Knitwit

I'm teaching myself to knit.* My mother knits, in fact I think she even knitted a lot of my baby clothes, seeing as when I was born it was the tail end of winter and we lived in Melbourne (I know she didn't make any for my sister, born mid-summer in Darwin, that would probably have constituted child abuse). She tried teaching me when I was younger, and in fact I think I even made a scarf. But I am 27 now, and I can't have been much older than 8 then, and with nothing in the intervening years, I couldn't remember anything other than "two sticks, wrap the wool.. um.. help?" which isn't really that useful.

To be Absolutely Honest, mum showed me again last year when she was up for a weekend, and I wanted to make a blanket for Gosling (who so far has a beautiful Steve, and blue hand-me-downs from Critter). But, in true mum-manner, she cast on for me, then showed me how to make the stitches, believing that casting on would be too hard for me. Um, hello? I'm 27, make clothes without patterns, and have taught myself to sew and cook, but casting on is too difficult? Alrighty then.

Anyway.

The knitting went slowly for a while last year, a row here, a row there, whenever I had a free moment, but then summer came along and I got more interested in sewing. And stopped knitting until a couple of weeks ago. By which point I had forgotten everything and had to find instructional videos online. Which would have been easier if our internet hadn't decided to play up on the night I decided to pick up my knitting. Sigh.

I've discovered that I'm actually not too bad at it. I can in fact cast on -and off!! - by myself, and while I'm not a speed knitter by any stretch of the imagination, I don't feel like I'm going at an absolute snail's pace, either. So far I've limited myself to the knit-stitch. I know my tendencies to jump in at the deep end, but I don't want to confuse myself, get frustrated, and give up. So until I've finished at least 2 more blocks, there will be no purling for me.

I've also discovered that I can knit and watch TV at the same time. Not only does it give me something to occupy my hands with - something WARM to occupy my hands with on these cold, cold nights (we still don't have any heating), but I knit better when I'm slightly distracted and not paying full attention. As soon as I start thinking too hard about the stitches, my speed drops off, and my tension ends up all over the shop.

Gosling's blanket is not going to be a masterpiece. I haven't managed any major mess-ups so far, but my tension is still wonky, and I am, after all, a beginner. But I will have made it with love, with my own two hands, and by the time its finished, I should be a fairly accomplished knitter.




*Interesting note - I originally spelled this "teasing myself to knot". Which is just as appropriate. Knitting is a lot like one giant knot, and I'm almost certain I'm teasing myself as much as teaching.

Curved seams/hems - the hard way, by hand

**WARNING: Picture heavy. Click any pictures for biggerness.**

The night before my friend's wedding, I stayed over at her house, along with the three other bridesmaids, and Gosling. I was fairly certain by this point that I wasn't going to finish Gosling's dress, but I took it with me anyway, to work on while we were watching movies and eating junk. I'm a bit of a fidget, and find it very difficult to sit still - I have to be moving, all the time, and sewing counts as moving, meaning the rest of me stays fairly still, instead of constantly shifting in my seat, or bouncing my feet, or swaying my legs.

Anyway.

The other girls asked how I'd managed to get the yoke so flat - its very round, and round seams/hems have a habit of bunching and/or stretching. Thing is, I clip my seams. It takes a bit more time, but the end results are worth it. It also made the arm holes easier - clip hem and face, instead of binding with bias or trying to make the hem flat, neither of which work for me.

They didn't understand what I was talking about, and neither has anyone else I've tried to talk to about it, other than my mum (but she is a super-sewer so I would have been alarmed if she didn't understand - I'm serious, she once made a wedding dress and 7 purple tulle bridesmaid dresses).

I figure if that many people don't understand, maybe there are people out there googling how to get their seams flat, and maybe if I do this, it'll help them. It'll also provide me with a handy reference when I'm half asleep and can't remember how I did it.

So here we go!!



CURVED SEAMS/HEMS

Presumably, you have a curved piece of fabric, and either need it hemmed, or need to attach it to another piece as a seam. If you're just making a seam, you can ignore most of this, as all you need to do is CLIP.

The easiest way to hem a curve is to face it - you take another piece of fabric and use it instead of folding up your hem. So cut yourself a piece of fabric about the same shape as the curve you need hemmed. It doesn't need to be perfect, but it should be pretty close, or you'll still end up with those annoying wrinkles.


We'll start with an inside curve - like an arm hole on a sleeveless shirt.

