Snow skirt

A while back, my friend gave me an outerwear fabric that is meant for an outer shell. The outside blocks wind, and the inside is lined with a thin fleece material. 

I thought I would make a jacket with the fabric, but I had a different idea and executed it. 

This is a snow skirt! 

I would be wearing it over a pair of pants when I go outside if I have to be outside for an extended amount of time. A layer of this fabric blocks the wind from going through my pants, as a result my legs should stay warm. 

I had to make sure I measured my waist with a fleece or hoodie because I want to wear it like a jacket for my leg. 

I do have a long down filled coat that goes almost to my ankle, but that coat is so hot. I have to wait till it gets below -20 degrees Celsius before I wear it. So, I wanted to make something that is suitable for the in-between coldness. 

I reused an open-ended zipper from an old jacket that I saved when the jacket was no longer viable as a jacket. (I kept all the zippers from that jacket.) That is why the colours do not match, but the zipper does not show while I am wearing the skirt. 

You may ask, "Why snow skirt?" This is because if I have to take off a pair of snow pants, then I would have to take off the boots. That can be quite a lot of work if I am bundled up with a heavy jacket, scarf, and huge mittens. Once I take off my mittens to undo the boot laces, my hands get cold, and when I take my boots off, the toes may freeze off! But with this snow skirt, since I can unzip it all the way down and it separates at the bottom, it's just like taking off a jacket. I don't have to take off my mittens and boots. 

I wore it for a walk of 1.5 hours at -18 degrees Celsius, and it kept me warm (with jeans underneath). It was not in the way of walking at all, and it was like having a longer coat covering my legs. This time, we did not stop at a cafe at the end of the walk, so I did not have to take off my snow skirt. 

I think it will be used quite often this winter. 

Train cushions

These are a set of pillows with a train fabric. The outer layer has a zipper, so if it needs laundering, it's easy to wash.  

I was a little concerned if I had enough matching thread... This is what was left when I finished. Phew. 

If you need something made for Christmas, there's still time! But the space is limited, so please contact me if you are thinking of making one-of-a-kind gift with a special fabric that you've been holding onto. (I know I'm guilty of keeping a stash of fabric!) 

Shoulder bag and pouches

This shoulder bag is for a special boy who loves trains. 

With the remnants, I was able to make a couple of pouches as well. The fabric is mostly grey, so I chose a colourful zipper to make it a little more fun. 

Jeans waist adjustment

I had to adjust the waist of the jeans to make the pair fit my shape. If I forget to use a belt, the pants kept on lowering, and that feeling is just not good. 

I saw darts in the yoke of her pants on my friend's handmade pants, and I thought, "Why not darts on the yoke?" This means I can adjust the waist of the jeans without touching the side seams (where there are often rivets at the end of the of pocket openings). 

 It's hard to see above the two darts. So, here is another photo. 

I put two darts and I cut the waist band in the middle to fit the new waist length. On the right side, there is a belt loop, so no one sees the waist band seam at the centre back. 

Now the pants fit me well. 

I had bought these pairs a long time ago (about 10 years ago?), and I don't know why I bought a stretchy pair. The stretchiness was one of the reasons that the entire pants feel like they don't stay. Now they stay on better, but I feel like I am just wearing a pair of stretchy leggings. Ten-year-younger me must have thought it was good to have some stretch, but now I feel I should have just bought jeans with no stretch. Well, the next pair of jeans I own will be the pair I make myself! :) 

If you need something adjusted on your clothes to fit you better (please remember, taking in is easier than taking it out), please feel free to contact me. I'd be happy to help you! 

More granny squares

When I was meandering about in the cyber space, I found a how-to guide to make a granny square with flower in the middle. I made some. 

They are cute, and they are also great for using up small amount of yarn - especially the middle circle bits are great for that! 

Among the five above, can you spot a mistake? Yes, I made another mistake. However, I am rather proud of myself for making it sort of work and blend in with the others. 

Some of my friends tell me that "perfectly imperfect" is the way to go with textile art. 

Have you found the mistake yet? 

I'm waiting... 

Here is a hint below. It's one of these. 

Now I wonder if you saw it. 

The answer: the bottom one has an extra petal! When I was making the centre circle, I must have made an extra stitch. So, the petal was increased by one, too. Instead of 12 petals, there are 13 petals in the red flower. Oh well. It's a baker's dozen! 

This was another post about crochet. I may be crocheting away, but if you need me to sew or mend something for you, please feel free to contact me. :) 

Granny squares

I started crocheting some granny squares. Since many people have generously gifted me with lots of yarns, I decided I needed to use them (otherwise, I run out of space in my sewing studio). They are all good quality yarns like wool, alpaca, mohair, merino wool, etc. I can knit only so many hats and mittens. So, I decided to make all the yarn balls that came in singles or in twos into granny squares. 

I found some charts online, and I started on them!

After I made about this many, I realized that I read the chart symbol wrong. I thought it was triple crochet, but the chart actually said double crochet. Oh well. So, I am making them all in a "mistake version". I had to redraw the chart for myself, so if I don't finish all 200 of them and have to come back later, I will know what I actually did. 

I was keeping the finished squares in a bin, and our cat made it a nice napping bed. I think all the nice squares will have some cat fur mixed into them. 

I may concentrate on making the granny squares for a while. So, my posts may be more of the same for a while. But if you need me to sew or mend something for you, please feel free to contact me. :) 

Cotton toque

I knitted a toque (or beanie) using lilac-coloured cotton yarn. It is an in-between time when I feel hot with a swollen toque but a little cold with a thinner hat that is not a toque. So, I decided to make myself a toque made with cotton yarn. I thought it would be easy because I have made many before using wool yarn. 

I was wrong. For my inexperienced hands, the cotton yarn was hard to handle. It doe snot stretch, and it does not bounce back in shape like wool yarn... But I struggled through the work and finished it. 

I also found that the colours in this yarn was not consistent, and I have lighter sections. Also, among the yarn balls with the same lot number and all, the colours seem to vary quite a bit. Mmm. I don't know if it's because of this brand or that's just the way it is with any yarn?? In any case, I do not think I will be embarking on cotton knitting journeys again anytime soon. 

So, the little sheep button on the cotton toque is like an ironical salut. It is a special ceramic button (I believe handmade) from a dear friend who has a good sense of humour and suggested I put it on my cotton toque. 

A short sleeve raglan top

I have made myself a top. It has short raglan sleeves, and it's really comfortable to wear. Since I am of the age when it gets hot and cold many times a day, it is always nice to be able to layer. 

I am running out of photos of what I have made in the past, so the blog posts will be made less frequently now. 

However, I am available for you. Please contact me for your sewing needs. :) 

Steeking a sweater

I did something called steeking for the first time! And I installed a zipper in the front rather than putting button hole band and buttons. 

The first step was to find where I cut. So, I counted the stitches to determine the centre front, and I marked it with the stitch markers. 

Then, I crocheted either side of the stitches vertically to secure the stitches. 

The scary part began! I cut where the "ladders" were, and that's steeking.

Then, I used a lot of clips to hold the zipper tapes in place and sewed them on, using my regular sewing machine. I don't have the picture here, but I added a pretty ribbon to hide the edge of the zipper by hand sewing.