Knitted Aran Jacket

The Beryl Jacket by Wensleydale Longwool took me two years to track down. 

I know two people who have made this and I coveted it.  It looks really smart and warm and classy.

The two people said they no longer had the pattern.  I went to a wool festival and they were selling a complete kit with their wool which I could not justify or afford frankly.

At last years Knit and Stitch show they were selling the pattern on its own for a humble £4.  Yeahhhh.

The wool I used was half the price.  ‘Wendy, with wool tweed Aran’.  It has little flecks of other colours in it.  Bought from Liz and Lisa at Pendle Stitches in Clitheroe.

The whole thing is moss stitch (knit one, purl one AKA Seed Stitch), so I had to learn increasing and decreasing in Moss Stitch.  The Inc and Dec stitches made a lovely pattern on the edge of the raglan sleeve. 

The collar emerges out of the front pieces and makes an S shape to curve along the raglan and around the collar, joining at the back.

Sewing together the raglan sleeve.

It was a big beast when it was finished and took some sewing.

I used plastic clips to align the edges before sewing.

Normally I would back stitch a garment together, but after much searching on the internet I settled on a kind of ladder stitch, which used the ditch between the first and second stitches on a row.  Using every row to meter out the stitches correctly.  Then drawing the two pieces together to make a seamless edge on the outside and a neat line on the inside, which was less bulky than back stitch.

We were in Conwy (North Wales) when I was stitching it together and there is not a shop which sold buttons to suit.

These buttons were bought in Llandudno, and are reminiscent of the leather patch buttons my mum used to use on cream Aran garments when I was young.  They have a pleasing swirl design on them.  If I find any better in the future I will replace them, but they are great for now.

The front.  Before buttons.

The back.

The sleeves are a bit long, but any decision about those will wait until after the first wash.

Definitely the hardest and most time consuming item I have made so far.  It took well over 6 months.  All through lockdown, I spent many happy hours sat in the sunshine behind the house keeping it going.

Moss Stitch is pretty unforgiving on the hands too and I now have Trigger Thumb, which is getting better slowly.

Was it worth it, Yes.

Would I make another, Yes.  But I will make the next one with the correct wool.  Mine is a little chunky compared to the others. It is very warm too.

But I love it.

Scrubs

After we had Covid 19 in April, in May once I was clear of the bugs, I started to help the Ribble Valley Scrub Hub, started by Fiona Belcham of Patches and Buttons and her family and friends.  The aim was to provide scrubs, masks, bags and headbands to care workers and anyone who needed them free of charge, or a donation.

I was a little reluctant at first as I did not want it to be competitive sewing, too much pressure, or Scrub Olympics as I called it.  I could not have been more wrong.  I was assigned to the Scrubbers, a lovely and supportive bunch of ladies and gents, sewing, cutting, coordinating, and delivering and collecting items.

The best bit was that the items came ready cut.  Jan took great care and professionalism in cutting out the items and placing them in bundles according to their size.  I must say small are much easier than extra large.

All the items had to be overlocked before sewing, so that they had the best chance of surviving the washer.

Liz was my mentor as she had been in the group from the start, she was very helpful especially with the dreaded pockets.  I struggle following patterns at the best of times. So I took all the information and made a process, so that any other sewer could use it.  It is what I used to do for a living.  I was the last to join the Scrubbers so if anyone would like a copy email me.

Making masks for the hub.

I made 21 tops and 19 pants altogether.

3 sets of black.  Very difficult to see while sewing.

1 set of Bright Blue.

Another 3 black.

4 sets of pink.

4 sets of blue.

2 sets of blue.

2 sky blue and 2 pink tops.

Others in the group and other groups made more than I did, but it was good to be a part of it.

It felt good to help. ‘No such thing as a selfless act’.

Masks

I started making masks quite soon in the pandemic.  I gave them to friends and neighbours and hoped we would not have to use them.  I lost count but it is well cover 50 and still going.

