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I actually made this a while ago to wear for Steampunk World’s Fair, which was May 17-19th. I didn’t get any pictures of my costumes, but they weren’t very good anyway. I mostly just wore clothes. It was fun though.
Pattern: Handsfree Handbag/Look, No Hands from The Knitter’s Bible: Knitted Bags
Yarn: Schachenmayr nomotta (Regia) Extra, a DK superwash wool
Needles: US 3
Full disclosure: I got this book out from the library and liked this pattern (and several others) so much that I immediately bought the book off of Amazon. Including shipping, it was only about six bucks, but still. Then I waited for the book to arrive before I could start the project even though I had the yarn all picked out and everything.
I’m kind of in love with this bag. The zipper is a little sticky because my hand sewing is only so-so (sew-sew? Ha, I’m hilarious), but I like it. I even put in a lining:
I ended up carrying it around all weekend. It was the perfect size for my phone, money, gum, chapsticks, and little purchases along the way. Including some buttons with sheep on them.
Anyway, I just slung the bag on a belt, which I wore around my waist. Perfect. It definitely fit in with my outfits and general steaminess.
Oh, and I did take one (terrible photo) while I was there. Not of me, but of someone’s amazing cosplay/costume:
Steampunk Tigger. Because why not.
So here is my most accomplished weaving/sewing project so far (completed several days ago and not blogged yet because of no good reason).
Aww yeah. Brown yarn is recycled wool from the largest sweater ever and the blue is Columbia Minerva purchased at an estate sale. I used my Easy Weaver, meaning a six dent heddle. I’m not sure if you can buy other heddles for that loom. Though since it doesn’t have side rails, I guess I could use any short heddle.
The gusset/strap is my first attempt at log cabin, and it came out pretty well if I do say so myself. Another color technique in weaving that’s just as easy as people say. I haven’t yet done more log cabin, but I definitely intend to.
The bag isn’t lined (only because I don’t have any fabric that matches. I sense a large Connecting Threads order happening soon) but it does have a closure and one I’m pretty chuffed about. Simple twisted cord, which I twisted by hand, and a big button.
I have several more weaving FOs coming up soon. I am also knitting, but that’s rather slow-going unfortunately. In fannish news, Joe and I are reading the Jedi Academy trilogy and are almost done wIth the first one. I’m watching STTNG and I’ve just started season six. Also, I’m going to Florida for two weeks with my folks at the end of the month, so that’s happening.
The weaving obsession continues. And continues.
Yarn: recycled and handdyed yarns. Warp: Sugical Waste Weft: Raspberry Stains
Loom: Easy Weaver
Reed: 8 dent
This prettiness started as a long strip of fabric. I sewed it together following this tutorial. There was a bit of swearing, especially when it turned out that despite my careful measuring, the lining was a bit smaller than the bag itself.
I think it came out well though. The lining is a bit of a cotton sheet (the same one I used to back my UMW quilt It’ll go in my bag of bags because lord knows I have a ton of them. Currently, I’ve got woven yardage waiting for a project stored in it.
So I win at thrift store. I just do. Let me tell you why. The other day, after reading a bunch of posts in the unravelers Ravelry group, I decided to go to Unique to look at the sweaters. I found a bunch and then, thinking of my budget, thought I should leave maybe. But I thought I’d buzz through the crafts section, and there on the bottom shelf was this beauty:
That is a Harrisville Easy Weaver, which the Woolery sells for $90. That is the original warp that comes with the loom, meaning it was never used (or, barely; there was about an inch of weaving I cut out and replaced to even out the warp). I PAID FIVE DOLLARS.
I KNOW. Incredible. So you know I wove that right up. Found some recycled wool/nylon fingering and got to work. Couple days later, I had about ten feet of rainbow scarf. Cause there’s enough warp for two child-sized scarves, which explains why it felt like it was taking forever. I ran it through the sewing machine and got this:
Aww yeah. Simple weave, sewed two lengths side by side with a zig zag stitch. It’s lined with the same pink fabric I used to line the other two bags.
The string is from a sweater I got on that same shopping trip. It’s silk cashmere. So there’s no way this bag is leaving my hands. Plus the sewing is a little shoddy so there’s that.
Pretty rainbow.
I’m currently experimenting with houndstooth on this loom. It really is as easy as people say: two warp threads of each color and two picks of each color. I have a scarf warped up currently. On Vergere (yes, named for the Star Wars character cause that’s how I roll), I’ve been weaving just fabric and figuring out what to do with it later. Probably mostly project bags cause they’re fast and easy. And maybe I can put some in the shop. Whoo, weaving!
