I said I wasn’t going to make anyone Christmas gifts this year…
“I’m not going to make any Christmas gifts this year.”
I say this every year.
And every year, one week before Christmas, I start making gifts.
Every single year.
This year was no exception.
I figured embroidery would be faster than knitting. Right?
HA!
I started these Wednesday, December 17th, finished them Wednesday, December 24th, and I’m very thankful it’s only the nuclear family for Christmas.
I wanted to experiment with something new (always a great idea on a deadline – not so much) and dove into the world of blackwork embroidery.
Very simply, blackwork embroidery is a style of embroidery that used black thread against a white or ivory background. This creates a high contrast between the fabric & the stitching. The designs are generally geometric (yes please!), and use small repetitive “fill stitches” to fill in areas and create the design. Blackwork embroidery was popular in England in the 1400s (think around the same time as King Henry the VIII of England – the one with all the wives) and is said to have been influenced by Catherine of Aragon – Henry VIII’s first wife, it was used as decoration on cuffs, ruffs & sleeves.
More information about embroidery techniques & blackwork embroidery here.
I did nothing resembling traditional blackwork embroidery – but rather took some fill stitches, and the stitching technique (blackwork embroidery uses a comparatively small number of embroidery stitches) and played around a lot.
I played with both stitches & colors, some of these are traditional fill stitches where I only worked 1/2 or 3/4 of the motif, and obviously traditional blackwork embroidery doesn’t involve multiple colors.
Materials:
-all of these were stitched on 16-count Aida, with 2 strands of embroidery floss.
Finished Size:
-the 2 pieces in frames are 4″ by 6″ (10 cm by 15.25 cm)
-the hoop is a 6″ (15.25 cm) diameter
I love dipping back into embroidery every now and then, and I definitely want to do more blackwork embroidery in the future – including delving further into the history & tradition of it – but really, it probably would have been faster to just knit everyone something.
an almost completed button up shirt, and it’s the end of week 20! – The Self-Made Wardrobe Week 20
The Self-Made Wardrobe is a project where I only wear garments I’ve made.
It’s sort of a year long experiment in getting dressed without clothing labels.
DAY 134 – DECEMBER 12th
Boring Black Sweater
Basic Black Tank Top
Graphic Silk Circle Skirt
Grey Tights
Brown Boots
Bead Crochet Bracelet
Various Rings
I absolutely love this boring black sweater. As much of a boring nightmare as it was to knit (and it was really boring), I can wear it with anything in my wardrobe, and it’s the perfect weight for a light winter layer. I guess sometimes sucking it up and knitting the boring things is totally worth it.
DAY 135 – DECEMBER 13th
Blue Kimono
Grey Cowl
Basic Black Tank Top
Cascading Flowers Skirt
Various Rings
This blue kimono was one of the very first things I made for the self-made wardrobe and I wore it almost constantly throughout the summer and into the fall. It turns out is also make a perfect layer for when I’m working from home.
DAY 136 – DECEMBER 14th
Versio Sweater
Basic Black Tank Top
Graphic Silk Circle Skirt
Black Tights
Black Heels
Pocket Watch Necklace
Various Rings
This sweater was kind of an experiment in making yarn from my yarn stash (which is almost entirely single skeins of lace weight yarn) work for sweater knitting. It turned out to be a quite successful experiment if I do say so myself. A colorful experiment – but a successful one.
DAY 137 – DECEMBER 15th
Moonstruck Cardigan
Black Scarf
Black Maxi Skirt with a Slit
Black Tights
Brown Boots
Bead Crochet Bracelet
One of the benefits of freelancing and working a lot from home is that I have a really flexible schedule, and can usually take photos in the late morning/midday/early afternoon when the light isn’t streaming directly into my living room – but then, some days that just doesn’t work out and I take squinty-eyed, coffee drinking morning photos.
DAY 138 – DECEMBER 16th
Boring Black Sweater
Blue & Green Archer Button Up
Graphic Silk Circle Skirt
Black Tights
Brown Boots
Pocket Watch Necklace
Various Rings
My first version of Archer is so close to done I can taste it, and couldn’t help but wear it (even though it still doesn’t have buttons.) I had actually finished the hem that morning, and had already gotten dressed, taken photos, and was walking out the door, when I decided to change. I exchanged my deconstructed sweater for an unfinished Archer, and boring black sweater, and quickly snapped a couple more photos – it was definitely the right choice.
