Organic Knitting on the Fly

I found some lovely yarn on clearance at Michaels but there were only two skeins. So it was time to get creative and see what I could do with 2 skeins.

(My camera has gone kaputt with strange color lines but my backup needs charging so these will have to do today.)

It's a lovely yarn, soft and has a nice drape. I decided to go with bigger needles than necessary for such a thin, lightweight yarn and make a cover/wrap. That involves a back then splitting at the shoulder for two front panels and tacking a few inches on the sides to create sleeves.

Since I only have two skeins I decided to knit as long as I could on the first skein then call that the back length and start the front panels with the second skein.

With size 6 circular needles I cast on 140 sts, using the alternating ribbing cast on method. I have posted that here before.

Then work about an inch of ribbing then about 2" of moss stitch (k1, p1 across then on following rows knit in purl and purl in knit) to keep the edges from rolling.

I placed markers after 10, 30, 50, 90, 110, 130. The first ten and last ten stitches are worked in moss stitch. After the border is complete stitches 11-50 and 91-130 are worked in stockinette. I put the markers at 30 and 110 for counting then left them because I think I will do a design on the front. Stitches 50-90 are what I call holey stitches.

Holey stitches, multiple of 4 worked in 4 row repeats.
Row 1: k4, yox2, k4, youx2....end with k4
Row 2: k2, ssk, (p1, k1 the 2 yos), k2tog, *ssk,p1,k1, k2tog, ending with k2
Row 3: k2, yo x2, k4, youx2.... end with k2
Row 4: ssk, p1,k1, k2tog....

I still have plenty of yarn left in the first skein and have reached a length that would work well for the cover but I plan to go a few more inches.

I wish I had thought to do a self-edging icord on the sides as I worked but did not think of it until I had several inches of the back completed above the edging and I did not want to tear it out and start over and I certainly did not want to start the new edge partially up the sides. For the next one though...

One-Piece Leather Zipper Pouch

You can never have too many zipper pouches, right? I use them for everything imaginable and they are so handy when traveling.

The leather pouch on top is my old pouch with the worn out zipper.

I made this leather zipper pouch probably about ten years ago. I have had it so long that I have forgotten just when I made it. Probably more than ten years ago. It was one of my first experiments with leather. Leather is a unique beast to sew. It can be done on a home machine with some patience and a few learned skill sets. A walking foot is very helpful also.

The zipper has gone kaputt. I won't toss the pouch just yet because I am hoping that maybe I can fix the zipper teeth somehow. I've seen some magical solutions to this problem though I don't remember them exactly at the moment. If nothing else I will tear it apart and resew with a new zipper. That option will change the dynamics and dimensions of the pouch however. Unlike with fabric, ripping out a seam from leather leaves holes. Unsightly holes. So it's a project for another day.

The project for this day is to make a replacement leather one-piece zipper pouch with a small header. I found some fun leather at Tandy Leather and made this lovely little number.

Materials:
1 9" zipper with plastic teeth
1 8"x 12" piece of leather
1 8" x 12" piece of fabric for lining
Coordinated thread


Place 8" side of leather edge to zipper tape edge, right side of leather facing right side of zipper. I arrange so that the metal stopper beads on zipper are out of the way of fabric edges so they won't be in the way when sewing the sides in a future step. On the other side of the zipper tape place 8" side of fabric to zipper tape edge. The zipper will be sandwiched between the leather and lining fabric. Right sides of leather and lining fabric will be touching. Be sure to align along sides.

After sewing the leather and lining to zipper, finger press back and topstich. I change stitch length to 4 for topstitching leather.

Now do the same for the other side of the zipper with the other ends of the leather and fabric pieces. You will have two loops of fabric.

Unzip zipper and turn. Topstich the second side. It's a little bit of a pain to reach the edge where the zipper head is but you can use a longer zipper if wanted. I just sew as close as I can get because the edges will be sewn in the next step anyway. Turn it back inside out.

Now open zipper at least halfway. If you forget this you won't be able to turn your pouch after sewing sides. Align pouch so that there's about 1" of material above and the rest below.

If you want a tab or ring, tuck it into side, raw end out, along bottom zipper tape. Or you can add a grommet in the header when pouch is finished. Or you don't necessarily need one at all. I cut a slim piece of leather long enough to provide a thumb loop and inserted it by zipper at the loose end before sewing up the sides. I insert tab on side where zipper opens from.

Sew up sides. Be careful of metal stopper beads on zipper. Do not sew over those. Hold zipper securely in place at its loose end until secured with stitching. Backstich and sew over zipper several times to reinforce it. I sew over it, backstich to edge of zipper and sew over it again at least two times.

Dealing with raw edges options:
1. just let them be. The original pouch had raw edges for ten years of use and was not a problem.
2. zig zag along edges to minimize fraying
3. cover with binding
4. trim with pinking shears

If you choose option 2 or 3, only do the edges below the zipper.

Now turn bag right side out. Poke out those corners into nice neat points then topstich 1/4" or 1/2" from zipper to hold header in place. I line up zipper foot with edge of leather along zipper tape.

Just lovely.

Super Easy Fabric Baskets with Decorative Flaps

Aren't they adorable? I think so. And so handy.

Super easy as well. Let's get started. These are my notes on the ones I made for reference.

This basket starts with an 18" square fashion fabric enforced with stiff interfacing and an 18" square of fabric for the lining.

Iron on the interfacing to the backside (wrong side) of the fashion fabric. I used Pellon 808 for this basket and it worked very well. The extra stiff Pellon craft interfacing would work well also but is not necessary for the basket to hold its shape.

Place the two fabrics right sides facing and sew around with 1/2" seam, leaving a 3-4" opening in the middle of one side for turning. Clip corners and turn. Poke out corners and smooth sides then topstich 1/4" from edge around all four sides (this will close the opening left for turning).

Fold in half. Measure 3 1/2" from bottom corner and mark on bottom and side then draw a line to join the two points. Do this for right side and left side. Sew along diagonal line. Be sure to backstitch at edges starting and ending the seam.

Now fold in half on the other side. This will feel a bit awkward as the first two corners will distort the rectangle a bit but it will work fine. Measure 3 1/2" from bottom corner up along side and down along bottom fold and mark then draw diagonal line between the two points for both sides again. Sew along the diagonal line for both sides.

Whatever fabric side is facing you when sewing the corners will be the lining.

Turn inside out. Fold tabs down onto sides of basket. Topstich 1/4" from edge along top to hold tabs in place.

The tabs inside the basket can be tacked in place. Or they can be cut 1/4" from seam and surged or zig-zagged to cover the raw edges. I left in to provide added support.

I ran out of Pellon 808 and the replacement was Pellon 809 which is firm but did not feel as firm as 808 so I attached to both fabrics for the owl/polka dot basket. Worked really well.

Baskets can be custom sized for any dimension.

What I've made so far:

A. 18" square 3 1/2"x 3 1/2" Finished 5" h x 7 1/2" w
B. 16" square 3 1/2 x 3 1/2" Finished 5" h x 5 1/2" w
C. 12" square 2 1/2" x 2 1/2" Finished 3 1/2" h x 4 1/2" w
D. 12" square 2" x 2" Finished 3" h x 4 3/4" w

I plan on making a chart once I get some more done of varying dimensions but this gives a general idea of results that can be expected.

A.

C on left and D on right.

(B got put to use right away so I did not get a picture of it at this time.)