#stitch witchery

[sinni-ok-sessi]

It is done! it's a bit more close-fitting around the wrists than I'd like, but I think that'll stretch out with blocking and also with wear

As ever, I am in love with the colour (Drops Nepal 'Deep Ocean', which I've used for so many things now; as you can tell from the wall behind me, I like one (1) colour), and it feels incredibly cosy. Maybe it'll even finish drying in time to wear in this cold snap, you never know

pattern is Gayle Bunn's Honeycomb Aran

[arukou-arukou]

The single greatest thing about being a craft person is having other (presumably craft) people acknowledge my crafts in real life. In the checkout line over the last several days when I’ve been wearing my sweater around, several people have asked “Did you make that? It’s beautiful.” Yes. Yes I did. Allow me to preen like a bird in front of you and explain to you where you too can find the pattern and make your own. Would you like to talk about different needle brands next? Or how about how you too have had secret dreams of running away to run a goat farm with your queer platonic life partner? 

[discountalien-pancake]

Nicole Rudolph made a buttonhole tutorial so go forth and learn how to sew buttonholes by hand from someone who is much better at them than I am.

[stitchwitchsapprentice]

"From Scratch" Quilting

Wanted any easy place to return to where I could showcase my quilting process, especially since I haven't made it to any quilt shows since COVID. So here it is!

For my "Mad Hatter Tea" quilt, I worked with my comisionee to design a pattern that really fit the theme.

Then I went through fabric swatches, and added color. Obviously, we wanted this one to be very bright and colorful.

And here's the final result.

Other Quilts

These are some other quilts I've made in the past, though they use fewer techniques.

Simple Quilts

And these are some much simpler designs. This is the type of thing we usually include in our "sacred reading kit" giveaway on Reading Circle Temple.

The so called "Crazy Quilt." No pattern at all, but a good way to use fabric scraps. (This is actually the first quilt I made!)

The "jelly roll quilt" (named after the rolls of strips you can buy in the store). Most quilters will be familiar with this very simple pattern.

And I had to show my friend my modeling the one I made for my husband.

And the hankie-butterfly quilt. This one is a common pattern too, with variation. You'll recognize I used this technique in the Mad Hatter Tea Party quilt as well.

Current Projects

I'm currently in the process of finishing up a quilt-as-you-go that I'm titling "Red, White, and Moo." (I guess I should set a July 4 goal!)

Quiltography

I've also developed a hobby of quilting maps, which I will likely make into a larger quilt, once I have made enough.

This is a top-down view of a theater stage. The black lines toward the bottom are the black curtains, and if you look closely, you can see lights embroidered at the top.

This is the tram system in one of my countries, which is a very mountainous area. Hopefully the cameo from my cat makes up for it being messy and upside down!

[thepomegranatewitch]

fun facts with Sahar, because no-one told me!

I line dry my family’s clothes as much as possible to save money (less electricity and less wear on the clothes), to sunbleach stains (two toddlers), and for the environment (less manufactured energy more wind and solar passive energy). In summer it also helps cool my home like a swamp cooler.

I installed a new laundry line with a fancy pulley system so I can hang while standing in one spot. The usual cotton rope I buy wasn’t available at the store, so I bought sisal rope - apparently more sun resistant, and it’s not plastic. I hung it on an overcast day. A week later, I had to tie a slip knot in it and pin it because it was too slack.

The next day, it rained.

Sisal swells in moisture.

The hook I used to hang my pulley was unhooked by the sheer tension and the whole thing collapsed in freshly forked dirt. Even untying the slip knot was not enough to rehook it. I installed a new hook and used some chained up carabiners to rectify.

So here is the proper way to install a laundry line, particularly for sisal:

Ensure the drill is drilling in (not out), and using a ladder or otherwise boosted drill a pilot hole with a screw shorter than your hook into a solid support. I used a fence post and a shed roof on a post.

Screw a heavy duty hook in to the support. Repeat between 20 and 100ft away with another pilot hole and hook.

Hook the pulley assembly onto the hook, then run the rope around it. Gently pull it to the other hook and repeat with a second pulley. Tie into a big loop using a square knot, so the tension on the knot pulls it tighter instead of loosening once you have weight on it.