I’ve been on a weaving kick lately, which is unsurprising since it’s still fairly new to me. I’ve got plenty of scarves already and I really don’t need any more so I’ve just been weaving up fabric. And with it, I made a couple of bags.
The fabric was made with a ten dent heddle. The warp is Brown Sheep from a gigantic cone and the warp is a grey wool/nylon blend recycled from a thrift store sweater.
The lining is some mystery fiber fabric I bought at the thrift store a while ago. This is currently housing some shark mittens because they seriously never end.
This one was woven on a six dent heddle. Warp is some recycled cotton/linen blend and the weft is a skein of Wool-Ease I got at a thrift. Much thicker fabric, but.excellent way to use up Wool-Ease. I will definitely be doing it again.
The lining is the same as the first one.
The weaving on the second bag I made just a little too long for a good draw string bag, so I cut off the excess and made this little pouch:
No closures or anything. And the lining fabric is the same.
Not sure what I’ll use it for. Maybe I’ll sew a loop to the back and use it as a belt bag.
I’m thinking of getting into the knitting bag trade through my etsy shop with these woven numbers. What do you guys think? Would people be interested? I’d have to make a bunch more before I could update the shop anyway.
As for knitting: I’ve been doing it. I’ve finished or almost finished a couple of things, but they’re costume parts for Katsucon and I want until they’re finished and I have pictures of the costumes before I show them off. And there’s mittens, always.
Soo hi there! Sorry for the radio silence. Anyway, I can finally show off one of the super secret projects I’ve been working on. This past weekend the boy and I traveled up to Pittburgh for our friend’s wedding. And I, being the crafty sort, made her gift. It is totally geeky, like the newly weds. So yeah.
Pattern: EXTERMIKNIT
Yarn: 50/50 wool/acrylic blends recycled from sweaters in pink and black. Also some scraps of grey and a tiiiiny bit of blue.
Needles: US 8/5mm
Modifications: I started with the base then switched to pink to work from the bottom up. I also knit icord for the plunger and gun arms. My bobbles are also a bit smaller than written. There is floral gauge wire in the appendages. Oh, and I used slip stitches in the neck stripes bit to make it look more like a classic Dalek.
I’m kind of inordinately pleased with the eyestalk and the little blue bit. Yay.
If I were more clever, I would have included on the care tag (which I made later and did not photograph) some sort of “Exterminate” or Dalek pun buuuuut I’m not so I didn’t.
I also sewed up a drawstring bag to package everything in. Because wrapping paper is for people who don’t sew apparently. IDEK. Anyway.
So yeah. Wedding present times. Whoo! More knitting/crafting FOs soon, I promise.
SO WHO SAW THE DOCTOR WHO PREMIERE? ALL THE THOUGHTS. So brain is basically DOCTOR WHO OMG and also ROGUE SQUADRON OMG because the boyfriend is reading them to me and ALL MY FEELINGS. Anyway, I’ve been knitting on some super secret stuff so I can’t show that just yet. I can, however, show you some sewing I did yesterday.\
First I made this zipper pouch to replace my old Halloween-themed knitting notions bag:
Pretty simple and I managed not to fuck it up too badly which is great cause me + sewing usually = mistakes.
The next thing is a project bag that is AMAZING AND FANNISH:
AHH TARDIS FABRIC. Spoonflower had a deal recently for a free fat quarter with $1 shipping. So you know I was all over that. I also made an *ahem* super secret project and I had about a five inch square left over. So it became this:
TARDIS hoop! For the hoop wall/door, obviously. : )
So I finished a thing for OWS. I actually finished several things but like a dummy forgot to take pictures and this one I haven’t sent off yet (so if you’re Quaggy on Craftster, you should probably not look).
Anyway, I made a totebag, based off of this one on her wists. I tried to copy it at least in spirit, though I’m pretty pleased with what I came up with:
Pattern: I made it up as I went. Might put together a pattern. Might not. It’s pretty simple. Make hexagons. Sew them together. Make handle.
Yarn: Acrylic from an estate sale (which I suspect to be Red Heart Super Saver). The purple multi is Jo Ann Sensations Rainbow Boucle, which I actually bought at Jo Ann’s a few years ago. Cause I’m classy.
Hook: (yep, this is crochet! Gasp!) I/9 5.5 mm. I crochet kind of loosely though.
So I’m pretty pleased with what I’ve got going on here. It was pretty quick to make (I made up a couple of hexagons per day in between other things and crocheted them together as I went). I haven’t made any large-scale crochet projects in a while (and I don’t usually, as I prefer knitting). It was nice to use different hand muscles, though I must admit I overdid it on a couple of days and make my hand sore. : /
I lightly steamed the body of the bag to make it less stiff, but the gauge is tight enough that I don’t think it needs a lining. I didn’t steam the handle because I wanted it to be stiffer/more sturdy, and I think I accomplished that.
