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Blog: drawboy's cigar box (Login to Add to MyJacketFlap)
JacketFlap tags: top hat, Patrick Girouard, cane, crooked man, colour_collective, Drawboy, lilac grey, illustration, nursery rhymes, scarf, Add a tag
Blog: the enchanted easel (Login to Add to MyJacketFlap)
JacketFlap tags: winter, girl, art, acrylic, children's art, bird, kawaii, penguin, bow, canvas, whimsical, arctic, scarf, original painting, nursery art, the enchanted easel, Add a tag
Blog: Emily Smith Pearce (Login to Add to MyJacketFlap)
JacketFlap tags: writing, Sewing, Crafts, scarf, knit fabric, Add a tag
This was a super quick project made like this one. It’s just a rectangle folded and sewn right sides together, flipped, then zigzagged around the edges to finish them. I gave it my daughter for Christmas, and she wears it nearly every day. Funny that the easiest projects are sometimes also the most popular.
If you want a cute ruffle edge on your jersey scarf, Holly Ramer of stitch/ craft has some easy tips here (at the end of the post).
I’m working hard writing and revising, doing some storyboarding in fact. I just discovered Carolyn Coman’s book Writing Stories. It’s especially for writing teachers but really for anyone who writes, and it’s wonderful to read during this process. Carolyn was my mentor while I studied at Vermont College, and reading the book is like getting a letter from her. So personable and practical and encouraging. Just what I need right now.
Blog: Emily Smith Pearce (Login to Add to MyJacketFlap)
JacketFlap tags: Sewing, Crafts, craft, scarf, sewing notions, Add a tag
I had some leftover knit fabric from this dress (and its mirror image, which I haven’t yet finished), and it seemed perfect for a little springy scarf. As I’ve mentioned before, a frau can never have too many scarves.
Last time I sewed with knits, I used spray starch to stiffen the edges since I couldn’t find knit stabilizer in Germany. Maybe it exists here, but I gave up looking when I didn’t find it at the neighborhood store. I’m lazy like that.
The starch or stabilizer makes it easier for the fabric to go through the machine and to take the stitches. The spray starch method was cheap and effective but required a lot of applications, which was time-consuming.
Recently I had this out-of-the-blue memory of my Granny, who passed away almost 20 years ago, telling me that you could use the water from cooking rice as liquid starch. Isn’t memory strange? My fabulous fiesty grandmother is still with me in so many ways.
So here’s the skinny:
Take a handful of rice, throw it into a saucepan, and cover it with a slightly larger quantity of water. Boil until the water gets kind of milky. Then cool and drain the liquid into a shallow bowl or container.
I let the liquid thicken a bit, but turns out it was a leeeetle too much. The fabric, instead of being stiff, turned out to be so hard as to be crunchy. So, don’t let it thicken too much.
Next I painted the mixture on the edges of my fabric, using a pastry brush. (Don’t worry honey, no household objects were harmed in the making of this craft.)
After letting the fabric dry, it was ready to sew. After sewing I threw the scarf into the wash to get the starch out.
Speaking of memories of women in my sewing past, look what I found recently:
This is from my very first home ec class. I think we were required to use several hand-sewing techniques (buttonholes, hemming, hooks and eyes) before we received this and were then allowed to use the machines. Doesn’t it look so old and wonderfully low-tech? My dear teacher, the late Mrs. Atkins, was also a close family friend. Her memory lives on.
Does anybody know if they still teach home ec these days? It seems kind of quaint now, but as you can imagine, I loved it.
0 Comments on Jersey Scarf with Homeade Knit Stabilizer as of 1/1/1900
Blog: Emily Smith Pearce (Login to Add to MyJacketFlap)
JacketFlap tags: Fiber Arts, dip dye, Easter egg dye, kool aid, kids, Crafts, craft, fabric, dye, yarn, recycling, wool, handmade, thrift, scarf, cashmere, fiber, silk, sweater, Add a tag
Want to try dyeing things but don’t know where to start?
A reader wrote me recently asking for help.
