FO: Rose and Petals Lap Duvet

During the Easter break, we went to Scarborough for the day and I always have to make a stop at the Scarborough Sewing Centre. It’s a hidden treasure trove.  The shop is packed to the ceiling with bolts and they are very reasonably priced.

I’d seen these Lap Duvets by Purl Bee and thought that it would be a fun and easy project to do.

I’m often attracted to large print patterns for fabric but I don’t like the effect of them within patchwork; so this would be an ideal project to try out something different. I picked two large print fabrics that caught my eye; I did spend quite some time looking at everything and thankfully Mr. has a lot of patience.

I wanted to try a different wadding too; something a little more luxurious. I bought the Dream Orient Wadding from Cotton Patch. It’s a mix of bamboo, silk, tencel and cotton. It has a lovely drape to it.

It didn’t take long at all to make and now I have a pretty lap duvet to snuggle up in (and the walls have just been painted this weekend too, which I've discovered make a lovely backdrop - I just have to make the curtains now!)

It’s nice to get the full benefit from the large print fabric in this blanket.

Handmade Japanese Needle Roll

I’ve been a dedicated user of circular knitting needles since I first started knitting. I work everything on circulars, including plain straight knitting. Recently, I’ve found myself working on little samples in different size needles and I was being slowed down by changing the tops. So I bought myself some Karbonz Straight Needles to add to the ever growing collection.

As I’ve exclusively worked with circular needles, I found that I didn’t have a home to put these new straights. After some stash diving later, I came up with a combination of fabrics that I liked and worked out how to make a needle roll from them. The outer fabric is a beautiful Japanese style fabric and I’ve lined it with fusible fleece to give it extra body. The lining is a combination of fabrics and I have used iron on interfacing for the lining too. This double layer of interfacing will hopefully give my needles all the protection they need.

The binding and the ribbon is from my the collection of fabric that I recently bought and blogged about here.

I made an extra pocket for DPNs and any other bits I can fit in.

I shaped the flap at the top on the edges so when it rolls up the edges don’t peek out.

I am really quite thrilled with the finished needle roll and hopefully it will match nicely with my new needle bag

Photo Tutorial: How to Back a Knitted Blanket

Recently, I was asked to help out with a project. This wonderful blanket (designed by Debbie Abrahams from her book, Blanket and Throws to Knit) was knitted by Ann. I was asked to piece it together and back it. The finished blanket is being used to raise money for When you Wish Upon a Star. The yarn was donated by A Good Yarn and the fabric and cotton by L & C Fabrics.

I thought I’d show you how I went about backing the blanket, I went about it as I would a quilt. Though, I decided tying would be the best way of layering it together, as traditional quilting would be difficult on a knitted fabric.

1. Block the blanket. I pinned it out and spritzed it. Normally, I would wet block, but I was concerned that the red may bleed and it would take some time to dry too.

2. My blanket was too large for a standard width so I pieced the backing. The backing should be a few inches larger than the knitted blanket. Place it right side down on the floor.



I then tape it down on the floor to make it lay flatter. Just using sellotape around the edge, I taped the middles, then the corners and then along the edge and it smoothed it out.

4. Place the knitted blanket in the centre of the backing, face up.

5. Starting in the middle, with some thread/yarn (I used some of the mercerised cotton that the blanket was made from) and using a sharp needle, take a stitch at each corner – making sure that fabric is caught at the back.

6. There’s no need to cut the yarn for each stitch, just stretch it across the top between each stitch, like the photo below.

7. Once all the stitches are done. Turn it over and make sure you’ve gone through all the layers to the back. Each stitch should look something like this.

8. The next stage is tying the knots, cut all the strands across the front in the middle of the length. I didn’t like the look of the knots on the front of the fabric, so I turned it all around. If you are happy with your knots on the front, then skip to step 11. To turn the knots around, pull one end out on the back.

9. There should be one strand on the front. Thread the needle onto the front strand…

...and take this end through to the back.

10. Make sure they come out close to one another. It should look like this.

11. Tie a reef knot, which goes something like this. Left over right..

12. Under and out. Pull it up very tightly.

13. Right over left, under and out and again pull it tightly. I ended up knotting it a third time because the cotton was slippery.

14. Repeat from step 8 for all the knots. Then trim the strands to within an inch or two of the knot.

15. The back should be tied securely to the blanket. Next the edge needs to be attached. If necessary, trim the cotton backing to within an inch of where it’ll be sewn down. Fold that edge down and pin into position.

16. Use ladder/mattress stitch to invisibly sew the fabric to the knitted blanket. Try to stay on the same row of knitting all the way around. This ladder stitch is the same stitch that is used for sewing up side seams in knitting. Take a stitch through the edge of the folded seam…

…then take the same stitch a little further along in the knitted fabric ( the picture jumped from blue to white, the one I wanted to use was out of focus, so just imagine you’re on the same bit of the blanket).

17. Continue around the edge. When you get to the corner…

….fold the corner under….

…and pin right at the corner.

18. When you get to the corner, make sure you start or finish a stitch directly on the corner, so you get a nice crisp edge.

This is how the corner looked after sewing.

Continue around the blanket until you get to where you started. I steamed the edges of the backing (without touching the iron to the fabric), this gave it a crisper finish.

