[CRAFTING, crochet] Jute Coasters Update

After finishing the first jute coaster, I was curious how it would compare to one made as written.

Jute on left, acrylic worsted yarn on right.

The jute coaster is 5" in diameter, weighs 1.2 oz, and took over two hours to hook.
As described on the previous post, I needed to modify the pattern for size, down to only four rounds from seven.  I used a Magic Ring instead of a chain round, worked the first cluster round with fewer loops, and then dropped one cluster round and one border round entirely.

The yarn coaster is 4.5" in diameter, weighs 0.3 oz, and only took forty-five minutes to hook with all seven rounds.

Stacked, for diameter comparison.

Doing this comparison gave me confidence that I made the right choice for materials and pattern tweaks.  I'll definitely work with a DK or worsted weight yarn for inside-the-house and gift coaster sets, while the heavier jute will be perfect for use on our screened porch.

[CRAFTING, crochet] Jute Cluster Coasters

One of the crochet projects on which I'm working is a set of coasters made with jute twine.

I chose jute twine because (a) it's cheap at only $1.48 per 190 ft. roll at our local Lowe's, (b) it's a natural fiber, and (c) it will hold up well to light outdoor use. I wanted a design with simple, clean lines - a smoothly worked round with an elegant border, but that doesn't look too much like a lace doily. After spending entirely too long browsing the Ravelry database, I finally settled on this design by ChezPascale.

Cluster Coaster, © by ChezPascale

Because jute twine is thicker than medium-weight worsted yarn, especially so once the twine's been kissed by Georgia's sweltering summer air, I needed to modify the pattern somewhat.

• I had to use a 'J' hook for the twine instead of the suggested 'H' for yarn.
• I used a Magic Circle to start and an Invisible Slip-End to finish, to avoid start bumps and end gaps.
• The first row of clusters is worked with 5 loops instead of 7, as the full cluster wouldn't go into the previous row's SCs.
• And to keep the final diameter near 4", I skipped the third cluster round and the second border round.  I need coasters, after all, not jute saucers and plates.

The other projects on which I've been working require a consistently firm tension, so the change to jute is difficult.  The feel of it is jarring; it's scratchy and stiff - coiling off the roll rather than flowing off a ball.  It's also difficult to insert new stitches into previous rounds, as the stiffness doesn't lend easily to insertion space.  What would've taken me an hour (at most) to accomplish with yarn took well over two hours with this twine (nearly four with the requisite row frogging and pattern tweaks of a 1st WiP).  The result is pretty, and it's strong, and it will be durable - but my hands and arms are quite tired after working with it all afternoon.

The first of eight coasters, w/pattern modified for twine

One coaster down, seven to go!

UPDATE ON THIS PROJECT:  Click here!  :)

Projects Round-up, Crochet edition

As does almost every artist and crafter I know, I have more In-Progress projects than there are hours in the day to work them.  I have a To-Do list for home improvements and for our garden, and a basket of sewing projects I need to work through, plus various culinary and writing projects floating through my thoughts - and I really do need to take an afternoon or two and get this blog updated - but today's post is about my crochet projects only.

This is my In-Progress page on Ravelry:

I don't have pictures yet for most of them - that's on my ever-growing To Do list, too.  Most of the crochet projects are such that I can get a little done each day - like one square or round or row+return each day.  The 85% projects are finished; I just need to take pictures and do the data entry for the project page.  As each project is finished, I'll draft up the pattern (if it's my own design) and make a blog post for it.

In the meantime, wish me luck!  :)

[COSPLAY] Spirited Away - Chihiro's Friendship Hairband

As shared on G+ and FB a couple of days ago (and now that I feel confident enough in my status as a Beginning Seamstress to attempt something outside-the-sewing-room wear-worthy), "Haku" and "Chihiro/Sen" from Miyazaki's "Spirited Away" will be my first official cosplay challenge.

I found a set of DA pages that provides a breakdown of pieces for each outfit and, from there, found a company in Asheville NC that sells a pattern for the hippari and monpei. After evaluating the crafting materials I have on hand, I realized that Chihiro's purple hairband is the first piece I can create for this couple's cosplay without having to make a run to my local Joann Etc.  I created two versions of this hairband - one crocheted and one knit, both using Caron Simply Soft Party in "Purple Sparkle" as this yarn matches the screen imagery perfectly.

We know from the character "Zeniba" that the canon method for crafting this "friendship hairband" is "knit one, purl two" (K1.P2), so I'll use the knit version I created until I can create a decent cord using only 2-3 K1.P2 rows.

CROCHET VERSION: started with a large hairband elastic and covered it with single crochet. After the elastic was covered, do one single chain (SC) as for a new row, then do half double crochet (HDC) in the space between each SC of starting row. Weave end to finish.  Overall, I like the way this piece looks, but its crafting method doesn't match the canon description so I can't justify using it for this cosplay.

KNIT VERSION: as for I-cord knitting w/ 2 double-point needles (size H), until 1.5x longer than length of needed elastic string. Then, thread elastic string through interior of cord, knot the ends together, and cover the knot with knit stitches.

 

ALSO: many thanks to +Nixie Shimo for modeling the hairband so I could take pictures of the finished piece.

  

Welcome to the Import!

My personal project this afternoon has been to separate my "BeckieSueDalton" blog into a "creative stuffs" one and a "smart stuffs" one.  Now that I've finished the basic setup for the creative one (hooray!), I'm at the point of transferring posts from the original blog to here.  My hope is to have this finished out tonight so I can start updating both blogs regularly - especially with the progress made on our backyard container garden, and with exciting things happening on my gaming and school horizons.

Stay tuned; there's lot of fun projects ahead!