Thursday 28 November 2019

When you cannot sew - you knit!

 
What do you do when its all very frustrating and you cannot sew due to the 90 degree angle to must not let your leg exceed?

Well -  as the title of this post - Knit of course.

I bought the yarn from this back in 2016. I was supposed to be writing up my PhD and I was not surprisingly in need of some kind of external stimulation. Since I had locked myself away at home to get the job done all I have for stimulation was the internet. Specifically, Ebay.



This in fact is how I started to use Ebay. Until this time I was never interested. Then in 2016 I was a very poor student. Mohair was suddenly back in fashion after 25-30 years. I have always been a fan of mohair and very obsessed by having a high % of it in the yarn I use. It was very expensive to buy new but all of a sudden all those people who had a hoard of old 1980s mohair stuck in airing cupboards and on top of wardrobes got it out and listed it on Ebay.

I bought as much of it as I could knowing this was not likely to last long and I was right in that. It ended at some point the same year. By 2017 the prices were higher and there was very little available. Sadly I only managed to buy enough for probably 6-7 jumpers but hey what a gift.

None of mine is 100% either. I could not afford it despite the prices in fact being very low at around £26 for 500g of 100% mohair. Mine range from the more-affordable-in-the-80s 45-82% mohairs. Thats what I wore then anyway, so good enough, and should last quite a few years. I paid on average about £3-10 for 500-ish gram so much much less than modern new mohair and of course I also got all those lovely 1980s colours which most companies do not currently stock. All you seem to get now is darks or boring pastels!

Mohair yarn was not in fashion in the 2000s. It was hard to find and I had to settle for a low % of mohair when I knitted a mohair jumper back in 2004. It was knitted from pretty poor quality and very expensive yarn that is now not at all fluffy, so worn out, and is only 45%. It has though lasted until now so I am thinking; whatever I knit during this period will take me up to retirement. Then I will probably not be able to knit anymore anyway due to arthritus. I should be able to crochet then tho. It seems thats how it works for most people anyway. So I need to get all this yarn made up into clothing as soon as possible.
 
The maximum quantity I managed to get in any one colour /type is 500g. I really need 750-800g for a single coloured jumper in for example cable design so thats going to mean lots of stripes or other interesting colourways but I am sure I can make this work. Thats partly why I chose to knit this design first. And of course I always loved this jumper.

I have previously made two other versions of this jumper. Once in the early 80s when I found the pattern in a magazine. The second in the late 80s when I had loved my first version so much I re-knitted it. This version is colour-wise closest to the pattern. When I put it on my other half recognised it and saw me wearing it with dyed black hair which is how I looked as a teen so yes hes definitely seen this before too even though we were not together then.

But in both previous versions I changed the sleeve tops because they are puffed - very 80s. I made them like normal sleeves but they never quite looked right. The pattern also always had sleeves that were a bit tooshort and ended above my wrist meaning Ispent my life pulling them down. Its a fault with the pattern or at least does not fit my body type so this time I took this into account. I originally wondered if it was down to substitute yarn because I always knit with that is affordable rather what the pattern sayd. I do not think it is though because twice they were too short with totally different brands so this time I added about 4cm before starting the chevron pattern on each sleeve. They are actually a bit long but I do like to wear sleeves over my hands so that will not be a problem at all.


The turquoise yarn used for this was actually quite badly faded when I opened the bag it was in. I decided not to send it back and just try knitting it up anyway. In electric lighting you can see where some of the stitches are a different colour. The fading was just the ends of the ball. Like it had bee for 30 years on top of a wardrobe. The person I bought it off may not even have known. Its knitted up Ok anyway as you can see. I will always know its imperfect but my other half who can be very ritical when it comes to knitted jumpers canot tell so I am happy with this regardless and it proves an imperfect yarn can still work well. The pink was actually new - bought at the same time as the second hand. It may still be available. Its not the lovely bright magenta or darker cyclamen you would have had in the 1980s but the closest I could find. The black I bought several odd balls from different places ( all Ebayers) each mixed with other lots of colours and combined them all. They are all the same brand but different dye lots. It does not seem to show at all.