DAY 139 – DECEMBER 17th
Blue & Green Archer Button Up
Black Scarf
Black Maxi Skirt with a Slit
Black Tights
Brown Boots
Various Rings
This wasn’t the warmest winter wardrobe decision I ever made – but it worked out fine, and I’m getting buttons for Archer today, so hopefully it’ll be properly done this weekend. Yay!
DAY 140 – DECEMBER 18th
Transitional Weather Sweater
Black Scarf
Cascading Flowers Skirt
Grey Tights
I don’t know why I tend to sit cross-legged in this skirt, but it would seem I do.
Also! It’s the end of Week 20! We’re quickly approaching Day 150!
(and still, I just want a pair of damn pants. I’ve wanted a pair of pants since week 6, and the only person ‘at fault’ for me not having pants, is me… damn it.)
How to Knit a Winter Coat
I’m almost done with the knitting for my winter coat. I have a ball and a half left of yarn, which will add about 4.5 inches to the body. And I figure my deadline is the super cold weather we’re supposed to be getting later this week.
I’m not sure if anyone else is crazy enough to try knitting a proper winter coat, but if you are, here’s how I did it.
Step 1: decide to do it.
Ignore exactly how much knitting it’ll be, and don’t think too hard about how cold winter gets. I’m in New York City, so it gets cold, but not quite cold enough for me to decide not to do this.
Step 2: find your yarn.
You want something warm (no shit…), so an animal fiber of some sort. You could also use a wool, or llama, or other animal fiber, but you want to stay away from plant fibers, man-made fibers, and silks.
I’m using Misti Alpaca Chunky, which is 100% baby alpaca yarn. I have 14 or 15 balls of yarn, which translates to 1500-1600 yards of yarn.
Step 3: pick your stitch pattern. Density is gold.
A stitch pattern that creates dense fabric, helps help keep out wind/rain/snow/winter slush/gross weather. So I would suggest a slipped stitch, or fair isle pattern. If you have a tight gauge, you might be able to do stockinette, or a cable pattern, but stay away from the lace.
I’m using an all-over slip stitch pattern, in a chunky yarn, on a US size 10 (6.00mm) needle. The stitch pattern is a slip 1, knit 1, on the right side, and slip 1, purl 1 on the wrong side. It makes for slow knitting, but really warm fabric. I really wish I could photograph this sweater in a way that conveyed exactly how dense this fabric is.
Step 3.5: Swatch liberally.
It’ll save you a lot of headache, heartache, and knitting time later.
Step 4: choose your sweater shape/knitting pattern.
I’m doing a super straight forward, drop shoulder, boxy cardigan, so I’ll be able to layer lots of layers underneath it.
I knit the fronts and back in pieces to keep them portable. Then closed up the shoulder with a 3 needle bind off, picked up stitches for the sleeves and knit down towards the hem. Then I sewed up the side seams & underarm seams.
Now I’m adding as much length as possible to the body, so I picked up the stitches around the hem, and am planning to knit until I run out of yarn.
Step 5: figure out how you want your sweater to close.
Buttons? Toggles? Hooks & eyes? Snaps? Zipper?
I’m waiting till it’s all knit to figure out how I want to close it. I’m debating between toggles, hooks & eyes, snaps, a zipper, belting it, or some combinations of the above.
Step 6: knit.
Because the slip stitch makes for very slow knitting, I’ve kind of lost track of exactly how much tv I’ve caught up on while knitting this sweater.
Step 6.5: just keep knitting. just keep knitting.
Step 7: Finish it. Wash it. Block it. Wear it.
(which might actually be four steps, but I haven’t gotten there yet.)
I’m still knitting the body, which I’ll (hopefully) finish tonight. But I’ve done all of the sewing up, and wove in the ends (mostly so I could photograph it without the sweater having unintentional fringe.)
I waffle back and forth on if the sweater will be warm enough to actually be a coat. Today, I’m leaning towards “it will be warm enough.” And if it’s not, I’ll probably cry, then add a full (sewn) wool lining.
But I’ll deal with that once the knitting is done, for now, it’s “just keep knitting, just keep knitting.”
