Found a piece of silk-like fabric in my stash, that looked great but was too small for anything but a scarf. To add that little something, I crocheted two lace trims using two shades of pearl cotton and sewed them on the scarf ends.
Really like these dark teal colour accents.
Thursday 12 July 2012
Wednesday 20 June 2012
Rosy times ahead
There can never be too many small vessels at home for this and that, especially in the craft room. After taking a look at the expanding tin and napkin pile, it was quite clear, what sort of experiment should be carried out. (And there was a big sale at haberdashery). So these rosy lacy cans were born.
The tins were painted first, then roses cut from napkins positioned and moistened with water using a brush, and then three layers of mod podge applied. Finally, the cans were trimmed with lace and twine to protect against sharp tin edges.
The tins were painted first, then roses cut from napkins positioned and moistened with water using a brush, and then three layers of mod podge applied. Finally, the cans were trimmed with lace and twine to protect against sharp tin edges.
Labels:
craft room,
decoupage,
home decor,
paintwork,
recycling
Wednesday 13 June 2012
Cosy needles
In order to make the finding of double pointed needle sets easier, I made some special cosies for them. Although I liked the look of them all together in a jar, this way the sets are always handy and any member less likely to be misplaced.
The cosies are simple tubes worked in the round and embellished with a tiny crochet flower.
The cosies are simple tubes worked in the round and embellished with a tiny crochet flower.
Sunday 27 May 2012
Cotton baskets to put things in
There can never be too many vessels at home, where to put smalls things in. These white baskets with 'woven' pattern are knitted in the round almost like hats. Firmness is not their strongest quality, when empty, so all the more reason to fill them up.
Saturday 12 May 2012
Takeaway knitting sack
To make knitting projects portable and take them outside now that the weather is warming up, one needs a suitable bag that would blend in with the natural environment.
This drawstring bag is made of linen fabric and cotton yarn, the knitted embellishment, of course, is essential to show that this is a knitting and not sewing bag in question.
The drawing strings are made as knitted i-cord. They end with vintage wooden beads that are attached using yarn tails.
This drawstring bag is made of linen fabric and cotton yarn, the knitted embellishment, of course, is essential to show that this is a knitting and not sewing bag in question.
The drawing strings are made as knitted i-cord. They end with vintage wooden beads that are attached using yarn tails.
Sunday 6 May 2012
Knitwear trends from the thirties
There is a 'new' magazine issue in my library: Eesti Naine (Estonian Woman) from January 1933. This is the oldest monthly women's magazine of Estonia, published almost continuously since 1924.
There are articles, essays and poetry in the magazine, but about a half of the contents is dedicated to home, fashion and crafts.
These lovely fitted and draped dresses are only a few examples from the collection of 60 outfits in the issue. There was no pattern sheet included, but anyone could order sewing patterns by mail, made to fit exactly to their size. Just send in your measurements and the money: 20-50 cents plus delivery costs 10 cents per pattern. Add a sketch, if you'd rather have a pattern for something that was not in the magazine. This system is probably not working anymore...
For knitting, there are some interesting designs, like this lace sweater in two colours:
Colourful striped sports sweater with matching scarf and hat:
Wool sweater to be knitted using two different stitch patterns or colours:
The schematics for this sweater looks like this (measurements in centimeters), that and the two explaining text sentences is all the pattern includes:
Crochet vest variations for him and for her with schematics (no stitch pattern, seam neckline and armholes with a single crochet row):
There was also an article about washing woollen garments that might contain some useful evergreen tips for us today:
How to wash a wool sweater without colour bleeds
To determine if a knitted garment is colourfast, wet a part of it in an unnoticeable place with cold water and then squeeze with white towel. When towel gets coloured, it is recommendable to only dry clean the garment. However, with care it can be washed at home as well.
Wet the sweater in cool rainwater, take it out and press out water. Then put the sweater quickly into cool soap foam and squeeze throughout. Use as many quick soap water baths as necessary to clean the sweater - until foam will not disappear.
Rinse in soft cool water. Add vinegar to the last rinse to fasten the colours. Squeeze dry and lay flat on a towel or sheet.
Drying is the most important part, garments get ruined mostly while drying. Insert clean towels in the pockets, under the sleeves and between front and back parts of the sweater. Roll it and press water firmly into the towel. Remove the wet towels, add new dry ones, and repeat the rolling for two more times.
Then lay the sweater flat and let dry on a new dry towel on a table or bed. It will dry fast now and excess water cannot make the colours bleed along the fibres. Do not dry in a too hot place like next to stove, that will make the sweater shrink. Do not hang the garment, as the water will flow to the bottom and make the colours bleed on the edges; besides, it will not dry evenly. When dry, the sweater can be ironed with cool temperatures.