Pride masks for my favourite guys.

I then joined the Ribble Valley Scrub Hub created by Fiona Belcham of Patches and Buttons Haberdashers in Clitheroe.  She and her husband and friends and volunteers organised a network of sewers to make masks, bags, scrubs, etc for care providers.  More of which later.

These were the first masks I made as part of the scrub hub.  Flowery cotton one side.

Flowery flannel on the other side to catch the bugs.

First 18.  My test for initiation into the Scrubbers.

I made more for friends and used up large parts of my stash of fabric in the process.

Elastic was the holy grail and soon became in short supply.

Then we all started to actually wear them and we realised that the flat rectangles were OK unless you wore glasses.

The internet provided the answer with the Dinner Plate Mask design.

For musical friends.

Using thin elastic, which does not hurt your ears and inserting wire above the nose helped enormously with the comfort of the masks.

More designs are available now, which will be tried in time.

Freya Fawn - Luna Lapin by Coolcrafting

Freya the Fawn is featured in the third Luna Lapin and Friends book by Sarah Peel.

As soon as I saw this I could not wait for the book to be published.  Sarah releases some of the new friends in kit form prior to book launch.

So Liz and I had a day out to the Coolcrafting shop in Kendal, Cumbria.  They sell wool and fabric too.

In the kit there are pieces of fabric, patterns which need cutting out and everything you need to make the item including needles, thread and stuffing.  And in this case a felting needle for attaching the spots.

The antlers were always going to be the biggest challenge, along with the ears, and attached them into the head piece.  But as always with the kits and the books the instructions were easy to follow.

Having previous experience making toys does help.  I would start with a Luna Lapin rabbit first.

Love the tail, which is stuffed for added effect.

Freya Fawn was intended for Evie, but when she was complete we soon realised she was far to delicate for a small child and would have to live with us for a few years.

She is supposed to be dressed, but I cannot decide which dress.  Watch this space.

Bears 18 – Class of 2020

I usually buy a small amount of bear fabric each year before we set off on the boat.  As this is such a strange year, these were made from the pieces I had left from previous years.

The cream ones are short, sparse mohair with pale grey suede paws.  The tiny one is made from faux cashmere.

Dog Collar Decorations

My neighbour had bought some of these from the internet.  So I borrowed one and copied it.

This size is for small dogs.

Take 2 pieces of cloth about 18cm square.

Approx 10 cm down the side, cut a diagonal to the middle, folding helps.

With right sides together, sew around the whole thing, leaving a whole at the top for turning.

Turn inside out, making the corners and bottom point sharp.  Iron flat.

Fold down the top about 4 to 5 cm.  Depending on the thickness of the dog collar.

Sew along the folded down edge.  Sealing the turning whole and attaching the top edge, making a band for inserting the collar through.

I am sure they would be fine for cats too.

Easter Felted Wreath

Needle felting is something I play with from time to time.  Grace and I bought wreath rings at a garden centre.

I started by covering the wire ring in the plain wool Grace had given to me.

It took some covering, but eventually it kind of looked like a circle.  I liked the idea of the bottom being slightly larger as I knew I was going to cover it with other felted items.

First I covered it half with green and half with blue.  It was supposed to be a Christmas wreath but the craft and chatters said it was too light for Christmas, so it became an Easter project.

Over several months I made, Easter eggs, a blue tit, a bee, a butterfly, a mushroom, a snail, a ladybird and lots of flowers.  They were needle felted apart from some of the flowers which were cut out of felt.

I sewed all the items loosely to the wreath, for easy dis-assembly.

It certainly brightened my front window.

Little children seemed to like it. 

Wrist Pin Cushions

All my crafty and sewing friends noticed these on this years Great British Sewing Bee.  Several of the contestants had them in various shapes and sizes.

I thought I could make them but needed the tools as my Lidl glue gun was not up to the task at only 5 watts.

Ebay delivered a new 20 watt device.

