GingersDolls: 2012

Monday, November 12, 2012

Fingerless Gloves and Wristers

Well I now knit. I have been working on learning to knit. By hand and by machine.

Here is the machine just out of the box. The Silver Reed Card-O-Matic is a nice machine. My sister Barbee gave me this some 25 years ago.

My mother-in-law gave me another machine with Ribber attachment and I have them both up and running. I am ready to teach my Grandchildren to machine knit as well as hand knitting.

So this what I have done with it. I went to the local Goodwill and purchased an old broken down treadle machine that was rusted and the drawers were mostly gone. After attaching a piece of wood the right size I mounted the machine to the old sewing machine frame. A few cup hooks and the accessories were attached on the front for easy access.

Then the job of collecting a stash of yarns. I had some in the attic that I used for crocheting years ago. The rest I have purchased at Goodwill and thrift shops as well as getting new more modern yarns. I have also been spinning yarns on the drop spindle and my Traditional Wheel. I spent the summer spinning and dying yarns from wool fibers.

Now I like making small knitted items such as Wristers and fingerless gloves. I have several pairs of these gloves at the Latimer Quilt and Textile Center

The following ones are here at home ready for sale.

Wristers Item #001 $15.00

Fingerless Gloves Item #002 $15.00

Fingerless Gloves Item #003 $15.00

Fingerless Gloves Item #004 $15.00

Fingerless Gloves Item #005 $15.00

Fingerless Gloves Item #006 $15.00

Fingerless Gloves Item #007 $15.00

Wool Fingerless Gloves Item #008 $20.00

Fingerless Gloves Item #009 $15.00

Fingerless Gloves Item #010 $15.00

Fingerless Gloves Item #011 $15.00

Fingerless Gloves Item #012 $15.00

Fingerless Gloves Item #013 $15.00

Wristers Item #014 $15.00

Thursday, June 21, 2012

Using Bleach as a resist on fabric.

1- To prepare your fabric to accept any resist or dye you need to wash it in Super Washing Soda by Arm & Hammer. Leave it wet to work with.

2- Lay it out on a table outside to work with it.

3- Place leaves and grass clippings on the fabric for the areas you want to have stay the original color. This works best on BLACK fabric as it is under dyed with another color like orange or red.

4- Spritz the fabric with a mixture of 1/2 water and 1/2 bleach in a spray bottle. This should be done with a dust mask you can get at Home Depot. The bleach is in a mist and can do damage to your lungs.

6- Allow to stand until you get the effect you want. At this point rinse the fabric in clear water to stop the bleaching process.

OTHER Patterns

To make a great pattern you can scrunch the fabric into a small area. The more ways you scrunch the more pattern you get. I also twist the fabric and then form a spiral and spray. Try each and see what you like best.

After spraying the fabric when twisted or scrunched you can lay it back out flat and apply leaves and grass clippings then spray again for more effects.

Have fun.

Sunday, April 29, 2012

Converting Red-Colorwork to Appliqué

Converting Red-Colorwork to Appliqué

Taking a Colorwork machine embroidery design and creating an appliqué from it. Using Your Software

All software programs have the same commands but they may not look the same from program to program.
If you have edited any designs you are ready to do this as well.

Edit Point

The EDIT Point Tool will allow you to move the lines if you have not copied the design on line.

The ZOOM Tool will allow you to move in close to use the Edit Point Tool

The Outline Tool will allow you to draw along the outside of a line and that will be a foundation for your appliqué.

When outlining the separate sections of your colorwork make the thread different colors and place them in the color lineup before the outline of the original. See positions 1 and 2.

The red line and the blue line will be the foundation stitch for appliqué pieces. After we have all the areas outlined we will create an exact copy for the over stitch on appliqué areas.

(Note that the line in red does not line up with the blue one.)

You can be very general with the outline and then spend the time on lining the lines up later.

I have taken the general line and moved it into position leaving the tip of the tail out so I can make it another fabric.

My software allows me to add a square just by clicking on the line. Yours may require you to click on an add tool for this.

I use Sewing Order/Color to move the stitch order around so that it will stitch out right.

As you can see the lion is in the last position. This is where you move it towards the beginning so that the appliqué can be stitched before the final outlines.