I am very happy with my first attempt at knitting a mohair jumper after all these years.

And of rediscovering all my hoarded 1980s knitting patterns. Now I am going to follow my sewing beliefs, if that is the right terminology, but apply this to knitting.

I decided a while back now that if I am going to keep a pattern book I should make at least one item from every one own.  I have, just like my sewing pattern books, got loads of knitting pattern books though I have not bought any new ones since 1985.

Its time to justify keeping them all this time and make at least one item from each. What fun the next few weeks or months are going to be. I have rediscovered knitting.

I now also need to clear all of my stash of mohair and get it made into clothing for the winter and for the rest of my "youth" ( since they have given me back my health with a new hip I feel young again!). All my lovely stash of mohair has been taking up a entire blanket chest since 2016 and I could really do with getting that space back - even if all I do with it is to store my lovely hand knitted jumpers!

This jumper was not from a pattern book, but ripped out of a magazine, so this is my starter jumper and it does not count for this aim to justify owning pattern books.

You can see the slightly too long sleeves!

Mind you I still need to justify keeping it so long. All this paper takes up space after all.

Bracken

Sunday 24 November 2019

Things to do when you cannot sew - part 1

Well I am now unable to sew at all for the next 5-6 weeks. I also find it very difficult - when not sewing- to sit still for long.  This is a problem for quite a few reasons for example I bought this foot peel product months ago from Superdrug,
I think this was back in the spring with an idea to improve my feet for sandals. The problem is you have to sit stillfor 60-90 minutes s it just never got used because even when I watch TV I canot sit still for a whole hour. I always have to get up for something. The other half is always teling me to sit down for a bit but I just cannot, so now is a great time to actually get round to using this because being incapacitated does mean I sit down for a while. I have to get up every twenty mnutes or so even now to aid circulation but even then 20 minutes sitting is quite a while for me but itsnow or I never will get round to using this so I went ahead and put the socks on.

Being perfectly honest here you are menat to do a patch test for allergies and I skipped this. Realy not to be recommended if you are doing this. You shoudl always follow the allergy testing really.

Because I still found it difficult staying still and because I am meant to move every 20 minutes I added some big rubber bands to keep these on the feet.



A word of warning as well these things do slip when you walk so quite hazardous when recovering from an operation and finding it difficult walking but I survived. Probably though if you are having a hip replacement leave this for later in the recovery process.😉

I do not yet know if these things work but reviews  on the Superdrug website suggest they are pretty good.

Take care,
Bracken

Thursday 21 November 2019

Upcycled FLAME applique skirt


There was one of these flame skirts on Ebay last summer. I thought it was lovely. It sold for over £30 second hand. I watched it for the entire auction just to see what it went for. The skirt was made of leather, but even then its quite expensive for a second hand skirt in my opinion. Anyway I decided to have ago at upcycling some second hand pleather skirts into something similar to these.

Mine is defiitely not as shapely flame-wise as the below versions but I am happy enough for now. I may have to make a second attempts at this though because I have enough material to make a copy of the silver and gold version. You have to dare to cut your fabric more mercilessly I think than I did.


After-Party-Vintage-Real-Leather-Metallic-Gold-Silver-Flame-Mini-Skirt-M-RRP-80American Vintage Blue Flame Mini SkirtImage result for After Party Vintage Real Leather Metallic Gold Silver Flame Skirt



There is no reason not to use faux leather for this design and its much easier to sew than the real thing. Also there are plenty of very cheap ( as in 99p + postage) skirts on Ebay for this kind of project. You could have any colour combination here as well. I went with what I had available which is pretty similar to the original but this could work in any colour-way really. I may have a go at that later.