Using split rings made into a chain, or a length of chain that can fit over the hook, attach a chain to the hole in the pulley assembly with a carabiner. I recommend about 18 inches of chain. This should be at the spot you intend to stand while hanging laundry. ALWAYS STORE ON THE LOOSEST CHAIN LINK.

On a particularly dry day, go out and loop the carabiner to the hook. Retie your laundry line to its tightest. Rehook at end of chain so there is lots of slack in case of high humidity.

When hanging laundry, unhook chain and rehook at appropriate chain link or carabiner for the day’s humidity to be taut but not overtight. Every item or three you hang on the line, attach a carabiner to the lines. This helps keep the two lines of the loop together instead of tightening the empty top and slackening the loaded bottom.

Empty line, ready to hang laundry.

Image description: a closeup of a plastic laundry pulley on a sunny day, parallel to a fence with scraggly bushes. Another house and blue sky is visible in the background. The pulley is looped with sisal rope tied in three square knots with a curled 8 inch tail. Close to the pulley are black, brown then red to purple carabiners in rainbow order. The pulley is attached to a silver carabiner, which is in turn looped onto a white plastic covered hook screwed in to a 4x4 wooden post. A chain of 18 metal split rings dangles from the carabiner. The line has a slight parabola but is clearly taut.

Empty laundry line, ready to hang.

Image description. The same laundry line, taught with a slight parabola, at a different angle. The viewer is looking at a simple square blue grey shed that has the other end of the laundry line hooked to the far left roof corner. From right to left in background are visible a bush blooming with dark purple flowers, five tall skinny cypress trees, the shed, a mass of overgrown wild radish and a yellow blooming succulent, oak trees in full dark foliage, and some empty garden beds. The sky is bright blue and cloudless.

The line at rest, ready for storage.

Image description. The same laundry line at the same angle looking at the shed. The chain is visibly hooked at the furthest end from the pulley so the line has a deep slack in it.

[goingsparebutwithprecision]

@jonaldronaldrolkientolkien

The Fish Jacket in all its glory!

I don't know what to say.. I started the jacket 10 months ago. What a journey! I'm so proud and happy!

Thanks for your lovely and kind words and the overwhelming interest! Happy stitching everyone.

[sinni-ok-sessi]

the little voice that told me, oh, it'll be so much cosier to sew up this jumper in bed fucking lied

the lighting in my room isn't really good enough for knitting, let alone when you drop an edge stitch and spend twenty minutes trying to find the damn thing again 😭

[arukou-arukou]

On Ravelry, I usually tag things by yarn weight and project type. Unfortunately, this means I have a vast number of favorited projects that are tagged “fingering socks,” “fingering shawl,” “fingering hat,” and last, but not least, “fingering gloves.” It sounds like I’m putting together a uniform for giving or receiving a little something something.

[discountalien-pancake]

How to sew “French” seams (in french they’re known as English seams, so…) by hand!

It’s actually really straightforward, at least to me. You sew each seam twice, which is extremely annoying, but other than that it’s not actually difficult.

Some basic guidelines you’ll want to keep in mind:

french seams are best for light-medium weight fabrics. With heavy fabrics you’re better off binding the seam allowances with thin ribbon.

not great for dramatic curves but soft curves can be managed with a narrow allowance.

you will be doing a lot of running stitches. Having a beading needle can be helpful for this because you’ll be able to take more stitches in one pass.

narrower final seams look prettier but are more fragile. fabrics prone to fraying (dupioni, charmeuse, linen, loose wovens, etc) need a wider seam allowance than fabrics that resist fraying (crepe de chine, cotton voile, knits). I recommend 10mm seam allowance for fabrics that don’t fray too much, and 12mm for ones that fray more (trust me, the 2mm makes a difference).

you can french seam knits! By hand! Keep in mind that you will want to use a blunt needle, like a small size tapestry needle, and you must use a backstitch for any seams that need to stretch parallel to the seam.