Where to start, what to read?
The easiest kind of dyeing to start with is food dye on animal fibers. I love this because you can do it in the kitchen with grocery-store items, the results are super-satisfying, and the kids can join in.
What are animal fibers? Wool, silk, cashmere, you get the idea
Wool and Cashmere:
You can do some beautiful things with Kool-Aid and wool, and IT WILL NEVER WASH OUT.
Kool-Aid (or Easter egg dye) and wool yarn is a perfect starter project, especially if you knit. You can dye it with a rainbow of colors, using your microwave. Check out this article for details. Lion Brand makes an undyed 100% wool yarn called Fisherman’s Yarn that is very reasonably priced. I used to buy it at Hobby Lobby, but it may also be available at Michael’s and other craft stores. Knitpicks also sells undyed yarn, in a wider variety of weights and variations. Their prices are very reasonable also, but you do have to order it. Also try dharmatrading.
You can dye pieces of old wool or cashmere sweaters in a similar way, but it’s a little tricky—-you should be prepared for uneven results. Here’s a project of mine with Easter egg dye on cashmere. I would recommend starting with a light-colored sweater and dyeing smaller pieces (an arm or less) at a time, as a sweater acts like a sponge to the dye, absorbing the color before it gets the chance to circulate around the fabric.
The process is similar to the yarn-dyeing project, but use a larger amount of dye and a larger container, on the stove instead of the microwave. I used my big soup pot. The same process should work for wool and cashmere wovens, though I’ve never tried it.
Silk:
Kool-Aid, Easter egg dye, or food coloring also works well on silk. I’ve used it to make playsilks, with the directions here. I’ve also dip-dyed silk scarves, which you can see here. After heat-setting, these dyes are not quite as colorfast as in wool and cashmere, so I would recommend hand-washing, but the bleeding is very little. Also, dry out of direct sunlight.
With any dyeing project, there’s a certain amount of risk involved. You never know exactly what your finished project is going to look like, and for me, that’s part of the thrill. Be prepared for that uncertainty, because even if your project turns out beautifully, chances are it won’t be exactly as you envisioned.
More about other kinds of dyeing soon.
1 Comments on Getting Started with Dyes, Part I: Animal Fibers, last added: 1/14/2011
Blog: Emily Smith Pearce (Login to Add to MyJacketFlap)
JacketFlap tags: orange, Crafts, Germany, craft, knit, scarf, expatriate, Hannover, Add a tag
I finally finished this scarf from the cashmere/ silk yarn I bought at Tuesday Morning. It ended up being more of a scarfette, but that’s what I get for doing absolutely no figuring before starting. I can totally live with that.
For those of you who are knitters, I used a seed stitch. No brainer.
When it came time to weave in the ends, I couldn’t find my yarn needle. Story of my life since moving. I happened upon a craft shop when I was out and about. I didn’t know the word for yarn needle, though, and I realized when I began explaining that I must sound like I was looking for a knitting needle. I stopped to think a moment and then said, in German, “I knitted a scarf, and then…” here I pantomimed the hanging strings, then said, “Now I need to…” and pantomimed weaving in the threads.
The two shopkeepers burst into uproarious laughter, then offered me a yarn needle for free. I was pretty pleased with myself for not being afraid to look like an idiot. It’s all about getting my point across, right?
This scarf is so soft I’ve been wearing it a lot. Plus I love the color—-orange brightens up our gray weather. My daughter rubbed it against her face last night during story time.
Blog: andrea joseph's sketchblog (Login to Add to MyJacketFlap)
JacketFlap tags: blue, ballpoint, scarf, scarves, ballpoint drawing, Add a tag
Another scarf. Just in case you were in any doubt.
What this image tells me is that my scanner really could do with a good scrub.
Another scarf, some dust, dirt and probably a couple of cat hairs. Just in case you were in any doubt.
I love that fabric! I might have to branch out and try some jersey prints!
Thanks! I figure we have to bring a little floral into the winter if we’re going to keep our spirits up.