My first attempt involved a pretty red and white spotted jam jar lid.  You need a strong base as otherwise you can stab yourself in the arm.  Unfortunately, it rattled against my watch.  Back to the drawing board.

A milk bottle top looked a likely candidate, as we use milk cartons, I went scavenging in my neighbours recycling bins.  I did ask permission, mostly!  My friends also came up with the goods.

So this is the process if you fancy a try.

You will need.

1 x milk bottle top, approx 4cm diameter

2 pieces of velcro, approx 2cm x 5cm.  As not everyone’s wrists are the same size.

Matching Thread.

Toy stuffing or similar.

Glue Gun

Cut a piece of fabric 23cm long by 8cm.  For the wristband.

Another piece approx 12cm diameter circle.  For the pincushion.

Ribbon for decoration approx 15mm wide, depending in the height of the milk bottle top.

The Wristband

Fold the wristband fabric lengthways and pin.  Sew the seams leaving 5mm seam allowance.  You can also use two separate pieces of fabric.  If you have a folded edge, sew one end, then sew along the length, leaving a space, so that it can be turned inside out, and sew to the other end. Turn inside out, making sure the corners are pointed.  Iron Flat. 

Top sew around the whole wristband, therefore sewing up the gap.

Attach a piece of velcro to each end of the wristband, one facing up and one facing down.  On top, attach the spiky velcro and on the bottom at the opposite end attach the fluffy velcro.  This is important, as when you are wearing it, you do no want the spiky velcro on you skin.  Notice on the completed items below, the spiky velcro is on the top next to the pincushion.

The Pincushion

Take the circle of fabric and make a running stitch all the way around the end, about 5mm in.  A little more if the fabric frays.  Use strong thread or double the thread as it is about to be under considerable tension.

Pull the running thread to make the pincushion shape.  Put in as much stuffing as you can.  It is tricky to get the stuffing in while the thread is not knotted.  Knott the thread leaving a small hole as above.  Using something small, like tweezers, keep stuffing the pin cushion until it is quite hard and compact.

Attached the pincushion to the bottle top.  Put glue around the inside edge of the bottle top and a little in the middle, put a small amount on the underside of the pincushion and squeeze them together, making sure the pin cushion is very securely attached to the inside of the bottle top on all sides, especially around the edges.  Work quickly.

MIND YOUR FINGERS.  IT IS NOT CALLED A HOT GLUE GUN FOR NOTHING!

Let this dry for a while, until cold.

Glue the pincushion to the wristband in the middle.

Wait for it to dry.

Glue the decorative ribbon onto the outside edge of the milk bottle top, to cover it up.  Turn the ribbon in at the ends for neatness.

At this point check all the edges around the pincushion and around the area where the pincushion is attached to the strap, add more glue in small amounts until it is very secure.

The wristband and pincushion joints take a lot of force, as it is being attached to the wrist when used.

I went a bit mad.

I made at least twenty.

They made great lockdown gifts for my crafty and sewing friends.

Spread the love.

Baby Jumper 1

My first try at a baby jumper.  The small pattern was something different, but really easy as it is only knit and purl to make a raised design.

Jumper front, with knitted welt, simple diamond design and buttoned shoulders.

Heart shaped buttons on the shoulders.

Diamond design.

Sirdar 4848 pattern for No. 1 wool.  Double Knitting, Acrylic and Nylon, 40 degree wash.

It turned out well, bit it was quite small.

Sailor Shorts

I have made these shorts before.  Simplicity Pattern 3696.

I bought the material in a lovely shop in Brighton which was rammed with fabric.  I liked it so much I have not used it for several years.  But if this year has taught us nothing else, it is to live for now and use the nice stuff.

The pattern is for pyjamas, so I just made them shorter.

What is different this time, is that I added two pockets for a technique I learned making scrubs.  More of which later.

Elastic waist, cool and comfy.

Pattern Simplicity 3696