I bought 4 skirts in total and these are the colours I went for. The pleated silver skirt I started to take to bits but then came accross the metallic red skirt so in the end I went with my own version of colourway for this with black at the top, red flames and gold at bottom so not identical to any of the commercial versions. Makes it unique of course.

To get the flames right I used the templates from the skirt made for the The Vampires Wife dresses. I cut several front and back templates and then played around till I had what I thought would work as a design. Then I took the plunge and cut out my leather bits.




 As you can see I did not cut my flames quite as defined as the commercial skirts.

That is a mistake really. I need to see if I wear this and if I do then I will probably have another attempt and make the gold silver black commercial version.








The sides of the commercial skirts were from what I could discover via Pinterest etc just overlapped and finished so I did the same here.









 I re-glued the hem of the gold skirt to finish everything off.

Also the black skirt was originally pencil length and had a lining so I left that and rehemmed - you can just about see on pictures above and this skirt is also therefore lined.

When you make something like this there is no going back with leather or faux leather types of fabric once you have sewn it, cos it makes holes when you sew it so if the design gets moved it will show and look amateurish so best left alone once its done.

I added a dab of fabric glue under each flames to hold it down long enough to be able to sew it, then,  I used a walking foot to sew these and went very slowly because I had to turn at each point.

 I cocked up on part of the flames because my machine defaults to a small stitch length which over time will probably mean part of my red flames rip off but too late once sewed. I do not expect to wear this often so it may be ok for a while at least. I live in hope with this. With (p)leather you should have a long stitch length.

I very much like this. Its a great new skirt for Christmas this year and I reckon I will aim to wear it lots.

Could be a very short term useage project, but for the price of a 4 second hand skirts from Ebay it made for an enjoyable project and also I stepped out of my comfort zone by sewing leather type of materials for the first time which entailed using my long owned and never even tried walking foot.

I am a great believer that if you own something it should be used rather than just stored. Till now I have never used my walking foot. Now I can justify owning it. I have also discovered its brilliant for sewing darts on stretch fabrics but more of that in a later post.

The silver skirt with postage cost about £5 and the red skirt was £3.90, black skirt £3.30 and the gold skirt was £6.99 including postage, so overall I may have saved time and hassle if I had bid on the real thing but I do not really go in for animal products, I enjoyed myself planning and making this and also I have enough materials to make one or even 2 other skirts or accessories. I have yet to decide what to make from the rest of my second hand skirts, I certainly could not buy the fabric for less anyway. Also if you were to take longer collecting the materials and maybe stick with charity shops and just buy off Ebay to fill the final needs you cannot find on the high street this could really cost much less. I opted for a pretty expensive route via Ebay. I also shelled out far too much to get the gold skirt. I saw one go for £1.10 a week ago.

Bracken

Thursday 14 November 2019

Dotty dungarees from Mood Jamesia free pattern


I am getting better. I can now wear proper shoes - even if velcro fastened! 

My leg is no where near as swollen. No idea as yet if both legs are the same length, because of the swelling, but its looking much more like they could be. Of course my left leg is also eventually possibly going to need a hip replacement. The Xrays showed decay, but not as bad as the right. It does not hurt so could last 20+ years yet, but as they say - they come as a pair so tend to wear as a pair, the fact there is a breakdown of the joint will mean it could be shorter when I stand up. Its looking pretty close now though so I am hoping they are the same length. There is no pain though, even with the discomfort from the operation itself. I am on pain killers, but before the op I was on similar, and they did not work. My hip does feel a bit different but I suppose thats cos its a bit of metal. 

I am getting much stronger. If it was not so slippy outside where we took these photoes I could stand without crutches now. I cannot yet walk properly though but thats getting better with the physio making me much stronger by the day it seems.


So anyway enough of that, here are my dotty dungarees made from the free Mood Fabrics Jamesia pattern. I made these a while back.

I am not allowed to sew for at least 6 weeks - its killing me believe me!
If all goes to plan I can sew early December.

