For some reason I couldn’t get the Letter N right. I ended up doing several before I was happy and could move on to the other Letters that I needed.

N.F.F.C

 

Eventually I managed to get all my Letters Cut Out. Next I had to place them. This was a little nerve wracking as if they were not spot on they would stick out like a sore Thumb.

Once placed I Glued the Backs and gently lowered them into position. I think since they were all drawn by eye rather than being measured I did rather well.

So there you have it one Covered Nottingham Forest Football Club Box for the use of.

Footy Fun 2022 Part 2

 Footy Fun 2022 Part 2

Short blog this week as not well.

Ironing Felt

I am going to use Felt to Cover the Box. However before I can do so I am going to have to Iron it. I have quite a pile to do and am also Ironing some scraps which I will use later.

Add Glue

 

I am going to use ordinary PVA Glue rather than fabric as I am a little low. Unfortunately the photograph of the Side didn’t come out so using a different one. The important thing is to make sure that the whole area is Covered or it will lift in the corners.

Overlap

 

I am putting White Felt all the way around the Sides of the Box. I have left a slight Overlap on the Front. This is so I can Trim the exact Shape.

Paint Edges

 

I could have Cut the Felt long enough to go over the Edge and down the other side. However I felt that this would impede the Lid from shutting. Therefore I decided to Paint the Edges White. I now need everything to dry before I carry on.