Monthly Archives: September 2012

A dress for Ed

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I bought a dress for myself but quickly learned that it looked far better on my tall, slender husband than it did on my short stocky peasant body. The only problem? Its bright greens and pinks did not suit him one bit. I set out to copy the dress in a more subdued and Ed-appropriate black-with-red-accents color scheme.

The fabric I chose was, like the original dress, a very soft and slightly stretchy woven cotton. The red has a slightly shinier sheen than the black. I found the fabric at (you guessed it) Stone Mountain and Daughter.

Ed
Ed in his natural habitat. Photo by Morley.

This was by far the most ambitious sewing project I’ve undertaken, even more so than Hairy Larvae. Though it looked obvious how the dress had been constructed, once I started drafting a pattern from it it became quickly evident that there was a lot going on! Sewing the pieces together was no small feat, either. There were a lot of curved seams, most onerous of which were the curved godets in the skirt. I have since learned the correct way to sew a curved seam (stay-stitching, notching) thanks to Alice over at heteronormative lovefest, but at the time it drove me crazy trying to get everything lined up without bunching.

Edlite
Details in the neckline. Photo by Joachim Pedersen, some rights reserved

In the end, it was worth it. Ed gets a ton of compliments whenever he wears the dress, and I think it looks fabulous on him.

Ed and Heather
Ed and me. Photo by Neil Girling, some rights reserved

Hairy Larvae

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I came up with a terrible Burning Man pun and decided to turn it into a costume. For those non-burners, one of the original founders of Burning Man is named Larry Harvey. “Hairy Larvae” is a spoonerism of his name.

Ok. This is admittedly really stupid, and probably not even original, but how could I possibly resist?! 😀

Hairy Larvae!

Hairy Larvae is made out of grey polarfleece and absurdly soft orange fun fur, both acquired at Stone Mountain and Daughter. This was the first time I worked with fun fur and I was struck by how cutting it felt like butchering a muppet! Hairy also has big buttons for eyes and a bright orange zipper. I used an comfy hoodie I had on hand as a pattern, simply extending the length to make it go to my knees. Unfortunately it turned out just a little tighter than I’d like in the hips, and it would’ve been nicer if I’d lined it… Still, the final product is so ridiculously cozy that I ended up living in it at night on the playa. Hilarious AND practical: the perfect playa clothing.

In pursuit of the perfect playa pant

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I have a lot of weird hangups regarding clothes. I don’t like wearing skirts, even though I love the way they look, because my legs rub together and it’s uncomfortable. I don’t like wearing synthetic fabrics. I can’t stand it when clothes ride up and otherwise don’t stay in place. And I really loathe clothes that aren’t comfortable.

At Burning Man, all of these things are amplified by the sun, the heat, and the dust. While most people are out there wearing the zaniest, prettiest garments they can dream up, I dread the act of clothing myself. I can’t stand sunscreen so skimpy clothes are right out, but heavy clothes are also untenable due to the unrelenting heat. Anything itchy or synthetic is a terrible idea, as are things that are tight and un-stretchy (heat rash!). Garments more delicate than a typical cotton t-shirt are going to get destroyed (or at least relegated to playa-only wear). But of course, wearing typical street clothes is BO-RING. What’s a picky gal like me to do?

I aimed to make some pants that were super comfy and protected me from the sun but still looked reasonably good. I used some fold-top pajama pants that I had on hand as a pattern. The fabric is most divine: a wonderfully drapey organic bamboo jersey that I found at Stone Mountain and Daughter. Stone Mountain, by the way, is an amazing sewing resource in Berkeley. Even thought I live in San Francisco, I still make regular pilgrimages across the bay for my Stone Mountain fix.

The most comfy pants ever

Ultimately, I’m not sure I like the way they turned out. They are absolutely the most comfortable pants I’ve ever worn, and are great for wearing in the desert weather… but they are pretty “blah” in terms of the way they look. Turns out when you make a pattern from pajama pants, the result looks like pajama pants! I also don’t feel the final product does the fabric justice.

The most comfy pants ever

Maybe if I add some more interesting details – embroidery? appliques? – and some shaping, and if I finish the bottom hem in a reasonable fashion, they’ll look better. In the meantime they’ve been relegated to wearing on the couch at home while watching movies.

