Algebra and the knitting headache!

Well, I truly gave myself brain ache this evening! 8 years on from GCSE maths and I had to do a bit of algebra....all to enable me to start on the knitted shrug to go with my polka dot dress.

There is probably a really easy method of doing what I did but I really couldn't think of a more logical method - it's late ok!
Basically the wool recommended 6mm needles and said that it would make up a 10cm x 10cm square by using 14 stitches and 20 rows. I want a chunkier knit than that so I'm using 10mm needles. Since I am making up a pattern in my head ( I can't follow normal patterns so I look at something I want to knit and just break it down and work it out like that! I'll get the hang of patterns eventually.) I needed to know roughly how many stitches to cast on. Cue brain ache! I had to work out how many of the stitches from a 10mm needle would make 10cm in length.
So i started off with - 100 stitches 6mm = 60 stitches 10mm.
So far so good...
140st x 6mm = 100cm.
Which is 1.4 st/cm.
We'll call 6mm st A and 10mm st B.
So (100 A) = (60 B) and (140 A) = ???
I got there with it though and concluded that (140 A) = (84 B)
WOOHOO!!
Easy from there as 84 B = 100cm, 8.4 st = 10cm and I wanted to have roughly 46 cm so that was 39 st, plus a little extra for a sort of seam allowance.
Hallelujah! I cast on 45 stitches, did a few rows, measured 10cm and it was pretty much halfway between stitches 8 and 9!
So after all that effort I hope it turns out ok! Will post up when it's done :)

Almost done!

Well in record timing I have actually managed to sew all corresponding pieces of the dress together, trim all seams, hem up the bottom, iron it, sew buttons and button holes, create a custom bust piece and add a tie to the back to deal with the slight bagginess!

It was the first time I have ever made button holes with a sewing machine, thankfully I practised on a scrap first rather than diving headfirst into it! The instructions that came with my lovely Janome were really well explained and the diagrams were clear too. Bit nervous about using the seam ripper to open them up in case I cut the stitching by accident but it was fine, I managed to keep inside the gap. I also have a crafty tip for everyone that came around whilst making this dress......
**If you use the insides of cushions for stuffing things you make then keep hold of the outside part, it will save you money on buying interfacing stuff and result in one less thing thrown in the bin!**

I love a little way to use up unexpected items and save a few pennies on materials too :)

Well anyway, back to the dress, all that is left is to sew on a popper to stop a little boob flashing and a few stitches to bring the bust part in a little tighter then I'm done!
It looks really cool, kind of a rockabilly/pin up look meets pirate wench.... which equals cool to me, sod what anybody else thinks!
I'll go into more detail about adjustments/ problems etc when I post a picture up of the finished product.

New Project!

Two nights ago I started on this pattern, a 1994 McCalls picked up from a charity shop. I'm making dress C but without the capped sleeves, just sleeveless like the blue version. I've used a white with black polka dot polycotton, very light-weight for all the sun I hope we get this year! By the time summer comes around I'd like to have a decent selection of pretty dresses that I've made myself.....if I manage to do a good enough job!
I'm still learning so I will stick to the cheaper fabrics until I'm confident I won't do too much of a bad job! When I've mastered the arts of dressmaking I'll invest in some lovely fabrics and maybe even splurge on some vintage ones.

Anyway, the pattern is all cut out with no help from the cat (who did her best to ruin the pattern pieces whilst I was cutting them out, thankfully she didn't destroy any of them, just a few holes in the middle of the tissue paper!), I bought the buttons for the front today - 6 gorgeous twinkly black ones - and will start assembling the pieces tomorrow. I'm nervous and excited!
I also thought about it practically, I.E. what am I going to wear with it to cover up my wobbly arms? Answer....with a red knitted shrug! Which I bought the wool for today aswell as I was in town. Fingers crossed it goes ok!

The actual craft fayre!

This is how our stall looked, the top photo is Beth's half, the middle and bottom photo are my display. Tablecloth is Beth's also, bit too bright and cheerful for me! Upon reflection I feel that the animal print card used to display the earrings would have been better inside out - i.e. plain white. I think the busy prints were not the best thing to show the true colours and detail of the earrings. Sadly I didn't sell anything, but that's how the cookie crumbles right?! At least next month's fayre can't go any worse can it!

Things crafted for the craft fayre...part 2....

More crafty goodness!
The silhouette/cameo style pincushion was a last minute idea, thankfully quick to make once the delicate head outline had been drawn onto the fabric (I made a template to aid future production) and carefully cut out. I ended up making two like the one in the photograph and one pink one aswell. The pink one didn't look as good due to using too wide lace trim but hey, you live and learn! I have a lot of ideas to further on from this, when they have been transferred from my imagination to the fabric I will let you in on it!
I made 6 tote bags to sell also, three in the above patterned fabric and another three in a dark blue floral design. All 6 were of different styles and decorations, just me trying out ideas and seeing what worked and what didn't work so well. Th one in the photo is my personal favourite, the dark floral version with a white trim instead of bows is my second favourite. I really like the shape, the curved bottom just makes it prettier in my opinion.

I also made some jewellery - earrings and bracelets - to sell as well as it was quick to produce inbetween my long crappy working hours.

Things crafted for the craft fayre...part 1....

Well I had made several things for the craft fayre but first things to mention are these three things! I decided to do lots of random things because I don't like to confine myself to one area when I enjoy making many different things. I had a go at making pasties (for those not in the know they are nipple tassels without the tassels) which were fairly simple to make, basically they consisted of cardboard circles shaped into a slight cone to accomodate nipples, then whatever decoration you see fit! I also tried some shaped ones, hearts are pretty simple, just a few snips here and there, I would like to try to make some more unusual and ambitious ones now I've got the hang of it.

I also ressurected the faux applique pin-up girl technique (faux applique because I happen to glue them together with fabric glue rather than stitch them - too fiddly and time consuming for me!) using a template created from a picture I drew 5 years ago. The figure translated well and due to time constraints I only managed to make two - a dancing girl on the red cushion and 'miss mermaid' on the blue cushion. Although glueing the figures saves time they still take a while to make so for the next craft fayre I'll have a few different ones that I came up with at the last minute. I much prefer the designs on cushions as opposed to my previous tote bag, the pin-ups are just a little too delicate for the practicality of a bag and well suited to more decorative items.

Been a looooong time since I started this, but finally gave myself a kick up the arse to keep on top of things! Will be posting again and hopefully have lots of new and exciting things to add. Been making a lot of things for an upcoming vintage/craft fair being held locally so will post up pictures of the things I have made for this and some unrelated personal projects too.

Watch this space!