There are two ways to do this. The first way takes longer, is harder, and (in my opinion, possibly influenced by my fear of the sewing machine) works much better if you do it by hand, but it is my preferred method, so I'm going to show you anyway. The other way will be explained with the outside curve (like the hem of a skirt) but the idea will work just as well for an inside curve. Why am I starting with the hard way? Because if you can do it this way, you can certainly do it the other way.

Mark your foldline on your fabric (if you use chalk, it doesn't matter which side - right or wrong - of the fabric you mark, as it will wash off. Do whatever is easiest for you to work with), then grab your scissors. Little ones work best.

If your curve is not a perfect circle, find the 'pointiest' bit, and cut a small triangle out of the 'hem' bit of your fabric at this place. Otherwise, just start in the middle. DO NOT CUT ALL THE WAY TO YOUR MARKED LINE.
**Note: on an inside curve like this, you CAN simply cut slits instead of triangles, but I find the triangles fray less and spread less, and if I always cut triangles, I don't have to remember whether to use triangle or slits**
**Note 2: This is the only bit you need for seams - with a slight change of order, as you sew your seam together, then clip, and tada you're done.**

Then continue all the way around your curve, cutting out triangles (or more slits). You can start each new triangle exactly where the last one ended (left side of photo), or you can leave a gap between them (right side), its entirely up to you, and doesn't really make much difference in the end. If you leave a gap and decide that your fabric is pulling too much later, you can always go back and cut more triangles (or slits if the gap is too small) in between. If you're cutting slits, just make them fairly evenly spaced, and fairly close together - about half an inch should be fine.

Now you need to tack down your hem. Fold it along your marked line, sewing as you go - big stitches, fairly close to the edge, about 1/4 inch. No need to knot the ends, as you'll just be taking it out later, but leave a decent tail so it doesn't pull out.

When you've finished, if you turn it over you'll notice the distinct lack of wrinkling or bunching. YAY, but you're not done yet. It looks very messy with that tacking stitch and the exposed edges on the inside, and will fray easily if it's put to use, so now you need to attach your facing. This is where it gets tricky, and may make you want to use the other way.

Put your facing over the inside, lining it up, and find the centre.

Turn the facing over, keeping the middle together, and pin it together. You only want it overlapping a little bit - no more than 1/4 inch. If you've done your tacking this far out, it makes a good guide.

Pin it together all the way around. It WILL be awkward and wavy. You can't help that. It will right itself once you fold it over. DON'T do the down-across-through pinning. Just poke the pin in, and push it all the way through like a nail, so you have heads on the INSIDE, on the facing, and points on the OUTSIDE - the proper fabric.points on one side, heads on the other

Now, sew it down. Easier said than done, as you only want to sew through the folded bit, not the outside bit. Sew as close to the edge as you comfortably can, and keep checking the other side to make sure you haven't gone through. Once you get a feel for the fabric, it isn't really that difficult most of the time, but if you can't manage it without going through, or you just prefer to have visible stitches on the outside, just make sure your stitches are small and neat, or use the machine so you can be absolutely certain its neat. If you really can't handle doing it by hand, the other way will work better.

TIPS:

Hand stitches: use two strands of thread, so if one breaks, the other is still there; either use backstitch the whole way, or a running/back combo - 3-4 stitches of each, alternating.

Use as similar coloured thread to your cloth as possible. That way, if you accidentally go through a little, it won't show as much.

Take out each pin just before you pass it - its easier to sew small stitches if the pins are not in the way, you don't need them any more once its sewn down, and the less pins you have, the less likely you are to stab yourself.

Once you've sewn all the way along, take out your tacking stitch, then fold down your facing. Depending on your fabric and your personality, you might want to iron it at this point. I don't bother, but might if it was a really floppy annoying satin.

So! You're almost done! All you need to do now is hem and secure your facing. This can be done all in one go, or separately. My husband went on a cleaning spree and threw out my practice cloth, so I can't demonstrate this bit for you with photos, but hopefully I can explain it properly and my awesome-mad-skillz drawings help a bit.

All in one go: Fold over a teeny tiny little bit of the free edge of your facing, making a tiny hem so the hem is on the inside, and sew through it to your cloth. You will be left with a visible seam on the outside of your piece, but you are FINISHED!

Separately: Fold over the same teeny tiny bit, and if you really want to be particular about raw edges, fold over again so the raw edge is fully encased. Sew this hem, and only this. Do NOT sew to your cloth. Once the tiny hem is sewn, you can sew the edges down - at the edge of your piece, at any seams (so you can attach it to the internal seam and don't go through to the other side) etc.

So there you go. Piece faced.