I also finished another thing, knitted this time. I made a shorter version of my Leah vest to work out the shaping (and also cause I wanted it). I still have to take proper pictures of it, so I’ll leave that for another post. In the mean time, I’ve cast on for a hat with a nice big brim for shading my face from the sun.
Also, there’s that graduation thing happening on Saturday. You know, no big. : )
So if you read the post about the last purse I sewed, you’ll know I have A Thing for leather messenger bags. Which is to say I love them and my idea leather messenger bag is the unicorn of purses and does not actual exist in the world (much less for a price I’d be willing to pay).
Being the crafty sort, this of course means I have to make it myself. While my ideal purse is soft, supple red leather lined with a funky cotton print and an adjustable strap, the one I finished making yesterday is closer than I’ve gotten yet:
I’m pretty pleased with this one. It’s very sturdy and sits up on its down (as opposed to the last one which just sort of… squished). The pink leather is from a swap claim and I got it with a bunch of other fabric samples. The lining is blue canvas, which I got at a thrift store. Which means the total cost for this purse was like… a dollar. Actually, it’s a little more because I broke like, three sewing machine needles in the process (at a couple of points, I had to sew over three or four layers of thick leather and Leah, my sewing machine (pronounced LEE-uh, like the girl’s name) was Not Having Any of That).
I actually managed to plan ahead in some places, so there are pockets on the sides:
It’s top stitched mostly all around, including the strap (which, despite the messy stitching on the blue side is actually really awesome), which I think looks really good cause I have a desperate love for top stitching.
There is one place where it is not top stitched though.
I tried for like an hour and a half to sew the strap into this side. The thread kept breaking and I broke a couple of needles and the layers of fabric were too thick… it was a nightmare. And then I gave up and glued that sucker in there.
I used a really strong fabric glue called Fabri-Tack, which is machine washable (not that I would machine wash a leather bag but still) and will basically glue anything to anything forever. I mostly use it for felt because it doesn’t get absorbed like most glues do with felt, but it’s also amazingly strong. I’ve been yanking on the strap where it’s glued into the bag side and it isn’t budging. I suspect I’ll have to re-glue it eventually, but for now, I’ve thrown all my stuff in the bag and it seems to be holding up pretty well.
So: yay, new bag! I am also still working on the gigantic man socks (up to the heel turn!) and I should have some swap stuff soon. I finished and sent my Whedon package (and the one to me has been sent), plus I signed up for another round of Ongoing Wish Swap and made a claim. So yay! Swap!
I made a thing! Out of fabric! And it’s not a shark!
It’s a new purse!
See, here’s the thing about purses. I love messenger bag-style purses. I love the flap for securing my belongings while easily allowing me to get in and out. I love the cross body strap so it stays in place and doesn’t fall off my shoulder. I love that it is wider than it is tall so I can find stuff relatively easily. I love messenger bags.
The purse I was using before this one is also a messenger style bag. It’s the one I got from the Rainbow Swap on Craftster after I was flaked on and had to have an angel. I adore that bag and I’ve used it for a couple of years–it’s sturdy and I love the side pockets. The problem with that bag is A, it’s just a tick too small and B, it’s a really casual bag so it doesn’t really work for occasions where I have to put on a pretty dress.
I have SCOURED thrift stores and regular stores and online, and it is absolutely impossible to find the exact purse I want as I see in my head. In my mind, it’s about 10″x12″6″, adjustable crossbody strap, flap closure, side pockets and inner pockets, and made of red leather.
That bag does not exist. It doesn’t exist for $20, it doesn’t exist for $200. It does not exist (not that I would pay $200, but still). Enter solution: I make my own damn bag.
I love this one, but it’s still not exactly what I want. This is more formal, but still not right. Still, it was good practice and should I happen upon some cheap red leather (probably in the form of a thrift store skirt or jacket), I’ll be able to make the one I really want.
For now though, this one is super cute and I love it. The outside fabric is an interesting gold/silver (depending on the light) brocade, which I picked up at a thrift store for about $2 for around 3 yards (hell yeah). The lining is two different brown cotton canvases, which I got at the thrift store for about $.50 each (around half a yard of each). I didn’t have enough of either fabric, but they go together well enough that I used both.
I constructed the bag similarly to how I made tote bags, which means that it’s totally reversible and there are no exposed seams anywhere. The whole thing is top stitched (oh how I love top stitching), including the strap, which is a thing I don’t normally do but love how it looks here.
So basically, I’m totally in love with my new bag. Now back to shark mittens.
Stitch, Brinn, Stitch! 