chaotic creativity

visible mending, knitting, crochet and everything else

[franz-bauch-foto]

Morning light

[koniknits]

@fictionalred gifted me these heddles for band weaving but I've been a bit stuck on them because I haven't been able to find a good resource on using them. Does anyone have a bandweaving guide that is very visual, aimed at rigid heddle users, and has example patterns mapped to the threading?

[batbetbitbotbut]

Hey @tiuhtaviuhta I think you have this type of heddle (with the mid height slots), any ideas?

[tiuhtaviuhta]

What a treasure trove 😍

Aikama has good tutorial videos for warping up and weaving with both simple band heddle and pick up pattern heddle! They are in Finnish but I think the visuals are clear enough even if you don't know the language.

https://m.youtube.com/@aikamafinland

Also this blog has a rudimentary heddle band pattern generator that I haven't had a chance to play with yet but I'd be curious to see if someone else finds it useful

https://withmyhandsdream.com/pirtanauha-generaattori/

Also! I can't find the specific Post but @crookedtines has really good explanations about designing your own patterns for one of these!

[crookedtines]

I had the same trouble when I first started bandweaving, and decided that once I learned how to do it, I'd create some nice visual guides to fill in the gaps.

It's still a work in progress, and quickly spiraled out of control into a fully illustrated book (oops), but here are a few pages you might find useful that explain how plainweave patterns work with a rigid heddle:

Apologies if the wording doesn't make perfect sense, it's still a somewhat rough draft textwise.

As for the double slotted heddles for baltic pick up, I found this video super helpful when I was first learning how to use them:

I also have a post that very briefly goes over how to design your own baltic pick up patterns here.

[koniknits]

Wow, your book looks exactly like what I'm looking for! I'd love to support your progress!

[so-i-did-this-thing]

If I'm not the best-dressed man at the on-site quarterly financial planning meeting, I'll *die*.

I am normally not a fan of shiny ties, but this one is an exception. It's this shimmery copper in person.

1940's-ish vibe - please don't drive me crazy by calling this Victorian or earlier. This is also all separates and not a suit. (Jacket and trousers would match if a suit, and there would be some cut differences, fwiw.)

Coat is less than 20 years old but is stylistically close to a hacking jacket, new vintage shirt from Darcy, new vintage trousers from Oldfield, boots are Taft, waistcoat and tie are true vintage, though at least a decade apart. (While this waistcoat is shorter than modern, it is still a tad long for the silhouette I want. So, alas, cannot completely slut it up today.)

[vincentbriggs]

Friend was getting frustrated at hand sewing because the polyester thread was twisting a lot, so I gave him some cotton thread and he went wow this is so much better. now I'm wondering if perhaps a lot of the people who hate hand sewing have never tried it with a well behaved thread. If you've only ever hand sewn with polyester thread try cotton or silk, or linen with some beeswax! (And read this blog post with more advice.)

[dollsahoy]

I have given similar advice in regard to machine sewing--cheap polyester thread creates varying levels of frustration that nicer polyester thread does not, and I wonder how many people who have problems with machine sewing are actually dealing with uncooperative thread.

(I discovered this on accident, when I switched from my usual Saba or Gutermann thread to a no-name 2/$1 store brand thread that once was my main thread, thinking it was nothing more than a silly act of nostalgia, but, no. All of the issues I used to have sewing knits immediately reappeared. I switched to a better thread--in a worse color match--and the problems vanished. And I'd thought the problems with sewing knits had gone away because my sewing skills had improved! Nope! It was spending more money on thread!)

[smallerplaces]

This is giving me flashbacks to the time in the 2010s when I thought I'd save time and money by picking up some cheap off-brand thread at the convenient SAS Fabrics (a discount mill-end store). I went from having no trouble sewing a nice seam to have endless and varied problems.

That also reminds me that at some point, I'll need to side-eye the current thread stash, as all but two spools are from my mother's stash, so they are a minimum of six years old, probably much older. Here, therefore, is a link on how to test if your thread is too old. (It's one thing I don't buy at estate sales!)

Is my sewing thread too old to use?

Even though you may think that buying a large box of vintage thread on sale sounds like a like your saving money, it may turn out to be quit

[vincentbriggs]

I like old thread, but I do always pull on it to make sure it's strong enough! I figure if it can last for decades in a garment there's no reason a properly stored thread can't last just as well on the spool. And the weaker stuff is great for hand basting, so I keep it too, as long as it's a decently smooth cotton. (At my first tailoring job I learned that you can actually buy specially made hand basting thread that's designed to break easily so it's easier to pull out.)