I managed to back it in a day but you can see by the last picture that the light had changed. I didn’t use any batting because I felt the knitting had enough body, but I can’t think why you couldn’t use some if you wanted to.

Review: KnitPro Thames Bag

I had a little treat last week. I’ve been so overly excited about it, that it verges on the ridiculous – so I thought I’d share it with you. I bought a beautiful new bag for my knitting needles – a KnitPro Thames Bag. I bought mine from A Good Yarn and if they’re not in stock, then they can be ordered in for you (I ordered mine).

They’re available in black, yellow, red, purple and blue. I bought the blue one and I’m really glad I did. It’s a beautiful blue – almost verging on purple and the velour material on the inside is such a rich colour.

I do take my needles out with me to knit and natter quite often. I had one of the fabric KnitPro cases for quite awhile and it did the job, but if the case was upside down, then sometimes the needles fell out and the soft fabric didn’t quite feel like enough protection. I kept a few fixed circulars in one of the pockets too, which was a bit cramped for them; so I’ve been on the look out for something that fit the bill better. The Thames bag is perfect for what I needed.

The material is faux leather and the straps are detachable, so if you want it purely as a case then you can. The case is quite hard for extra protection. On the inside, it is like a folder. There is storage on the front and back covers, as well as, two “pages” on the inside.

The elastic section is on the front and there is more than enough room to fit in my interchangeables. I’ve managed to fit in 13 pairs. Some share a space and the large needles have a section each – with a bit of jiffling, I think I could fit another pair or two in. The elastic is good and the needles do not move at all.

The next page has four deep pockets (all of them go down to the bottom of the “page”) and one sideways buttoned pocket. These would be quite good for notions, I store mine in a different way; so for the time being I have crochet hooks, needle gauge and some fixed circulars in mine.

On the other side of the “page” is a full zipped pocket, which is perfect for all the cables for the interchangeable tips.

The next page is a clear pocket, which I think is brilliant. I’ve used mine for all my short 16 inch circulars and the keys and stoppers. Being able to see what’s in the pocket is great, especially when trying to find the key that locks the interchangeables in place.

The back page has slots, which are very tight, so the needles don’t move about at all. I’ve put my most used DPNs and sock circulars in there. Though it could be good for crochet hooks too. At the moment the slots are perhaps a little too tight but I’m sure they’ll loosen up a bit with wear.

The whole thing zips up, so nothing is going to drop out of it. The one downside is the velour, which looks absolutely beautiful but will probably mark with use; particularly with the needles pressing on it.

If the case was another inch or two longer, then I would have been able to fit my 25cm straights in, which would have been the icing on the cake. However, I really love it and would definitely recommend them – particularly if you have a needle collection like mine!

And just because, here's a photo of my knitting...

Downton cushion

That fabric, from last week, must have been calling my name, because it didn't sit there long before it was transformed into a cushion.

I felt that the blue one (on the left) didn't want to be cut up too small, otherwise the pattern would be lost. This really did limit my options. In the end I went for a very simple stripe pattern and put the work into the free motion quilting to bring out the shapes.

This was the pre quilted panel, basted and ready to go.

It did take some fussy cutting to try and get those panels to be lined up perfectly (if you don't look too close, they look the same!)

I was inordinately pleased with the zip. It's the first zip that I've been happy with and sadly, what I keep showing people who come to the house. Not look at my new Downton Abbey cushion, but look at this zip!! I found it hard to photograph the zip and I'm sure it's not up to the standards of most sewers; but I was pleased with it.

The free motion quilting took a a few hours. I used the shapes inthe fabric to quilt around. Those dotty circles almost look like flowers now.

I'm very pleased with the finished result. I keep on trying out ideas for the charm pack, but I'm finding the fabric quantity quite limiting. I had an idea to do a hunter's star cushion but to get the fabric to work, the pieces might have to be quite small - perhaps too small. I might fall back on the trusty half square triangles in the end.

Downton downtown

I had a little retail therapy the other weekend.

There was quite a lot of fabric bought. This was the haul!

The rippled one really did remind me of the Old Shale stitch pattern (what most people erroneously call Feather and Fan). Though Mr says it makes his eyes funny, so it won't be used for cushion as I'd intended.

These two were from Andover Fabrics' Downton Abbey range.

And the charm pack is one I've been on the look out for - Road 15 by Moda.

My patchwork cushions in the lounge have been very well loved and could do with replacing so hopefully these fabrics will step up and take their place.

I learnt a new crochet stitch that same weekend. Its modern name seems to be Diagonal Box Stitch - a rather uninspiring name. It was fun to do. Michele from Yarn Aloud taught us how to do it. There were a few examples about and I liked the look of it in a finer yarn. 

So after some stash rummaging later, I came up with a ball of zauberball and whizzed through to make a scarf. I used a 4.00mm hook, so it had plenty of drape when worn.  I worked it on the bias to make a rectangle shape instead of a square. I used the entire ball but it wasn't long enough to make a decent sized scarf; so I put a row of buttons on one end, so it could be worn as a cowl.

The spaces between the trebles make good buttonholes, so it can be buttoned up in any way you like.

The pattern has brought out the stripes in the yarn; or is it vice versa, the stripes have brought out the pattern well? Either way I think it's fab.