So I have a question you guys might be able to answer. I’m working on some striped house socks. The problem is that I’ve hit an issue with the color pattern. Where I’ve stopped just after the heel will be another grey stripe, but if I do another grey stripe I’ll end up with an extra large grey stripe on the front of the sock. Should I do another grey section or skip ahead to the next lighter purple one? Spoiler
does anyone have tips on making blocking mats smell less plasticy/blocking advice in general? for petty personal I need to get started on blocking like Now
@Mossflower i think either would look nice! if the extra gray is gonna bother you, then go to the light purple. You can also always undo if you end up not liking how the next stripe looks (whichever color you decide to continue with) and try the other. You could also also do a thinner than normal gray stripe next, so the front block isn’t as thick but you keep the pattern in sync
please tell me I'm not the only person with like a dozen sweater plans. i feel nuts that I have four sweaters actively on needles & yarn for a fifth, I don't need to purchase yarn for other future plans ANY TIME SOON
i get around this (badly) by not knitting sweaters bc that's too complicated for someone with no ability to think in 3 Dimensions. I just knit ponchos and capes. Ponchos are love and live
so i should save myself by planning more shawls. yes. good. (shawls were my first knitting love, i'm just in a Sweater Phase bc people really like getting sweaters from me)
not to one-up you, but i have sweaters in stages including fiber dyed and blended but not yet spun. and i say, what's wrong with that? sweaters for the world! you can never have too many!
I dread the day I learn to sweater, this is gonna happen to me I just know it (right now I have two blankets on needles...and it's soon to be four socks on needles, once I finish off the skate guards I promised my future bro-in-law)
I have finished cutting out all the pieces for both dresses! It was close for the second dress, and I did heck up somewhere along the line because I didn't quite have fabric in the right configuration so that I could get both sleeves cut on the grainline - but fortunately, it's got one of those prints that looks basically the same no matter which way it's oriented, so my mistake won't be obvious (hopefully) to anyone else who looks at it once the dress is finished. Now I just need to finish sewing both dresses. I'm planning on blitzing through the second dress up to the zipper step, tomorrow, and then doing the zipper on both dresses; I'd rather not have to mess around with switching out the foot on the sewing machine more times than I have to. (And if I really, really have to, I'll just...hand-stitch the zipper in. It'll take longer, and I might need to pin them in place and finish them on one of the sewing machines on the cruise, but it's an option. All the pattern calls for is basting it into place, so it shouldn't take that long to sew it in by hand if I have to; it doesn't have to be perfectly sewn, it just needs to be secured into place. So I may do that anyways, because I think I'm starting to psych myself out with the idea of having to work with the zipper foot for the first time.)
Front for the second dress is pieced together, and I got the first dart for the back done. All the seams have been pressed, I've been pressing as I go. (Because not doing that is Pain.) My low back is Not thrilled, but I think it may still be complaining from having cut the fabric yesterday.
Accidentally switched stitches. This is why you don't abandon your projects for weeks. :/ Spoiler: Not sure how big
Dresses are getting close to finished! I've got the zippers put in (I hand-basted them), and now it's just putting in the facing and the sleeves and doing the hems. At least, those are the three remaining steps I know of, directions will say if I need to do more than just that. Bonus of doing the facing: I gotta flip the dresses right-side out first, so that I can pin the facing in, which means I can figure out where the pockets need to go and seam rip.
Facing is in, and so are the pockets! I did one set half by hand - attached them to the dress by hand, then sewed them together by machine - because I'd learned with the first set that there just wasn't quite enough space in the pocket opening to get it around the free arm properly. I did need to adjust the pockets on that one, though - I put the first one in at the wrong spot, having somehow managed to seam rip two openings on the same side of the dress. Now I need to do the sleeves and then hemming. And then throw them in the wash to get the chalk markings off. God help me, I need to do the sleeves.
The dresses are done! I'm not thrilled with the sleeves, but considering that I got told last night that we're leaving today, I'll live with it. I can rip the sleeves out and redo them so they don't look rushed and amateur later. Right now, they're hemmed, washed, and packed - that's all that matters. (Although the space fabric frays like hell; I'm glad I hemmed all the exposed bits that could possibly fray before washing it.)