There are articles, essays and poetry in the magazine, but about a half of the contents is dedicated to home, fashion and crafts.
These lovely fitted and draped dresses are only a few examples from the collection of 60 outfits in the issue. There was no pattern sheet included, but anyone could order sewing patterns by mail, made to fit exactly to their size. Just send in your measurements and the money: 20-50 cents plus delivery costs 10 cents per pattern. Add a sketch, if you'd rather have a pattern for something that was not in the magazine. This system is probably not working anymore...
For knitting, there are some interesting designs, like this lace sweater in two colours:
Colourful striped sports sweater with matching scarf and hat:
Wool sweater to be knitted using two different stitch patterns or colours:
The schematics for this sweater looks like this (measurements in centimeters), that and the two explaining text sentences is all the pattern includes:
Crochet vest variations for him and for her with schematics (no stitch pattern, seam neckline and armholes with a single crochet row):
There was also an article about washing woollen garments that might contain some useful evergreen tips for us today:
How to wash a wool sweater without colour bleeds
To determine if a knitted garment is colourfast, wet a part of it in an unnoticeable place with cold water and then squeeze with white towel. When towel gets coloured, it is recommendable to only dry clean the garment. However, with care it can be washed at home as well.
Wet the sweater in cool rainwater, take it out and press out water. Then put the sweater quickly into cool soap foam and squeeze throughout. Use as many quick soap water baths as necessary to clean the sweater - until foam will not disappear.
Rinse in soft cool water. Add vinegar to the last rinse to fasten the colours. Squeeze dry and lay flat on a towel or sheet.
Drying is the most important part, garments get ruined mostly while drying. Insert clean towels in the pockets, under the sleeves and between front and back parts of the sweater. Roll it and press water firmly into the towel. Remove the wet towels, add new dry ones, and repeat the rolling for two more times.
Then lay the sweater flat and let dry on a new dry towel on a table or bed. It will dry fast now and excess water cannot make the colours bleed along the fibres. Do not dry in a too hot place like next to stove, that will make the sweater shrink. Do not hang the garment, as the water will flow to the bottom and make the colours bleed on the edges; besides, it will not dry evenly. When dry, the sweater can be ironed with cool temperatures.
Saturday 28 April 2012
Window shopping in Venlo
Craft shops are really hard to pass by, especially when there is a pile of yarns on the window. But as the saying goes, when travelling light, do not enter a yarn shop.
Here are some impressions of craft and souvenir shop displays in the small town of Venlo, the Netherlands.
Here are some impressions of craft and souvenir shop displays in the small town of Venlo, the Netherlands.
Monday 23 April 2012
Inspiration from around the world
My weekend trip to visit Floriade, World Horticultural Expo in the Netherlands, quite unexpectedly proved to be interesting craftwise as well. Many participating countries had included souvenirs and textiles in their expositions, for some it was the main attraction with very little to show in the gardening area.
This tree with a colourful knitted sweater was probably the only living creature on the fair grounds not suffering from the fierce cold wind and frequent rain and hail showers of the weekend:
Crafty hands could easily make a garden sculpture like this cyclist from Luxembourg
or any other decorative willow object:
Motive of a cosy knitted throw on a garden shed chair:
Bobbin lace samples of Sri Lanka
and how they are made by diligent hands:
Chinese silk lantern:
Fine printed fabrics of Indonesia:
Patterns from Afghanistan:
Colours of Tunisia:
Moroccan sofa with a beautiful patterned fabric in chocolate and turquoise:
Andean knits and textiles from Ecuador:
And some more pretty textile patterns with mystery origin:
Last but not least, some fashion ideas to steal from this performer's costume:
This tree with a colourful knitted sweater was probably the only living creature on the fair grounds not suffering from the fierce cold wind and frequent rain and hail showers of the weekend:
Crafty hands could easily make a garden sculpture like this cyclist from Luxembourg
or any other decorative willow object:
Motive of a cosy knitted throw on a garden shed chair:
Bobbin lace samples of Sri Lanka
and how they are made by diligent hands:
Chinese silk lantern:
Fine printed fabrics of Indonesia:
Patterns from Afghanistan:
Colours of Tunisia:
Moroccan sofa with a beautiful patterned fabric in chocolate and turquoise:
Andean knits and textiles from Ecuador:
And some more pretty textile patterns with mystery origin:
Last but not least, some fashion ideas to steal from this performer's costume:
Thursday 5 April 2012
Easter eggs and chirpy chicks
My first food post: the Easter eggs have not been dyed yet, instead this year's chicks are extremely bright and colourful. And absolutely non-angry. On the contrary, they have very soft characters and big warm hearts inside.
Have a happy Easter!
Have a happy Easter!
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