But oogh, yeah not the cheap fuzzy stuff. If a bunch of secondhand thread comes with any of those thin cheaply made spools that have that very visible fuzziness they get tossed immediately. Serger thread is the only stuff that's allowed to look like that!

[mysharona1987]

Western media is a shit show, basically.

Like they think are suddenly Sherlock or Columbo.

[mysharona1987]

But obviously the submarines are under the sea?

Where else would they be?

[kaz-yangin]

Not sure why this image has been edited to mention Iran. The original still shows western media to be a barrel of idiots

[stitcheskeepmesane]

bc it's the latest craze in xenophobic circles

[thoughtportal]

Open Printer

Finally, an open hardware printer you can actually understand, repair, and upgrade

Open Printer is an open-source, repairable inkjet printer designed for makers, artists, and anyone tired of throwaway hardware. Built with standard mechanical components and modular parts, it’s easy to assemble, modify, and repair. You can print on standard sheets or paper rolls and choose between black or color cartridges, refillable at your convenience.

This project aims to reclaim our everyday tools. As such, it features no proprietary drivers, no cartridge DRM that locks you to a single vendor and is designed to never become obsolete. The Open Printer is built for longevity and customizability, ensuring that it remains fully under your control.

[briarpatch-kids]

Have people heard of falling fruit? It's a map that marks off foraging locations that are accessible on public land.

It's global and crowdsourced and points you towards FREE FRUIT. (And herbs and nuts and things.) They have an app too but the app costs $2 and you can still pull up the map on your mobile browser for free.

Falling Fruit

A massive, collaborative map of the urban harvest uniting the efforts of foragers, freegans, and foresters around the world. Explore and sha

This is how I found those park cherries!

[thesolarpunkworkshop]

I think I've added around 100-200 spots on here since I heard about it. Even put some of my own trees on it that overhange sidewalks. What's great is not only does it help you identify the plant by telling you what to find where, what's in season, what to spot through wikipedia and usda plant links. But practically any free resource you can think of you can either find on here or put on here like, good dumpsters to scavenge (for food or otherwise), water fountains, community orchards/gardens, fishing spots, little libraries / pantries, even bike pumps.

[yipyipallyall]

[ID: 1: Image of the map of the Western U.S. with orange circles all over it to show the number of resources in various areas. 2: A map zoomed in on a particular sour cherry tree with the map's popup window about it. End ID.]

[llovinghome]

[mesterspets]

An underground revival I’ve been seeing is tatting coming back. I myself have been on a tatting kick, holding courses and making lace.

Let’s go forgotten techniques!

[melissamceagle]

pls admire this quilt i made for a friend (and with a friend). it's so darling it kills me

[stargirldotcom]

hang in there girl. we’re gonna have 8pm sunsets again and greenery and warm summer night air and rainy spring days again soon!

[knit-by-daylight]

Badgers!

[sunnysconfusion]

[kilosink]

I’m gonna get you >:)

[389]

Musings from Anna Fusco

[throwing-roses-into-the-abyss]

Knitting update: getting ready for neck/shoulder shaping on the front panel! I have about 16 rows left on each side with a ton of decreases so they'll go faster and faster! Someone at knitting club told me tonight to have the front panel finished by next week so I'll do my best lol. I have 4 stitches too many and I'm somehow?? On a different part in the colourwork pattern than I'm supposed to be at this point so I did a tiny bit of (very bad) math and I think I have things figured out and prepared now for the splitting up for the neck.

I checked this afternoon and I started this project late may/early june, and taking out the month of traveling and the month-ish of making socks, I've already spent about half a year on this, and I still have to do the sleeves and collar and putting everything together 😭😭 I'm really hoping to have it done by spring/easter which would give me about 2.5 months but at this snail speed I just don't know. Between the intricate colourwork, weaving in ends as I go, and increases/decreases, there's so much going on every row that I need to pay constant attention (and regularly have to go back a bit) and progress is super slow. A single row can take me 20-25 minutes, so even if I sit down for an evening with a movie I can often do maybe 4 rows. And with 2.5mm needles, you can imagine how slow that makes things.

Very excited to be almost done with the front at least though because ngl I'm lowkey tired of this project at this point.

(Also bonus photo of what the insides look like right now. The front panel looks like an absolute mess but I'm weaving in as I go so hopefully when it's done I can just check the threads and snip them off with almost no extra weaving in!)

(Final sidenote: I have lost at least one fish ;_;)

[everythingfox]

A wonderful performance