Divide Bravo Nine

My Instagram feed has been green lately. I'm sure you've noticed Divide Bravo 9 flashing it's brightness over the past week among the olive drabs. It almost seems out of place among my usual color saturation preferences. I've always felt it was too bright. Maybe I also harbored some irrational resentment because it was recycled from an A&F sweater. But hey, that's not its fault.



The design hasn't changed, but it's interesting to note that this yarn opens up the design a little bit. It's slightly bigger in proportion than previous versions. I think this is due to the two-ply structure of the yarn. When I did this design with that amazing Italian wool I had before, it did the same thing. I don't have too many of these plied yarns, as manufacturers of the sweaters I recycle tend to prefer a more practical yarn structure consisting of two or more thread/lace weight strands machine-knit together. Consequently, the multi-strand versions of Divide Bravo have tended to be more stable, keeping shape longer. This isn't necessarily a bad thing, quite the contrary. I love how plied yarns create a fabric that opens up and drapes with wear. It basically means more slouchiness. And I like slouchiness.

Etsy Shop Listing

Armer Class

I've been calling these "Armers," much in the same way I've been calling my leg warmers "Leggers." They function pretty much in the same way, adding warmth to the area of a garment where all the drafts happen (the openings). If you ride a bike, then you know what I'm talking about.

The idea has been rolling around in my head to make these since last year, so it's nice to have these done and ready for the upcoming Fall/Winter seasons. I knit these to fit snug at the shoulders so I can layer them underneath a shirt. In the past, I've found wearing sweaters over shirts to be too warm, specifically in the chest and underarm. Maybe it's just me, I don't know. Anyway, I'm anxious to see how these will work themselves into my wardrobe.

In other news, I'll be opening my Etsy Shop this week, and no, these won't be for sale because I made these for me.

Worth Doing

My studio has been a mess lately because of this apron. Now that it's finished, I can get back to the other stuff that got back-burnered because I got a sudden urge to use up all this denim I recycled.



If you've been keeping up with me on Facebook, or more recently on Instagram, then you've seen all the in-progress images that I've been posting. There are a few you haven't seen, though. Namely the sashiko section I used to stabilize the lower hem. I've been pinning some images while researching Sashiko technique, and have found more decorative demonstrations than reinforcement stitching which is what I've tried to do here. I say "tried" because despite the gathering tendencies of spiral stitch, the edge still curls slightly. I think I'm just going to leave it curled. I plan on adding more stitching to other areas, but I want to get a few washings in first, and see how things develop.



The white thread is a 100% cotton recycled from a Façonnable men's sweater, and the black is a 100% silk recycled from a Banana Republic women's sweater. You may notice from those images that each garment was knit with a multi-strand structured yarn, so I had to separate each strand to use the thread individually.

This project was pretty hard. I could have used my sewing machine, but the beauty of hand stitching cannot be denied. And if you don't know me by now, then yes: I do hard things. They're worth doing. Now I think I'm going to clean up my workspace.

Just Make

So that denim I showed you the other day was sitting around within my field of vision the past week because I wanted to sew something out if it.

I don't know what to call this, but I'm currently using it as a mouse pad. The physical parameters indicate that it's a bag. That's fine. If I feel like sliding a piece of paper into it with web passwords, then so be it. If I want to use it as a divider inside another bag, fine. There's no specified purpose for this object. Making it was far more interesting to me.




Measure, cut, iron, stitch. It's like a creative meditation.

I Call Them Gaunts

I need to catch up with all these projects that I finished and never blogged about. These gaunts were completed around the end of last year, and I tucked them away like so many other personal projects. They're a simple improvisational project with more experimenting than planning. Color block stripes, spiral jog stripes, and an angular transition thrown in for good measure. That's really all there is going on here.

The yarn is a 100% Scottish Shetland wool recycled from a beat up sweater that I never took a picture of before unravelling. It was destroyed. I remember there were so many breaks in the yarn that I had to repair every few feet with a russian join. I almost gave up, but at the time this was the only light and medium gray yarns I had. I still have a few ziploc bags full of short strands that I kept. Maybe I should make a pin cushion with some of it (I've been saying that for years).