 Knowing this, I made these before I had the op. So to my description: the fabric is a lovely dotty and very warm proper scuba fabric. I have no idea why I ever bought this fabric and its sat waiting for inspiration for nearly a year.

Then I decided I could use the Jamesia but like my previous version of this pattern I omitted the zip and made them pull on. You can see my other Jamesia trousers here: https://brackencrafts.blogspot.com/2019/11/sequin-trimmed-flares-from-mood.html

The fabric is stretchy enough for this. Its a more 1990s feel I think. Because I am not able to pose well right now its hard to see the flares but these are definitely flared and very nice ones.

I added the bib and braces as pure inspiration. When trying them on for the first time for fitting it just seemed to work. I am very pleased I did make them into dungarees because I think they will actually be much more wearable than as trousers because the fabric is a strange choice really. Being dungarees somehow makes them more acceptable and wearable.

I used the waist facing from the Jamesia pattern and no elastic. The fabric is actually strongly elastic enough I reckon you could wear as trousers with no elastic as well but with the bib and braces I really do not need any. They are warm though, and are going to be a very good additon to this winter's wardrobe.



I never sewed proper button holes. I hate sewing buttonholes. One machine (Janome) has an automatic buttonhole maker that never quite works and my other older Brother will do decent button holes but its manual and the day I finished these I really could not be bothered, so I just sewed buttons onto the ends of the straps to fasten them. The buttons I have had for years and years and cannot remember what I took them off. I actually have three of them but only needed to use two for this. They are diamante. I have since washed these as well and the buttons are for now at least intact.

I top sitched round the waist and enclosed the straps and bib using the facing which made everything very neat. It also keep the very springy scuba facing in place inside the trousers.

The top is my self drafted punk style top worn over my first version of Madalynne's Noelle bralet that you can only just glimpse - I will tell you all about that in the next few weeks.

My only regret with these dungarees is there are no pockets. 
I really have no more scraps of this fabric so thats not going to happen. Other than that small defect I really love these.
Bracken




Thursday 7 November 2019

Sequin trimmed flares from Mood Sewciety Jamesia pattern


I had my operation at last and I am definitely getting better. I will not be allowed to sew (with sewing machine) for at least another 4 weeks, but I made these just before the op and never had time to take photos of them. I am feeling pretty good today hence can stand for long enough to get them photographed. And I can only get better..........

These are a free pattern from Mood's Sewciety patterns. This is the Jamesia pattern. I have fancied making this since it was released.
Mood Jamesia FREE pattern


Unfortunately my bad posing on crutches does not show the flared-ness of these very well at all.

 

Please just take my word for it these are flares and very good flares as well. I will get some much better photos of these as soon as I can stand and walk - and pose- properly.

I used a scuba knit and I omitted the zip and darts. My reasoning here is without these the Jamesia is a very 90s pattern for a pull on pant in a stretch knit. I still treasure a couple of pairs of flares from the mid 90s that are very similar to these though possibly they are tighter on the thighs. Its an easy adjustment to make on future pairs though to take in the thighs. I added 1 inch wide elastic round the waist. Sorry not to know the cm of the elastic but its sold as 1 inch wide even though I am based in the UK where its usually metric. I expect it equates to 2.5cm wide.

I added the sequins in my efforts to cover up the mis-matched pattern at the sides and its does a pretty good job I think. At the same time lots of RTW clothing is currently " glam- glitz sportswear" so this sort of fits with that category. When I decided to add the sequins - they are stretch sequins and the black velvet stripe is a stretch elastic ribbon which I expect is meant for bra/ bustier straps - I thought I would possibly wear these at Christmas because of the OTT glitziness. Even for me its a bit much but actually as lounge/ PJ type house pants for my recovery I think I am going to like them lots. They are brightening up my world which currently contains no sewing.😞

I did not do a very good job at pattern matching unfortunately. I was very P***ed off with this at first but I suspect its realy not very easy, even if you are good at pattern matching ( I am not!), as it goes due to the curved seams and very large print.

