Archive for the 'dyed naturally' Category

Fall knitting starts here

2 weeks ago it started to feel severely fall’ish. And I started itching for some knitting projects. But before the new yarn arrives, I demanded from myself to finish some projects that I had on the needles, and definitely use up some yarn that I had purchased previously but hadn’t knitted with. All in all, I didn’t do a lot of sewing but got some good chunks of knitting in. I am actually looking forward to fall!

This is what I got done so far:

Lana Fingerless Glove, a free pattern by Nancy Ricci from GettingPurlyWithit. Pattern available here.

Super fast project that uses less then 1 skein.

Out of the same yarn I also made another WholeSome Slouch which is an adaption of a very chunky hat but knitted in a DK yarn. I plan on writing it up in a snazzy .pdf pattern but haven’t gotten to it yet.

A Cowl Neck that I called the Definity Cowl. Super easy to knit, uses 3 skeins of Super Bulky Rowan Big Wool (I had 2 skeins in my stash and had to purchase a 3rd to make the cowl wide enough). Love this and know it’ll be a great companion in winter as it can be worn in so many ways. Again, a little instructional .pdf is soon to follow.

Aaand last but not least a little sweater for L. I dyed the wool last year in the natural dying class and when I saw this design, I knew it was the perfect style for a little girl’s sweater. Lots of new techniques for me like Kitchener Stitch, Provisional Cast on with crochet needle. I customized a bit because I ran out of yarn and had to finish the hood and front. So used a concoction of coordinating colors to finish. And if you look closely, you’ll notice some color variation in the main body. This was due to me not taking out the hanks simultanuously from the modifying bath (Washing Soda) but one after the other. I book it as another lesson learned.

Purple linen jacket

Happy Homemade vol.1
ISBN978-4-579-11242-5
Style J

I used some fabric from the natural dye class that I took end of last year. And even though the jacket doesn’t look too bad on the photos – nicely styled with the sassy hat – but in reality it looks more like a scrub then a proper jacket. Part of it is surely the color. The dye I used is a Logwood exhaust of a prior dye batch with which I made this dress. I think I’ll try to do some tie dying to ‘save’ the jacket. I am very inspired by Karen’s post here but will need to think a bit more on how and with what I should actually overdye. Maybe tie it and overdye in a stronger Logwood dyebath and modify with Iron afterwards? Or simply use some synthetic black dye? We’ll see what happens – I guess the whole natural dye cycle just started.

All in all though, if I had chosen a better, more interesting fabric, the jacket wouldn’t be bad at all! I have pretty broad shoulders, which is also why it doesn’t quite hang relaxed enough on me. The other thing that bugs me in hindsight: I didn’t have enough fabric to make my own bias tape. So I ran and got some pre-made stuff. Obviously, it was impossible to find the right shade so I ended up with some light grey tape. The tape goes all the way around inside the front lapels and the neck. And is visible when the jacket is worn open and even tied with the belt. I should have used a contrasting or accent fabric to play it up as a design feature rather then an afterthought. The tape is probably synthetic, the body fabric a cellulose fabric, and the thread is poly. So overdying will most certainly bring a complete mishmash out of the style. The sewing is nearly perfect – that’s why I am just hesitating to open it back up again for the fear of butchering.

Oh hey, it’ll just be filed under another lesson learned.

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