I Confess: On The Dress, There Has Not Been Much Progress

This is approximately what it should look like when finished. The skirt will stand out more because of the underskirt, and I'm hoping to make a sash also, but you get the idea.

So, I didn't manage to get Gosling's dress finished before the wedding, which was a pity, but totally expected. The bride lent me a gorgeous little purple dress that had been her daughters, so my bub was cute and matching anyway. So glad I'm not the only one who has a stash of no-longer-needed baby clothes lying around.

I am continuing to work on the dress, and I'm quite happy with how its coming along. It doesn't look professional, but I never expected it to. I'm sewing it by hand, I'm making it up as I go along, its by far the hardest thing I've ever attempted (yes, I consider a dress to be harder than a stuffed toy), and I only have very short spurts in which to sew - we're talking 5 minutes here, 10minutes there - so yes, I'm quite happy with how things are turning out.

Things I've learnt thus far:

• backtracking on a row of running stitch is nicer than doing a whole row of backstitch (thats nicer as in 'I prefer doing it', not necessarily 'looks better')
• skirts are easy, except for the opening at the back for a zip/buttons
• sewing is easier if you don't have a baby sitting on your lap
• sometimes, my stitches are visible where they shouldn't be, and I DON'T CARE
• arm holes are EVIL
• it helps if you have your pattern figured out before you start the actual sewing
• the needle threader is close to useless
• clipping curved seams/hems makes them sit SOOOOOOOOOOO much prettier
• pins are good, use as many as will fit
  
• ARM HOLES ARE EVIL
• I want to rub my face on the paler fabric because it is so nice and soft
• I still can't use a thimble
• I need to find my own scissors and stop using mum's
• I really don't know if I'm up to hand sewing button holes, and may have to break out the machine when it gets to those.
• ARM. HOLES. ARE. EVIL.*
  Unfinished arm-hole. Needs to have a facing put on.
  

My current aim is to get it done by Christmas. That would be good. Don't know that it will happen. The fact that Gosling is now sleeping unwrapped most of the time should help, but this wretched heat makes me want to just lie down and sleep too, instead of sewing or cooking or cleaning or feeding the kids (did I just say that?)..

Having two separate needles helps too. I have a scrap of fabric in my pin box with the needles in it when they aren't in use, and I am in fact using two needles. One for the dark thread, one for the light. I have no idea why its making things easier for me, but I've found it a lot easier to switch needles, and keep threading each one with its own coloured thread, rather than using one needle and alternating thread colours. I know, my brain works oddly.



*The mostly-arm-hole-shaped facing I've used instead of trying to 'hem' them properly has made things a LOT easier. But what would have made it EVEN EASIER, is if I'd made the shell and lining separately and then put them together, instead of treating it as one piece. Then I wouldn't have had to bother with all the clipping and folding and facing and cutting and screaming and swearing and finger stabbing and trying to only sew through three-out-of-four layers.... Next time. Next time I'll know.

Got the sewing bug..

A good friend of mine is getting married in less than two weeks. On Nov. 1st she will finally become Mrs F. after a three year engagement, and 3.5 years after the birth of their daughter.

She wants everything to be P-E-R-F-E-C-T, but as they have a three year old, two cars, and a mortgage, on only one income, they don't have much spare money to spend on the wedding. Which is where I come in. Not only am I one of the bridesmaids, I'm also the resident Fix It Lady. I've always been good with my hands, and she's putting them to good use.

I helped her make the invitations, from an opinion here and there on materials, to shopping trips all over the city to get the best prices on the various components, all the way to twelve hours straight (I'm serious. I got there at around 11am, and didn't leave till well after midnight) sitting at her dining room table cutting and folding and printing and arranging and fixing and deciding and gluing, and reminding her to drink her tea - AWAY FROM THE INVITATIONS!!!!!!!!!!! - and calm down.

I'm currently helping her recover a guestbook, so that instead of being a hideous floral vomitsplatter, its the same dark, eggplant satin as the bridesmaid dresses and the back panel on her dress. The book was in Target, marked down from $20-something to $6.86, and when we got it to the counter it rang up as $2.53 so YAY, especially considering she found exactly what she wanted on ebay for $80+. Even factoring in the price of the satin, the paper, the ribbon, the buckle, the spray adhesive, and labour, its not costing anywhere NEAR the $80 she would have otherwise spent.

