The Winter of No Sleeves

This winter (joyfully!) I will have three kids who are all old enough to want to get dressed by themselves but not old enough to actually manage all the details themselves. Details like putting the right arm into the right sleeve, managing to get their hand all the way through the sleeve without getting tangled up, connecting the bottom parts of the zipper - it's all very complicated when you're three or four. Complicated and likely to completely derail a mom's morning.

Hence, I give you ... The Winter of No Sleeves.

This year, the kiddos (so weird to not just say "the boys") are going to have no outerwear that has sleeves and zippers. Usually, I get one light jacket and one heavy coat for each of the them. Sometimes if I'm able to find a really good quality formal coat, I'll get that too, but we don't have a lot of formal occasions to look sleek for, and our church is pretty casual. This year, we're doing cloaks. One fleece, one wool.

I made the fleece versions this week. I wanted to test out the pattern and fleece is a lot cheaper than wool. Also, the wool cloaks will need to be lined, so that's another level of trouble that I don't want to waste if the pattern isn't right.

Buying the fleece was fun. Twinkle instantly landed on his choice. Munchkin took more guidance. His favorite color is pink, so I wanted him to have a pink cloak, but I didn't want it to look like he was wearing a girl's cloak. ("Excuse me, saleslady, can you show me where you're keeping the non-feminine pinks?") We considered several different options and landed on a fabric that mostly reads BRIGHT!!! rather than just pink.

Beautiful as I know Munchkin to be, it's possible he's not a born model.

I made Munchkin's cloak using M6431, view F except that I didn't use the neckline cutout. I didn't really think it through before cutting it out. Not including the hood, Munchkin's cloak has 6 pieces: front, back, 2 side fronts and 2 side backs. With Twinkle's and Mei-Mei's, I streamlined the pattern so that it only has 2 cloak pieces: front and back.

The original pattern had no option that only used 2 pieces. The simplest option (view C) had a zipper up the front, which I didn't want because obviously, zippers complicate life. So I used the back pattern piece for this view and cut it out twice. To make the front piece, I recut the neckline using the front pattern piece as a guide. Clear as mud?

After the fact, I wish that I hadn't used the front cutout, because the cloaks run a smidge big and I didn't need the extra room that the cutout gives. Also, I cut 2" off the bottom of Twinkle's cloak so that it would be the right length and I cut 1.5" off the bottom of Munchkin's hood because it was oddly oversize. But overall, I'm pretty happy with the first Winter of No Sleeves experiment, and I think I'll be able to tweak the pattern satisfactorily later when I do the wool versions.

But what really makes me happy?

I had to make 3 cloaks. Three.

Ice Dyeing

Quite a while ago, I had a sewing intensive week and make a number of clothes for myself. I used linen for all of them

(Ah, linen. How do I love thee? Thou art easy to sew and a good weight for clothing, allowing projects to look and feel professional. Thou art casual and comfortable when unironed and tossed into dryer for a quick fluff. Thou art classical beauty and simplicity itself. Also, dearest linen, thou wast on sale.)

and I used quite a bit of plain, unbleached linen, some of which I made into a tunic and a dress and some of which I ice-dyed.

Ice-dyed?

Yes. It's lovely. Let me tell you about it.

First, I collected about a grocery bag's worth of ice. Being stingy, I took 2 days to make it in our ice trays instead of paying $2.50 for a bag of ice. Then I wet the fabric, squeezed out the excess, and then scrunched it into a rectangle. For this technique, it's better to scrunch (think of the fabric going up and down, hills and valleys) than layer or fold. Since I didn't know exactly how it would look, I dyed more fabric than I needed for the shirt so that I would have enough that I could pick and choose which parts I wanted. I used one package of Dylon fabric dye, in navy blue.

Then I poured the ice on top. You want enough ice to cover your fabric. Scrunch your fabric into a smaller area if necessary. (Twinkle was a very enthusiastic helper.)

Then I sprinkled the powdered dye on top of the ice. 

Twinkle got a little blue on his hands, but it could have been much, much worse.

Due to poor planning, we did this project just as the sun was going down. You're supposed to wait for the ice to melt, but it wasn't melting very fast. (Which tells you how long ago these pictures were taken, as it is now warm enough to melt a brass monkey at 10 o'clock at night.) We experimented some with a hair dryer, which Twinkle was very keen on, but it didn't seem to speed the process up much.

