Tried blocking doilies using liquid starch instead of a spray. These doilies were wet finished by dipping in some mildly hot liquid starch mixture & leaving to soak a bit to ensure the starch permeated the fibers. Then I spent an hour pinning them down, ensuring all the details were stretched & secured. Hopefully I’ll get some nice consistent stiffness with the liquid starch dipping without having to involve an iron which would otherwise flatten the textural details.
Was trying to make a filet crochet dragonfly (tbh not sure if it counts as filet crochet or not but not the point). I don't think it turned out xD I'm gonna frog this and look for another pattern...I kind of want to make a little pouch or something for my mom, as dragonflies are her favorite. But it's harder than I thought !
That said I was using a pattern in Russian and I know exactly zero crochet related words in Russian so that may not have helped me.
Super cute cotton shrug for summer! I’m so happy with the way this worked up. It took a while to work out how I wanted it, but it really might be my favorite design shrug I’ve made so far! 🌊🧜♀️
-Available for purchase in my depop shop-
I’ve been loving mixing size 1 lace yarn with cotton thread! It’s such a cool texture at the end 🙂↕️
Different cores, materials to cover them with and thread.
I mostly use buttonhole silk for sewing headbands. I know some find it too thick, but I’m not patient enough to use silk sewing yarn. I would always stick to silk though. You can see clearly the difference in sheen to cotton and polyester. It’s also smoother and I find cotton, even the smoothest one, looks always a bit fuzzy in comparison.
For the cores I use different materials depending on the shape and diameter I want for my headbands.All I want there is an even thread with no nubs or knobs. Most of the time I use a thread covered with schirting (a plain weave, dressed and calendered fabric). this can also be done with a thin paper (I usually use japanese paper then) but actually I prefer the fabric for the additional support it gives the headbands while stitching through it. Paper gets very unstable with the perforation.
I also I get away with fewer deep stitches into the middle of a signature
In the picture are two threads I have used for headbands and the one I sew most of my books with in comparison.
The lowest row shows some leather cut offs backed with parchment cut offs. Those are a bit tricky to cut. I want one side with a 90° angle to rest on top fo the edge. The other one with a slanted angle is to point up. The parchment covered side is directed towards the cover on the spine and the smaller part parallel to it points to the front. Then I cover them with a thin japanese paper to glue them to spine of the book block.
Actually that covering with paper or fabric can be skipped, I find it easier to work headbands when I don’t have to hold down the core though. I have sewn french double headbands too, using a core made of rolled up paper (we used cigarette papers without the sticky stripe), but it was rather wobbly until I was far enough in to secure them firmly to the block. Making the core with rolled up paper has plenty of advantages though. You get a very firm and even core, you can add as much paper as you want until the thickness you need/want is reached, the paper is sturdy and flexible at the same time and such, It takes a bit practice and equipment though and I ‘m simply happy enough with the cores I have so I don’t make cores from paper.
Sure - every child is your favorite, right? My husband asked for a cotton table cloth and I worked this up. Classic Marianne Kinzel Sun Ray. He loves it. I love it.
A very comfortable useful accessory, super relaxed, but at the same time with a carefree fashion touch. This everyday bracelet is ideal to bring a fresh look on your wrist. Available for 17€ worldwide shipping.