Matching hat and gloves for Ed

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Because I loved how my Berroco Jasper/Karabella hat turned out, I made one for (my then-boyfriend, now-husband) Ed. He is fond of blacks and dark greys so the charcoal color I picked out was perfect for him.

Ed's hat

I decided to make matching fingerless gloves for him, since he spends a lot of time outside and is always cold.

Knitted fingerless glove for Ed

The pattern I went with was Dashing from Knitty (by Cheryl Niamath) and the yarn is Berroco Jasper again. It knitted up a little larger than expected. I started making the “larger” size but it was too big so I decreased to the “smaller” size. The finished size came out somewhere between the pattern’s “smaller” and “larger” sizes. They’re maybe a touch big on me, which is perfect for Ed. If I ever make these for myself, I’ll be using the same yarn but smaller needles.

Knitted fingerless glove for Ed

Armwarmers for Ed, finally done

Favorite winter hat

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Browsing the mounds of gorgeous yarn at Article Pract, I fell in love with Berroco Jasper, a luxuriously soft single ply merino that came in deliciously rich jewel tones (sadly, many of which have been discontinued). I bought it in raspberry, ocean blue, and a deep warm grey.

With the raspberry, I decided to make myself a cozy winter hat. The pattern I chose was Karabella Rib Hat and Scarf, having seen an internet friend knit the same pattern and really liking the results.

Raspberry hat :)

Though I knit this hat nearly 5 years ago, I still find myself going to it first for cold outdoor activities. It’s super warm (even when wet), a fantastic color, and — being a natural fiber — is safe around fiery activities (a concern for a burner like me). My only gripe is that my head is slightly too big for it, so it ends up sliding up my head and looking pointed on top, like a kewpie doll.

My favorite part of this pattern is the way the decreases make a spiral star pattern to the top of the head.

Top!

Bamboo jersey crochet throw pillow

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A friend of mine was getting rid of some old sheets. They were made of the softest material on the planet, a divine bamboo jersey. I was loathe to see that much wonderful material end up in the dumpster so, despite their slightly pilled and holey state, I took them under my care.

The material sat in my fabric stash for a couple of years till I came across a tutorial for making “yarn” out of large swaths of fabric. I don’t remember the site I found it on, but it went something like this. Once I learned I could make “yarn” from fabric, I decided to turn these sheets into something lovely and textured for our home: I would crochet the yarn into a chunky throw pillow.

Evening tableau

I have to be honest: I can’t crochet for crap. That being the case, I winged it (wung it?) and surprisingly it turned out pretty well! I sewed pillow casing out of some heavy, nubby cotton upholstery fabric I had in my stash, then sewed the crocheted circle over the top. I love how textured this piece is!

Crocheted pillow

Crocheted pillow

Crocheted pillow

A hat for Ed

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When my husband and I started dating, one of my first gifts to him was a hand-knit hat.

I made it out of a super-soft alpaca/merino blend yarn from Lang Yarns called “Naima”. I got it at Article Pract in Oakland. If you’ve never been to Article Pract, I highly recommend it: their staff is wonderful and their yarns are luxurious.

The pattern is called “Hot Head”, from Stitch ‘n’ Bitch. I made a few modifications to account for gauge difference.

Hat I knitted for Ed for his birthday

Here’s me, taking it for a spin:

Day 012: A hat for the Rabbit.

The final product is very light as it has a fairly loose knit, but because it’s alpaca/merino it’s still incredibly warm.

Rodrigo

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Do you like sea creatures? Does the golden ratio appeal to you? Do you place a high importance on the cuteness of the objects around you? If you’re anything like me, these statements will apply to you. What better way to pay tribute to the beauty of nature than by knitting an adorable nautilus! When I saw the Nautie pattern on knitty.com I knew immediately that I had to make it.

partway complete-- the shell

Nautie was surprisingly easy to knit, despite a “tangy” rating. It was extremely satisfying watching a spiral tube form, like magic.

I named him Rodrigo. Rodrigo is a little cock-eyed.

meet rodrigo!

he's my new boyfriend

but fiona is pretty happy with him

Best thing I've made myself