All this crafty-ness and money-saving has got to me though, and rather than buy something for my Gosling to wear, that would be far too much money spent on something she might wear a total of 3 times, I decided to MAKE HER A DRESS. Which is funny, because, you know, I'm afraid of the sewing machine. I bought two shirts from the local second-hand stores in two beautiful shades of purple, and proceeded to cut them into dress shaped pieces - making the pattern up as I went along*. And then, I realised that not only am I afraid of the sewing machine, but the only time I have to use the machine is when Gosling is asleep, and therefor not stuck to me like a barnacle. Which would be great, except for the noise, which would wake her up, and oops, barnacle again and no sewing.

Good idea FAIL.

Then my brand new packet of needles caught my eye. Can you see where this is going?

Ladies and gentlemen, I am sewing a dress for my eight-month-old-daughter by hand.

Someone give me some sanity pills, please??




*By 'making up the pattern', I mean I don't have a bought pattern I'm following. I traced the outline of one of her shirts to make the bodice, the skirt is easy as it's just a half-circle, and the yoke I shrank from a grown-up sized pattern I found online. All the pieces have had to be tweaked though, so I really am just making it all up as I go along. I've also never made a dress, so I'm not quite sure how to put it all together..


**The colours in these photos are not entirely accurate, but are as close as I could get them in photoshop without losing any detail - my selection skillz are not good enough to only do part of the image. Yes, these are photos of the actual objects in question. Yes, that is a standard sized needle - about 1.5" (3ish cm) long. Yes, my stitches are quite small. Yes, I am completely insane.

Rambling in a non-creative manner about creativity, creatively. Creative, creative, creative. CREATIVE.

This photo is TOTALLY UNRETOUCHED. I have NO idea how it did that, as my boys where out without me when they took the photo. Maybe it was through funky glass?? But anyway, thats how my brain feels today, and thats my excuse for the disjointedness of this.

Our camera died. First one of the reclining chairs ate it and it got all squashed and scratched up in the metal workings, then I left it on a bed and it somehow ended up 3 metres away on the floor under a chest of drawers.

It stopped working.

It would cost more to fix than to replace.

We bought a better one off ebay.

For less than the old one cost to begin with.

But its not here yet.

Why am I starting each new sentence in a new paragraph?

My english teachers would disown me.

So would my mother, who is also an english teacher.

ANYWAY. With no camera, I've been unable to take the million photos per day that I usually take, and have had to find a different creative (nearly choked on that word.. I so am not) outlet. Hello Sewing. Also Knitting.

I found some gorgeous wool (Mostly wool. Partly bamboo, partly soy. Also, how do they make yarn from MILK?????) super-cheap at Spotlight last time my mum was in town, and bought a bunch of it to make a blanket for Gosling (Spaceghost is now Gosling, btw). I am a Brand New knitter, and as such it is taking A VERY LONG TIME, but so far, I haven't managed to make any mistakes. So YAY.

I've also got a lovely purple shirt I'm ripping apart to make a dress for Gosling. I'm bridesmaid in a wedding at the beginning of November, and while this means I don't have to think about clothes for myself, I do have to figure out how to dress the rest of my family, since the bride insists everyone Get Dressed Up. This is easy enough for the boys - Hubby has a suit, and Critter does now too, thanks to $20 well spent at an op-shop - but what do I dress a 9 month old in, at the beginning of summer, thats dressy enough for a Formal wedding, but not so Special that I cry when she covers it in avocado and banana (have you noticed how badly banana stains??? ugh) and then has an explosive nappy? Hence a second hand shirt and a sewing machine, instead of a frothy satin concoction from a shop.

Still on the sewing front, I've been getting increasingly annoyed at my wallet and its lack of separate pockets. I like to pull our grocery money out each week and pay cash instead of sticking it on our debit card, so I always know how much we've spent. But the lack of different pockets in my wallet means that all the money gets mixed up together. Mum gave me money for my birthday, and I'm losing track of how much I've got left because I keep spending it on other things, because I CANNOT KEEP IT SEPARATE. Sooooooooooooooo, I'm trying to make myself a wallet type folder with lots of separate zippered off pockets to keep my separate money in. I've already hacked an older file folder down to size, and I'm on the search for decent fabric to cover it and make pockets.

The only thing really holding me back on the sewing front is my fear of the sewing machine. The overlocker (serger) doesn't scare me, and when we ran out of wipes last week and it was raining too much for me to go to the shops, I used it to make myself some cloth wipes from some old face washers and a flannel wrap of Gosling's that we never used because it was kite-shaped. They worked quite well actually. Terry towelling works very well for the gripping, and a spray bottle of chamomile tea helped wash off excess. Now that I've made them, I really should keep using them.

But the sewing machine... well, maybe I'll be less scared of it the more I sew. Just need to find the right coloured thread, and then I can get started!