Patch pockets, how to make them.

As a designer and sewer I find myself constantly hiding the raw edges. I teach sewing at a couple places in NYC and in my classes at 3rdward I teach how to make a Butcher's Apron or a Grocery Bag called the Charlie Bag borrowed from Burdastyle.  For both projects we add patch pockets, double sided. There is always at least 1 student sometimes 2 or 3 that say as we are about to finishing sewing the pocket shut, "How do we put our hand in?".

I will start from the beginning.  Place your 2 pieces face to face, sew 3/8" seam allowance leaving 3" to 4" open. Trim corners at a diagonal, flip to the right side, tuck in raw edges and sew a top stitch straight across.  Then we attached the pocket to the bag or the apron.

the ticking stripe is the apron body

Currently I am making some new styles of aprons for Shag. A cute little, sexy shop based in Williamsburg Brooklyn. The owners, Sam and Ashley, are very cool women. I work mainly with Sam and she is easy going and I can always count on her opinion. I digress. Any who, one of the styles I am working on now is a retro inspired with a tad of sexiness to it half apron. I am calling it the Tabitha apron. Tabitha from Bewitched. I am still using durable fabrics as the base so these are functional as well as cute. I posted my progress on facebook and a friend asked about the pocket. I planned on making a pocket but wasn't sure what kind. Definitely not square. This is a curved, sexy apron, a square visually wouldn't work. I was thinking possibly a 5 point pocket. My friend, Stacey, asked will it be heart shaped. Yes that would be cute but doing a double sided heart shaped pocket with raw edges tucked in can sometimes not be completely smooth on the outside. Those of you who sew know curves can be tough. Then I thought, well I don't have to reverse it, I can just sew it on and have a little fringe.

If you want to do this, cut your heart on the fold like you did in grade school with construction paper.  My pocket is double sided here with pink. I did a straight stitch first around the edges then stitched it onto the apron. I stitched it to the half way up the arch of the heart, leaving about a 4 1/2" wide opening. Feel free to place it at an angle or straight.

http://www.etsy.com/listing/91452844/valentine-cafe-apron-red-hearts-and

 Don't feel like making the apron above? You can buy it on etsy, just click the link.

Regular Guy Beanie....my guy ain't regular!

I have mentioned in the past,a few weeks ago, that I was knitting a scarf and hat for my husband using Madeline Tosh Merino. Awesome soft yarn that I bought from Purl Soho where I work part time. Being a designer and sewer and working at Purl I get to see (and drool) at all the new fabulous fabrics that arrive daily.  I also get to learn way more about yarns, knitting and crocheting. I'm such an amateur hobbyist when it comes knitting and crocheting. To be safe I stick to knit purl knit purl and that's it. Last year, 2010, I tried a hat for Christmas. Ooh so bad. This year I knitted a hat that was to be a skull cap, beanie, is there a difference?  I found this  free pattern on Ravelry.  The hat was finished by Christmas Day but was much too big and long, especially since my husband has no hair to fill the hat. It was like meant for someone with very long dreadlocks.

Today I finally finished the second try. Not perfect but I am so happy it's done.
The scarf I also messed up but I was so far along that when I brought it to work at Purl
and Faye recommended I take it apart.  I really did not want to do that. What I did was knit the whole thing...I should just follow a pattern next time.
The second suggestion was blocking it. So I blocked it and it is still curling a little but hubby is happy with it. (or he is a good liar).


Any comments? Feel free to post, would love to hear.

Knit, Purl, Crochet

Wow I am shocked I haven't posted anything for the new year! Well after Christmas, my niece gave me the wonderful gift of a cold. It was vicious. 3 weeks of no voice, coughing, sneezing well you get the point. I am SO HAPPY to be back to normal. I have fallen behind on everything! Don't you just hate that? Late in getting the Christmas decorations down, behind on custom orders, and the office an absolute fabric mess. Well I have so much catching up to do. How has your 2012 been so far?

Color Block Warmer

I want to share with you today this treasury I put together on etsy. My friend Elaine has already purchased a pair of the dragon slippers. Before I give you the link if you don't know what a treasury is I will tell you.  It is a grouping of an etsy member's picks from other shops. Many non crafters don't realise how long and how much passion goes into knitting and crocheting. Many of you also know that this past December I started working at Purl Soho. A lovely fabric and yarn shop in the Soho section of NYC. Working here I see so many knitters and crocheters. It has made me appreciate the craft much more. I decided to create a treasury of knitted and crocheted items called Knit, Purl, Crochet. Purl is the opposite of a knit stitch. In this group there is something for everyone, baby, kid, woman, man and pet! I hope you enjoy and maybe buy one of these one of a kind made with love items.
Please feel free to comment and let me know what you think.

Marmalade

Winter has arrived....time for neck warmers

Winter has arrived here in NYC. Today has been a blistery, cold day and all I wanted to do was lay under a blanket, watch the Closer that I dvr'd and crochet. As I was walking home from the subway, wishing I had my neck warmer on I also thought that this is a great project to share.
I started crocheting last year and really enjoy it over knitting. However I am finding this year I do like the look of knitting. But in this post I wanted to share with you this quick neck warmer that takes me about an hour.
I found it in the Crochet Essentials Book from Lion Brand

The size needle is a speed hook 35.
I find that monochromatic yarns do look best. And this neck warmer is made with acrylic (to keep the shape), cotton and wool for warmth, and rayon (that's the added softness).
I have included a few colors I have done to show you the difference in between one color and 2 to 3 color. Some of these are available in my etsy shop if you did want to purchase one.

The Holiday Wreath - Under $30

Living in NYC, like most things, Christmas Trees and wreathes are over priced.  Last year I purchased a wreath, coughing up $30. It was painful knowing that I can easily make one if I had access to the key ingredient, the branches.  This year I used the ole' noggin and decided to make one. Also just to point out, last year after we gave our building staff their bonuses, we were told that the wreath on the door is a fire hazard.  This year I decided I will refuse to take it down. 

On to the creation. I picked up this grape vine wreath at Michael's for about $6. I was going to make a Thanksgiving Autumnal wreath for my sister but that never happened.

Here is my handy assistant Homer observing the process.  When we purchased our tree I saved the branches they cut off on the bottom. I also saved the branches we had to trim to get the tree into the stand. I used my floral garden cutters for this.  I then used basic twine to tie the branches onto the wreath. I wanted to use green floral wire but I couldn't find it in my stash. 

The twine actually worked quite well. Here is a photo of it where it barely can be seen. Good job blending in with the branches.

 I had a decorative red berry branch garland I purchased last year post- Christmas sales. I used this to wrap around the wreath. I was going to add pine cones that were purchased at Michaels for $4.00 a bag but I felt the berry wreath was enough. If you decided to add pine cones you can hot glue or attach them with the twine. I purchased purple ribbon ($2.00) at Michael's pre Thanksgiving to use for gift and wine bags. I used this to hang from the door. It has a nice gold trim so adds a bit of shimmer to the wreath. All in all I spent about $10.00!
Wreath is still hanging and no notices from my building staff.