Needlework

It's a Wrap

Have you ever had your embroidery floss collection resemble a plate of colored spaghetti?  Are all the partly used skeins thrown together in a tangled mess? 

Well, you can manage to get your projects done this way, but you will probably spend an inordinate amount of time untangling floss.  This is not an amusing way to spend your valuable crafting time, but there are a couple of useful solutions. 

The first idea had to do with cards.  Before you start to use a skein of floss, take off the bands and wrap the thread around a piece of card stock.  You can buy these cards ready-made or you can cut your own card to an appropriate size. In fact, you can design your own spindles. You can even add pictures or photographs to the cards if you want to.  Cut a small slit at each end of the card to hold the beginning and ending of the floss.

 I had been using cards for a long time, and then I discovered clothes pins.  You can wrap each separate skein of floss around a clothes pin.  These are not the simple clothes pegs, but the kind of pins that snap together with a spring.  You start by putting the end of the yarn farther back between the gripers until it catches, then you wind the skein to the end.  You catch the end of the yarn in the front, and it holds the end right where you can see it.

Reworking Knit or Crochet 

 This particular story is about a piece of complicated knitting, but the process of reworking applies to any length of fabric that you have made in either knit or crochet.  Sometimes, we want to try out a new stitch on some small project that will not take too long to finish.  That way, if we come to dislike doing it, the pain will only last a short period of time, and we will still have a project completed.

To begin my story . . .

Once upon a time, I decided to try the entrelac knitting stitch.  This is the fancy word for the knitting style that looks like a basket weave.  It is very attractive, but I did not find it easy.  If you want to try it, you can find books that show how to do it.  It is best to get one with lots of pictures.

Well, the scarf came out okay, but it was itchy so i didn't wear it.  If you have ever spent a very long time and serious effort on a project and it turned out quite nice, you will know that it is very disturbing to even think about ripping it all out again.  That was the case with the entrelac scarf.  But there it was, cluttering up my closet.  I decided to do something else out of it.

Now, the thing about a smoke-ring scarf is that it is mostly just a tube of knitting or crochet.  I decided to sew up the bottom and make a bag out of it.   You can do this too.  Try to repurpose before you rip out  your project.

Blackwork Embroidery

What’s black and white or red all over?

Surprise--it is a specific type of embroidery.  I have avoided blackwork embroidery for a very long time.  For one thing, it is a very precise type of counted cross-stitch embroidery, and that sort of precision makes me uncomfortable.  For another thing, I knew it would need a special type of cloth to do correctly, and I didn’t want to buy the cloth in case I didn’t like doing it.  And for the last thing, anything to do with numbers or counting gives me the grues. 

However, when a local craft store (sadly) went out of business, I was able to get the material at a very reasonable price.  This seemed like a good time to give this kind of embroidery a try.  And surprisingly enough, I actually like doing it.  It isn’t easy, of course, but when it comes out right, it is very satisfying.

Blackwork is done with just one color of floss or silk, and usually this color is black.  “No kidding,” you might say.  Well, yes, but apparently, it can also be done all in red.  Of course, you can use any color you please, but all black or all red threads are traditional for this kind of work.

DIY Cross-stitch

 As in so many other types of craft, there are a myriad of variations on this general theme.  A regular cross-stitch pattern is basically a grid with the pattern and all the colors printed on it.  That way you not only know where to put the stitch, but also what color that stich needs to be.  Since this is the case, it became evident that cross-stitch patterns were essentially the same as needlepoint patterns. 

I was very pleased to realize this because I have a lot of needlepoint books already.  Cross-stitch graphs are basically the same configuration.  Instead of canvas, you use fabric; instead of wool, you substitute floss.  And instead of needlepoint techniques, you use cross stitch.

Generally speaking, these patterns are merely a picture superimposed on top of a grid of fine lines, with each square denoting a separate stitch.  This being the case, there is no reason why a crafty person couldn’t make a counted cross-stitch pattern.  It has taken me a long time to get here, but this is the point:  you can make your own embroidery patterns out of your own art work by superimposing the picture on top of a grid of lines.

Crafty Self-Care

This might be the time to consider the possibility of doing something really old-fashioned and luxurious for yourself.  Think about embroidering a set of pillowcases for your bed.  I know time is limited, but there are always those odd moments (like waiting at the dentist's or doctor's office) when you can work on something creative.  

Surprisingly, you can still buy stamped pillowcases at various discount stores.  They come as a kit with floss and color chart included.  Now, you might not care to use the floss or the colors included in the kit. 

 Or, you might prefer to buy more expensive pillowcases and draw your own designs on them.  In any case (so to speak), there is something really elegant about having hand-embroidered linens.

Now, your pillowcases are fit for royalty.  Such small extravagances go a long way in adding that little bit of luxury to life, and it doesn't actually cost all that much to do it.  In addition, you get the extra added bonus of having some relaxing, quiet time in the midst of a busy day.

The Best Snowflakes

While a regular crocheted Afghan or even a scarf will take quite a while, a snowflake can be done in a very short time.  This can be a very satisfying project for a cold, dark winter day, as it is light, airy, and it will soon be done.  Also, there are a lot of different patterns to choose from, so it will not be boring.  

It seems that you usually see crocheted snowflakes around the holidays as decorations on wreathes, stockings, packages, and even as garlands.   Personally, I don’t see why they can’t be used as a pleasing decoration throughout the winter.  After all, the snow doesn’t stop at Christmas time—mores the pity.