If you are seaming something that needs to be hemmed, i recommend doing the hemming first, before sewing panels together. If facing or binding the hem, you can do that before or after.

Start by laying your pieces right sides out, wrong sides together. Pin (or baste) along the seam line. For french seams, it does really help to cut pieces out with exact seam allowance so that you can simply align the cut edges.

Stitch parallel to the edge and seam line, a couple millimeters shy of dead center, closer to the edge than the final seam line. It may help to trace the secondary sewing line onto the fabric. Use a running stitch for this unless seaming knits or other stretch fabrics along a seam that needs to stretch in the direction of the seam. If the direction of stretch is primarily perpendicular to the seam, go ahead and use a running stitch. This line of stitching will almost never be subjected to strain, so a finely spaced running stitch is all you need. You can also use lower quality thread for this if you don’t have a lot of the nice stuff.

Press the seam allowance to one side, then the other. Really pull the layers away from each other to get the crease as close to the stitching as possible. Hold the two panels wrong sides out, right sides together, with the raw edges trapped between.

Starting from the hemmed edge, if there is one, anchor your thread in the seam allowance and whipstitch the hemmed edges together at the seam line.

Stitch along the marked seam line, which should fall outside of the raw edge. If you didn’t offset the first line of stitching enough, you may find this difficult and end up having raw edges poking through. You can use a fine running stitch for seams that won’t take strain, and a backstitch for seams that need more strength. You should use stronger, nicer thread for this as well. I like running stitch for this especially because that means i can use one length of thread for the entire length of the seam. Backstitch uses approximately triple the length of the seam + a tail, which becomes extremely unwieldy with long skirt seams, for example.

I end the line of seam stitching with a few backstitches.

Press the seam allowance to one side and marvel at how tidy they look. If the garment is mirrored, make sure the seam on the other side is ironed the other way.

Pictures below bc tumblr isn’t letting me rearrange them on mobile for some reason:

Last pic is showing a backstitched final seam. I only did that for the two side seams on the bodice because those are most likely to experience strain. All the skirt seams (6!!!) were running stitched.

In my experience, a french seam is one of the most comfortable seams to have against the skin. Ideal for shirts, fancy chemises, lingerie, etc.

I hope this explanation helped a bit! Truly the only thing you need to pay attention to is starting right sides out.

Go forth, make pretty slips and chemises!

[veteratorianvillainy]

Since it doesn't look like anyone else has added it, I want to say that he does also knit and the sweater he completed during the Olympics is... impressive

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10 pounds says terfs start arguing men have an unfair advantage in knitting next

[off-brand-adorabbit]

I think I’ve spent six hours hunched over this today and my back is killing me. It’s time to stop for the night, and Rock agrees. This should be easy to finish before may.

[vashti-lives]

The absolute vindication wanting a random sewing notion and not wanting to go to Joann’s and then finding in your stash an unopened vintage package of it, that you only bought because it was at a garage sale in a zip lock baggie with a bunch of other vintage bias tape and hem you bought, also for no real reason.

AND THEN you decide to also use the vintage bias tape!

10/10 crafting moment.

[thealchemickalwitch]

What if - instead of a poppet representing a person - you put two cross-stitches together as a scenario or future and then stuff it with according ingredients?

Has anyone tried this?! Someone let me know??

[comfortabletextiles]

After I had this post on my dash, I kind of got obsessed with this.. (and screamed at @cephalopodvictorious about it)

But getting into this without some practice would be turning leather into trash, and that would make me sad.

So I went on the artists website and bought a very small pattern!

And today I went to the local leather shop and bought a bunch of stuff

The tan one is und dyed cow hide and the grey is dyed lamb.

The cow is now dyed Petrol and I wait for it to dry 👀

[sinni-ok-sessi]

Another one to chalk up to the crafter's adage of 'we do this not because it is easy but because we thought it would be easy when we started', but at least it came out well. A gift for a friend's birthday, much overdue 😅

[arukou-arukou]

344 st provisional cast on finally defeated. Only took me five times, including that one where I frogged a whole inch of work because I couldn’t take how poorly it looked where I had clearly dropped or twisted a stitch at the beginning.