See? Still not melted. If I had thought of pouring hot water over the ice, that might have done some good.

Eventually we gave up and rinsed the fabric off in a bucket. After rinsing a lot of times, I ran it through the washer and dryer.

See how pretty?

I love how random the splotches are, which is pretty necessary for this project because - control? You have none. Which is a bit liberating, once you get used to it.

 I made a large, drapey shirt with turned back cuffs and a wide V-neck. I was mostly copying this picture, but I didn't use the measurements listed. (Also notice: that website is in Russian.) The effect isn't quite as dramatically drapey as I wanted, but for a first try, I'm very happy with it.

I sewed this top and my other linen projects with triple seams, which is where you take a French seam, iron it to one side and then topstitch it. French seams are necessary because linen frays like anything when you wash it in the machine, and the topstitching makes the seam lie flat, which looks nicer. 

This gives your project a very professional look and feel and I think it is well worth the extra time. Also it makes your garment last longer because the seams are stronger.

Another detail I like is the loops I put in to keep my bra straps hidden. These loops are sewn to the shirt on one side and snapped on the other, so they're easy to flip under my bra strap and fasten. I sewed the snaps to the neckline facing, so none of the stitches show on the outside. I like wide necklines, but since I have little boys who have only a tenuous grasp on the concept of personal space or appropriate behavior (and since I don't spend my days artfully reclining against a tree) the loops help a lot to keep my neckline where I want it. 

This was a really really simple dyeing project and such a fun technique. I love using the navy dye because it looks like traditional Japanese shibori, but it also looks really pretty when you use green, or pink, or even when you mix colors. This would be a lovely way to personalize a tablecloth or dish towels, if you're not inclined to sew. 

Much fun! 

A small amount of grass was killed in the making of this garment.

Too Much to Tackle?

My Works in Progress are getting out of control.

That slight echo you just heard was 'Stache shouting "Amen!" He's been a great sport, but ... given the opportunity to heave a beleaguered sigh - he will heave a beleaguered sigh.

Things on the radar:
(Note: My storage cubes are stuffed with projects that have fallen off said radar. I have a very good track record for finishing projects ... eventually. The stuff in storage will probably get done, but it might take a few years.)

1. Linen quilt.

Last week I ran a nicely appointed little sweatshop making my summer clothes, which are all about LINEN. I can't wait to show you, but Munchkin hasn't quite mastered the camera and I'm always knee deep in supper preparations when 'Stache comes home. But anyway, I took the scraps that were leftover and made a cute little modern quilt.
Prospects: Dim. This one's actually teetering on the edge of the radar. I don't have a baby in mind for it, so my motivation is struggling. (If anyone wants to buy this one, though, I'm pretty sure the motivation would perk right back up!)

2. Mei-Mei's Liberty toboggan. 

My sister gave me Liberty yarn for my birthday, and I knit a little vest for Mei-Mei and made this toboggan from the leftovers. This is how you wake up one morning with a huge stash: You get yarn for a vest, and you have a nice bit left over, so you make a toboggan (aka ski cap, aka touke, aka beanie), but even though you had gobs, way too much to toss, you don't have enough, so you need to buy more, but then you have leftovers from that ...
Prospects: I love love love this yarn, because it's soft and wonderful and wool (down with acrylics!) and because it's New Mexico colors, which always remind me of 'Stache, which is a little funny because he isn't from New Mexico; his grandmother was. So to see this project is to be inspired to finish it, but I will have to go buy yarn to do it. And I feel guilty buying yarn when I have so many many things to finish.

3. Justin's sweater. 
This is my brother-in-law's Christmas sweater. Clearly still in the planning phase. I've done my swatch and I've gotten the measurements from my sister, so I need to sit down and do the math to design the sweater.
Prospects: Reasonably sunny. Definitely going to be done by Christmas. (Knock on wood.) The plan is to take it to the beach, where I will actually see my brother-in-law, which should be fairly motivating.

4. Cushion for boys' room.

I have a beautiful vision for the boy's room which involves making a window seat out of a metal trunk, so I want to sew a cushion for the top of it. Clearly I have some work to do.
Prospects: I really want to finish the boy's room, so I'm very motivated, but I still need foam and I'm hesitant to make the cushion cover without the stuffing and Joann's trips are a little arduous with the boys, so it might be a bit before I manage to buy the foam.

