Mending with…stickers?
Let's mend my jacket! I have had this down jacket since 2017. It's bright pink…I'm a fat person… Do you know how unusual it is to find winter stuff in cool colors as a fat person? I intend to keep this jacket in rotation as long as I possibly can. But it has a hole. So I'm going to fix it! Now normally I would fix a hole with needle and thread. But the kind of fabric used for jackets like this can be tricky to sew. But they make these cool little patch kits which are basically fancy stickers. [...]
Middle aged
I have reached the stage of middle age where I will absolutely, without even a hint of shame, pull over to the side of the road to look at someone else's trash furniture. And I mean really...can you blame me? Because sometimes you find this! Which, admittedly, this is the 'after an hour with a magic eraser and a whole lot of wood oil' picture, but still, is that not radiant? I think it's gotta be about 150 years old, and it's shockingly sturdy and surprisingly comfortable, even for my rather ample fundament. Did I fill in the missing bronze [...]
The plan
Ok we're fixing the hat. Or at least we're trying! But before we do, let's gather some information. The hat that doesn't fit measures just a hair under 25 inches (measuring on the outside of the hat, right where the brim turns up to make the top part of the hat). The hat that does fit measures just a hair under 26 inches at the same spot. So that means I only really need about an extra three quarters of an inch. The head form measures a hair under 27 inches at the widest bit, which is a bit wider [...]
Another sweater update
The last one we talked about isn't the only sweater I cut up at the beginning of the season. I actually did three. And, just as with the last one, this one held up to an entire winter of heavy wear and frequent washing (in the machine, on gentle, with cold water, hang to dry) absolutely beautifully. No fraying, no unraveling, no runs, no problems at all. Quite a few purple hair dye splotches, but that's a different issue. And, spoiler warning I suppose for anyone following along on the sweater saga, the third one also held up beautifully. I [...]
Sweater update
Were you sitting up nights wondering about the sweater I cut up back in October? I mean I'm going to assume the answer is an absolutely resounding nope! But I'm still going to show you how it held up. So, back in October I dug an old (circa 2015) cashmere sweater I never wore out of the back of my closet. I never wore it because I hated the length. So I said fuck it and took scissors to it. And then I proceeded to wear it and wear it and wear it all winter long. No really, it's been [...]
Pocket full of Posies, Part 5
So there's no rule saying you have to do more than one flower. But I think they look best in groups. And I suspect you may well want to do more than one. Because they're really they're fun to make and you're not going to want to stop after just one. So we're talking about how to end one and start the next right over here. Just in case that's the sort of thing you're into. Wondering what's going on? I've taken a bunch of photos and made a bunch of videos while I worked on mending this sweater. I'm [...]
Pocket full of Posies, Part 4
Now that you're weaving away, you can totally change colors. I mean you don't have to...no one will make you. But you can. Which I suspect means many of you will. So let's talk about how! Because really, if you do it right, it comes out pretty cool! If you want to see how, I'm explaining it all in alarming detail over here. Just in case that's the sort of thing you're into. Wondering what's going on? I've taken a bunch of photos and made a bunch of videos while I worked on mending this sweater. I'm putting the videos [...]
Pocket full of Posies, Part 3
Once your spokes are in place, you can finally start weaving! This is the fun bit. It's shockingly easy and startlingly quick. No really, I have a hard time stopping once I get going. It looks a little something like this once you get started. If you could use something easy and quick to distract yourself from the ongoing horrors, all the instructions live right over here. Come play along! Wondering what's going on? I've taken a bunch of photos and made a bunch of videos while I worked on mending this sweater. I'm putting the videos up in a [...]
Pocket full of Posies, Part 2
Next up, we're making spokes! For you see, these glorious, cheerful little flowers are all built on a set of spokes. This is part of what makes them so suitable for use on knits. Because instead of going through your fabric over and over and over again (which has a tendency to constrain the fabric and make it less stretchy), you just build a framework of spokes and then weave the fancy bits on top of those (rather than stitching them directly into your fabric). It looks a little something like this. If you want to watch me do it [...]
Mailing List
Want to hear when a new pattern comes out or something fun is going on? Sign up below!
Patreon
Want to support the content I create, get nifty bonus material for some of my favorite patterns, or get every new release delivered right to your inbox? Head over to patreon and sign up!