I have more of this scuba knit though, so I may make some leggings because its a lovely though large print and very warm fabric. If there were no side seams - as in leggings - then it would mean it would be less obvious a mis-match. You would only see it on the inside leg seams. Of course the back and front seams ( CF and CB) would need matching but I did not do too bad  a job matching them - at least the front matches anyway 😀. They are not perfect but I am not unhappy with them.

Tucking in my top also does not help the look but really I am unable to adjust once standing at the moment so this is the best I can give you. The reasoning was; you can see my waist better with tucked in top. Also the top is not the best colour to coordiate with these trousers. I am reliant on my partner for my clothing choices at the moment, since I am unable to bend over 90 degrees and cannot get into my wardrobe easily, and we do not necessarily agree colour-wise on what goes with what, but being stuck at home it does not really matter what I wear - except of course when I decide I am well enough to get some photos taken.

Never mind. If you want to read about this top which is a favourite for winter and a very easy make its here: https://brackencrafts.blogspot.com/2018/03/two-tops-and-my-latest-stash-builing.html. 


Again I need some more photos of these trousers I think, at a later date.

I suppose now I am "temporarily disabled" I should take the time to plan what to make from the numerous magazines I own. I know other people who sew have done this when they have a hip replacement. Its a good idea and will help focus the frustration I am already feeling. I am only 1/3of the way through the minimum recovery period right now as well.

My intention, once I am better, is to actually make one item from every sewing mag. This then justifies the room they take up to store and my owning them at all. I have no idea how many mags I own, but easily over 60. I have complete years for 3 years of Burda alone so 36 mags, and then all sorts of odd ones bought from Ebay going right back to the 80s. Thats more than a years worth of posts if I manage one item a week. I seriously have collected loads of Burda, Patrones, New Mode and others which I cannot remember and currently I am unable to get to.  My partner can help with that though and bring me a few at a time. I even own a couple of Turkish magazines. Hopefully I can work out how to make what is in them.

I intend to write down in a notebook exactly what I intend to make and what fabric will work with it. I also am unable to access the fabric stash right now but I pretty much know what I own so thats probably going to work most of the time. Of course, I will not be able to actually measure my fabric bits, but I should get it right most times I reckon as to what can be made from what. And, I am planning a fourth The Vampires Wife inspired dress for my Christmas party dress. More on that later. Anyway back to these trousers...............


 


I seem to have lost a bit of weight since I made these - hospital food? but I do not think that matters. Being a bit loose is better right now because I have yet to have my stitches out. I expect I will put the weight back on anyway.

These are certainly not my best modelling attempts. Its hard on crutches to actually pose and I do not think these photos show my lovely trousers very well, but at least it keeps my in touch with you, my readers, and with my sewing. The slippers are stopping you seeing the flares. The trousers are accurately shaped just like the Jamesia pattern on Mood's website. Its my modelling not showing it well.

Mood have several versions or Reduxes of these trousers in loads of sizes so well worth a look at their patterns - all of which are free and so far everything I have made works and fits with zero adjustment. I actually feel as confident of Mood at the moment as I do of making Burda so thats saying quite a lot about these patterns.

And I have to be honest it has really cheered me up to be able to blog again even if I cannot sew. I usually make far more than I actually post about, so maybe its time to try and catch up and show you other items I have made. There's probably quite a lot I can wear even though on crutches because generally I prefer comfortable, sport type of clothing to fitted clothing anyway. It works better in my life so should work OK for my convalescence as well.

These trousers have a quite definite flare - very fashionable in fact though not yet many seen on UK streets. At least in the Midlands. There is the odd person seen in flares but people do not like to be trend setters though do they?

Hence there are not many flares as yet.

There will be. I can seriously recommend this pattern if you wanted to make some flares for the coming seasons. And you cannot fault a free pattern though in all honesty I would happily pay for the Jamesia. And I do not say that very often!

Wishing you well and see you next week
Bracken