5. Slipcover for boys' room. 
The other major part still lacking from the vision for the boy's room is a slipcover for a chair we're moving in there. This chair has been through the wars: we got it several years ago off of the sidewalk when our neighbors moved, and it is definitely due for a slipcover. I have found fabric I'm crazy about but haven't bought it yet.
Prospects: Again, very motivated, but you need lots and lots of fabric for a slipcover and upholstery fabric isn't cheap, so this might need to wait until next month's paycheck hits. However, I should do the math and check if Memorial Day sales make it doable. Also: making a slipcover = lotsa work. Might be a long project even once I have the fabric.

6. Molly's quilt. 
Once upon a time, my sweet sister got married (to Justin, of Christmas sweater fame) and I made her a quilt top using heirloom quilt squares that belonged to our grandmother. I promised I would hand quilt it and ... I have not. And now, with two kids, soon to be three, I think I've resigned myself to the fact that it just isn't going to happen. I think I need to unpick the handquilting I've done and machine quilt it.
Prospects: Still going to be hard to manage. I don't have a space to lay the quilt out to rebaste the backing, so I have to find a space somewhere else I can commandeer. Also, I'm nervous because this is a really special quilt, and I'm something of a machine quilting newbie.

7. Mosaic table. 

This project, for which I saved broken plates for 7 and a half years, is one I'm pretty excited about.
Prospects: Good. It's standing on our porch, impeding traffic, which is fairly motivating. Breaking plates with the tile nippers is simple, though hard on the hands. I hope to have it done soon.

8. Twinkle's hat 

I'm making this from a really cool Noro yarn that is like a very thin roving. Think knitting with raw wool instead of spun yarn.The knitted fabric is very fluffy and warm. I'd like to make Twinkle a new toboggan and mittens for Christmas.
Prospects: Right now I'm on fire for finishing, but I've only just started. Also, the weight of the whole list is making me wonder if I should work on something else just to get something off the list.

9. 4 (count them, FOUR) Christmas gift bags. 

I'm making reusable gift bags out of the leftovers of another quilting project. I love these bags and reusable gift bags are great when you have inquisitive toddlers who can unwrap a present in a New York minute but can't manage knots yet.
Prospects: I've done all the piecing, which is the biggest part, but I still have to iron on interfacing, make linings, make drawstring cords and assemble the bags. Right now the bags are still on the radar but we're taking a break.

10.  Hedgehog mittens.
I am making Munchkin hedgehog mittens for Christmas. I love love love the way these are going to look (pattern coming soon!) and I love everything hedgehog-related, but I am seriously running out of steam doing the prickles. They take an AGE.
Prospects: Eh. Definitely done by Christmas, but motivation is pretty low right now. Also, they appear to be missing.

11. 100 Wishes Quilt.

In northern China, which is where Mei-Mei is from, they have a lovely tradition where when a couple is expecting a baby, they collect pieces of fabric from 100 of their family and friends and make a quilt. Then when they wrap their baby in the quilt, it's as if they are wrapping their baby in the well wishes of all their family and friends.
Prospects: We're still collecting and I hope to have all the pieces by the end of June.

So, if you know us and love us and want to participate in this wonderful project, send us a piece of fabric or clothing that at least 9"x9". Any kind, any color. Comment or message me if you need our address. We will think about you every time we see it! 

Still Doable?

Christmas is so very nearly here, and I am so very not ready for it. I've reached the point in my knitting where I'm timing myself on how many minutes it takes me to to a round, and then calculating how long that means the rest of the sweater will take, and then adding a very rough guess of how much time the finishing up will take, and dividing that by the number of days left to try to create a game plan that results in me finishing on time. I eventually do this with most of my major deadlines, and it's never a good sign.

On the docket we have: 

1. The Norwegian sweater

Status: Finished the colorwork band and am racing towards the shoulders. After I finish knitting the body, I have to cut the steeks, sew all the seams, block the sweater, knit bands to cover the seams, sew in the bands, and then knit the ribbing for the neckline. 
Prospects: I'm nervous. Really nervous. Fortunately the steps after I get through knitting the body all take much less time than the knitting, but there are lots of steps. And I'm making this pattern up and it sounds good in my head, but my head is stupid sometimes, so I'm nervous. Really nervous. 

2. One sock

Status: Still a ball. I'm concentrating my knitting efforts on the sweater, on the basis that my sister has already waited a year for it and it's better to have one undone project than two half-done projects. 
Prospects: Worried. 