There are many snowflake patterns in library books and on the internet.  Of course, in the real world, there are no two snowflakes alike, but we don’t have to hold to this rule.  The patterns come in written directions as well as in stitching charts.  The varieties are endless, and most seem to use fairly simple single or double crochet stitches. 

New Life for an Old Story

Quilts are like stories told in fabric and thread.  I am not really a quilter myself, but I am so in awe of those who are!   My grandmothers, however, were great quilters, and they filled their winters with beautiful works of art that took shape under their hands.  They set a huge quilting frame up in the dining room, and they stretched out these vast pieces of material on the frames and stitched for months.  

In any event, it came to pass that an old quilt top was found in one of the many boxes left behind in my grandmother’s house.  I will say here that I have no quilting frame, nor do I have any place to put one.  So, it was necessary to quilt the squares individually, and that is what I did. 

 Finally, I sewed all of the squares back together again.  I didn’t use the sewing machine, as I’m just not very good with a sewing machine, but I think it looks pretty nice.  I think my grannies would approve, but then, they were like that.  

The quilt has come back to life.  It still has its battle scars and it’s a bit smaller now, but aren’t we all.  All the same, this quilt (like us) may have more stories to be told.  

In Favor of Hats

No one knows for sure when the first cave person plopped an animal hide on his or her head to keep warm, but ever since, hats have been very popular.  In the winter months, there is nothing better than to have a cozy, knitted hat to wear. 

You can make hats with crochet or knitted stitches, but I mostly make knitted hats.  I can assure you that no fancy yarn is needed.  Regular knitting worsted makes a fine hat, but if you happen to have a skein or two of really elegant yarn (which is usually the amount that I can actually afford) like that lovely alpaca or cashmere wool, you can make a perfectly fine hat out of that too. 

Perhaps the most popular knitted hat is the beanie.  I expect you can easily make these in crochet too, but I’ve never tried it.  Certainly, beanie-type hats are some of the quickest and easiest things to knit.  They can be worked in the round or just knitted straight and sewn together.  Most patterns are worked from the bottom up, using ribbing at the brim so that the cap fits snuggly to the head.  The lower edge can be folded up into a cuff--or not as you prefer.  So consider making yourself a hat.  You will be a warmer person for it.

Patches or Pins

If you happen to have a very plain jacket or shirt (or most anything else for that matter) that could use some livening up, a colorful patch might be just the thing.

Unless you are going to do the thing as a round patch, choose a picture that doesn’t have too many pointy edges.  The reason I know this is that I decided to do a Celtic bird and all those serrated feathers were a trial to stitch around.

First, I just cut out the motif and sewed a satin stitch around it, overlapping the satin stitches all the way around the edges so as to stop any unraveling of the cloth.  This works: it is long and tedious and tiresome, but it does work.  Naturally, I was soon looking for an easier way to get the same effect.

If you have a piece of felt on the back, cut to the size of the motif, it is easier to sew through the two pieces.  This gives the cloth more body and it is easier to control.  It is also possible to sew a pin on the back and make the patch detachable.  

Pet Project

Have you considered immortalizing your favorite furry friend in embroidery?  This is a charming and very popular type of portrait, and it can be done in a number of ways.  Of course, you might have an artist or an internet service do it for you, but it is less expensive to do it yourself.

This project is easier if you choose a pattern that shows the basic shape of the animal.  Then you can just make adjustments as needed instead of trying to start from scratch.  Differences in coloring can then be adjusted to suit your pet’s individual style and look by redrawing or re-coloring those areas.  

As for technique, you might want to consider a wide range of stitches for regular embroidery or just use cross stitch.  I prefer regular embroidery for this purpose, but there are a lot of cross stitch patterns available as well.  Many people like to frame these portraits in hoops instead of a traditional frame.  This can make a charming portrait of a beloved pet, for giving as a present or as a gift for yourself.

That Old Yarn Game

Do you always buy more yarn than is needed for any given project?  I think that most of us do. In fact, this is often necessary to make sure you have enough to finish that sweater.  But then, of course, there is left-over yarn.

What you have gradually (or not so gradually) created is commonly called a “stash.”  Now, a stash might sound innocent enough, but it has the potential to turn into an unwieldy proposition.  One answer to the stash is the ‘granny square’ crochet pattern.  The granny square is composed of several rounds of different colors of yarn.  

When you have a sufficient number of these squares, you can sew them together into an afghan, place mat, or other useful item.  There are hundreds of different configurations and varieties of granny squares.  

In addition, they are handy to carry around to work on in waiting rooms and traffic jams, and they all use small amounts of different colors of yarn.   You can find all sorts of granny square patterns on the internet, at the library, and at the bookstore.   

Abstract Embroidery

Have you considered making abstract art—not with paint, collage, or water colors but with fabric and embroidery?  

Most of the time, we have a picture in our mind about what our project is going to be.  We have either found a design or come across a pattern that really appeals to us.  Sometimes, it seems like the image is just perfect for embroidery on material or knitting (or crocheting) with yarn.  

This might be a picture of an animal, a landscape, a quote, or a symbol of some sort, or it could be a sweater, a scarf, or a pair of socks.  Whatever the project may be, it is usually a recognizable thing.  There would be no confusion as to what this item represents.  This is very pleasant, of course, but it is not always necessary.

There are just times when you feel it would be fun to experiment with different stitches and textures without any recognizable pattern or plan.  Or you might want to work with colors and shapes and see what develops.  This is perfectly okay, and it is especially easy in terms of embroidery.   Feel free to let out your inner artist, and try an abstract.