Tag Archives: embroidery

Making mittens from old sweaters

unnamedI went to a thrift store to get some real 100% wool sweaters. The best ones were in kids’ sizes. I threw them in the washing machine on hot and then into the dryer. They fulled beautifully. * I found a mitten pattern somewhere and tweaked it till it seemed to fit me. Then this happened:

IMG_0280IMG_0279IMG_0278 2And then this happened, too!

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The striped pair has another pair inside. I made the inside pair from lightweight green cashmere so it’s really soft. I put on the green ones inside out and slipped my hands into the striped pair. The cuffs were the sweater hem. So far the blue ones are not lined. I used blanket stitch to do the whole thing- a perfect take along project!

The fingerless mitts were an afterthought. They will fit my 5 year old grandie, Angelica. See the thumbholes cut into the arm seam and then blanket stitched? I used some pretty crocheted trim for embellishment. The sweater cuff is the end that will go over her fingers.

I think I will be making a lot of these.

*For those who might not know, FULLED means knitted fabric that has been felted. FELTED actually refers to loose fleece that is manipulated until it felts. This is a technical point and you can get away with calling fulled wool felted and no one will care except those of us who are a bit persnickety.

Shredded sweater obsession

TO SHRED OR TO MEND- ROGUE KNITTING 

Antony Hegarty wore a shredded sweater in the Leonard Cohen documentary, “I’m Your Man”. He was singing “If It Be Your Will”. The sweater is horribly beautiful. Does that make sense to anyone else?

I found this image on Google today:

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It is featured on a site called imbossy.com

Check out this cool tutorial: http://blog.boatpeopleboutique.com/projects/destroy-diy-shredded-sweater

I read today about an interesting class at a London’s Ray-Stitch haberdashery.

raystitch.co.uk

The class is an introduction to embroidery for beginners workshop taught by Celia Pym and I think it would be fascinating to take darning and mending to another level. See her work here:

celiapym.com

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I find this fascinating and by the way I have brazenly used this image without permission. You can find it on Celia’s website along with her other beautiful work.

Belt without bulk

IMG_3456This reminds me of the old days when we embroidered everything denim. I like the work on the back so much I think I’ll pick out the stitches on the front of the waistband and continue this all the way around. I love that it looks like a belt but with no extra bulk where I do not need it.

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