3. Pair of felted clogs

Status: Still in balls. 
Prospects: absolutely not happening. If you're reading this, 'Stache, I'm so sorry, and I promise I'll have them done before the cold weather goes away. 

4. Raspberry liqueur 

Status: Aging beautifully. It's amazing to have a gift where forgetting about it for a month is part of the process. 
Prospects: Excellent, although I still don't have any cute little bottles to give it in. 

5. Lots of pajama pants 

Status: Um, I bought fabric. That's progress, right? The trouble here is that like an utter eejit I left my sewing machine in another state last week. I'm definitely not up for hand sewing pajamas, so the project's on hold. 
Prospects: Pretty positive. I'll get my sewing machine back this weekend and I don't have to have these done until January 6th. Also, one of the many reasons I adore sewing pajama pants is that they are quick. 

6. Five stuffed animals 
Status: Done! 

It was quite a journey. When you sew them together, they look like this, which doesn't inspire much confidence: 

But then you add stuffing (I completely overbought on stuffing, I thought I needed about 8 lbs and so bought 10. Here it is exploding out of the box. And that's after using what I needed!)

... and they become completely adorable.

Adoption Fundraiser Sale

We are holding an adoption fundraiser sale! 

We're selling infinity scarves for $25 each. These are made of soft jersey knit material and feature two colors that are braided together on one side. They can be worn looped once or twice and add a stylish touch to any outfit, casual or professional. They're a great way to stay warm, look good, and support a wonderful cause this Christmas! Buy one for yourself or someone you love! Here are some examples of the scarves I've whipped up so far. 

Purple/brown stripe, looped once

Purple/brown stripe, looped twice

Dark blue/light blue, looped once

Dark blue/light blue, looped twice

Gray/purple stripe, looped once

Gray/purple stripe, looped twice

If you're interested in buying one, you can comment below, email me at derkihee@gmail.com or text me. 100% of the scarf price goes to support our adoption. If you live in the Chattanooga area, I can offer home delivery; if you need it to be mailed, it will be approximately $3 more. We can accept cash, checks or PayPal. 

New colors coming soon!Stay tuned for orange/brown, orange/bright print, pink/gray, blue/neutral stripe. If you have your heart set on a particular color combo you don't see here, contact me and we'll chat! There will be at least 1 week delay on all custom orders. 

Doable/Not Doable?

It's December 1, that venerated day when all dedicated crafters/knitters/sewists review their to-do lists and have a wee moment of panic. Here's my list this year:

- one sweater
- one sock
- one pair felted clogs
- a bottle of raspberry liqueur
- 5 stuffed animals
- 6 pairs of pajama pants.

I'm knitting a Norwegian-style sweater for my sister. I have a picture and I've designed a pattern to be very similar though not identical. I don't know yet if my pattern is going to work in real life, that's the "fun"part about not buying patterns.
Status: I've knit the plain part of the body and sleeves and am about to embark on the colorwork section.
Priority: High. I'm pretty confident I'm going to finish on time, but last Christmas this sister got parts of a sweater for her gift, so I really want this to not be the Christmas project that falls through the cracks this year.

Several months ago, I knit a sock.It was a nice sock, I knit a little pattern of chevrons down the front and back to add some interest and keep me awake while I was knitting it. Unfortunately, after I finished it I lost the ball of yarn for the other sock, so the first sock has languished in the stash basket since then. Last night I finally caved and bought another ball of yarn, which means I'm due to find the lost ball in about 45 minutes.
Status: First sock is knit except for sewing the toe, the second is but a gleam in the eye.
Priority: Medium. These are worsted weight socks, so they'll knit up in a couple of evenings once I get the yarn and track down the right size knitting needles.

'Stache requested a pair of felted clogs for Christmas. I'm using this pattern, which I've knit for myself. These clogs were great. I loved them dearly and wore them to pieces, which took about 2 years which is not a bad lifespan for knit footwear.
Status: I have the yarn and I need to buy the pattern because I've forgotten the password to my pdf. Le sigh.
Priority: Low. 'Stache requested these pretty late in the game and I've already warned him he might be getting half an unfelted clog on Christmas Day.

I'm making raspberry liqueur using this recipe.
Status: The raspberry liqueur just needs to age for a while. I also need to buy some little bottles. Turns out its tricky to find bottles that won't break a stocking when they're full, but still hold a decent amount of liqueur.

I am making 5 stuffed animals from the Menagerie Pattern. These have been really fun and have come together pretty quickly. I've been mostly sewing them assembly-line style, with some slight hiccups for not having any pink fleece for the cat ears. Also for sewing the penguin's head completely wrong twice in a row.
Status: three stuffies are just waiting for their stuffing and pellets to arrive. The cat is a couple steps behind and the penguin needs to be seam-ripped again and the head resewn. Then it's just stuffing and finishing.
Priority: High. This is a major part of the kid's Christmas and kids are less understanding of receiving a half-finished gift.

I want to sew my kids and the kids in our small group pajama pants for Epiphany. Pajama pants are fun and quick to sew, and flannel patterns are just the cutest, although we'll be doing different patterns for boys and girls this year. Gender-neutral flannel patterns is a seriously under-served market.
Status: still need to buy fabric, have the pattern.
Priority: Medium. The due date for these is after Christmas, so there's a little more breathing room. I think this year I'll have some size duplicates, so I won't have to cut them all out separately, which will help.



Right now, this seems like a really doable list. The trouble is to keep myself from adding to it. There's a blanket for Munchkin, a little sweater, a scarf, and a much-needed hat for me that really want to be knit. Must! Resist!

Bow Tie Tutorial

Several weeks ago, 'Stache's cousin got married. If I had been possessed of two daughters instead of two sons, I doubtless would have labored over whipped up two lovely little frilly dresses for such a special occasion. Being possessed of two sons instead of two daughters, I refrained. But something special was needed, particularly since my sister-in-law was going to do a family photo shoot.

I settled on bow ties.

Photo by Maryellyn Hawbaker

I love bow ties on men and boys of all ages. They make a man look so dapper and well-coiffed. I had never made a bow tie before, though, so I decided that as I figured out what worked, I would write it down so that the next time this comes up I could do what worked instead of reinventing the wheel, as is my wont.

I used scraps of gray dupioni silk that I had left over from making the bridesmaid dresses for my sister's wedding several years ago. (Never throw away anything!) Using silky fabric, if not actual silk, is the key to getting a professional-looking bow tie. And sorry, your bow tie models will never be as cute as mine, because that's just not possible.


Bow Tie Tutorial 

You will need:
scraps of a silky fabric such as silk, satin, or polyester, or a 15"x5" rectangle of same
a small piece of felt
2 hook and eyes or pieces of Velcro

Sewing machine, needle and thread, scissors

From your tie fabric, cut one rectangle 15"x2", one rectangle 3.75"x2", and two rectangles 4.75"x3". (These last two rectangles are the body of your bow tie, so if your fabric has a print, you will want to position these carefully.)

From felt, cut a rectangle 4.75"x3".

Take your two large rectangles and layer them with their right sizes together. Put the piece of felt on top. Secure with pins if you wish.

Sew around the edge with a 3/8" seam allowance,* leaving a 1" space to turn the bow tie right side out. Trim the felt to very close to the seam. Turn bow tie inside out, using a pair of closed scissors or a knitting needle to make the corners neat and sharp. Iron flat. Sew the opening closed using mattress stitch

Before trimming the felt.

After trimming the felt.

 Fold the long rectangle in half lengthwise, with the right sides together. Sew the edges together lengthwise, with a 3/8" seam allowance. Do the same for the small rectangle. Turn them both right side out and iron flat.

Sew two large stitches down the middle of the bow tie piece, positioned like so:

This is the front side.

 Tighten your thread and tie off the end, so that the bow tie piece is now shaped like a bow tie.

This is the front side.

Sew the small rectangle around the middle of the bow tie, turning under the raw edge to make it neat.

This is the wrong side.

 Sew the middle of your long rectangle to the middle of the back of the bow tie.

Hem the ends of the bow tie strap. Sew on your hooks and eyes or your Velcro. The way I figured out the right spot to put these is I buttoned the top button on my sons' dress shirts and put the strap around the collar and positioned my hooks and eyes so that the strap would be snug against the collar. This seemed to be a good measurement, as the ties were neither too loose nor too tight.
.
You could sew one end of the bow tie strap to the middle of the bow tie, but I thought since I was putting these on two wriggly bows, they would behave better if I wasn't trying to fasten something right under their chin.

*This is the width on my machine from the needle to the edge of the sewing machine foot. If yours is 1/4", just use that.

Photo by Maryellyn Hawbaker