Swarovski coated bicone beads in 'Crystal Aurora Borealis'

One of the most enjoyable parts of the whole project has been sewing the tiny, iridescent Swarovski crystal beads onto the bodice. I have always loved these, they remind me of a necklace my Granny had that I was fascinated by as a child. I got the beads and a beading needle from Beadworks. I used five beads in the centre of each of the large lace flowers and one in the centre of the small ones. They give definition to the lace add an extra special vintage sparkle.

Of course, I didn’t manage to bead the whole bodice during the remainder of Monday evening, the front is done but I’ll finish the back when I go up to Wales.

Another last-minute job that I couldn’t do without Zoe’s presence was cutting for the lace sleeve caps. I had to ensure that they fitted the curve of Zoe’s shoulder while allowing her freedom of movement. I’m a bit sad that I didn’t do this at an earlier fitting so they could be sewn into the garment seams, but it was a difficult thing to get right so probably best that they went on at the end.

I also have a little bow to make to go on the front, I’m pretty sure I can handle that

The actual fitting was a dream, no adjustments needed. Having spent weeks focusing on the detail of the dress and only seeing it on a hanger, I was startled how amazing Zoe looked looked in it, it really does look like it was made for her and to my surprise, looks just like a ‘real’ wedding dress.

I’m not sure I have ever seen a better fitting dress, of any kind, on anyone. The fact that I have never made a bespoke dress before is testament to how much I learnt during my week at London College of Fashion. I now appreciate a comment our tutor made, that a perfect fit is the mark of an expensive garment, it automatically makes it appear luxurious, well made and bespoke.

When I told the tutor I was making a wedding dress she gave me two pieces of advice: For a wedding dress, fitting is more critical than any other type of garment, you should be working to a tolerance of no more than 4 mm; and whatever you do, don’t make it out of chiffon. I took both on board. I’m not sure what’s bad about chiffon, I wish she’d warned me about lace! I expect she assumed I wouldn’t be quite so ambitious. I have no regrets about it now, it was worth every stitch.

Handing the dress over to Zoe was a bit emotional. It has been occupying my thoughts for many weeks and taken over my life for about the last 10 days. I am very proud of what I have achieved and so excited about the big day!

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A floating lace layer can’t be seamed like other fabrics because a normal seam would look unsightly through the fabric as the raw edges would be visible. A cheap lace garment would be zig-zagged or overlocked in a straight line, but that would not be suitable for a wedding dress. Internet research suggested the way to join lace seamlessly is to zig-zag around the shapes of the pattern and trim away the excess close to the seam – this is known as an appliqué seam. There are plenty of books that go into more detail, I was recommended Couture Sewing Techniques by Claire B. Shaeffer and Bridal Couture by Susan Khalje.

The skirt section of the dress has a fitted section and a flared section. I cut the main fabric on 7 vertical panels (3 front, 4 back), but decided to cut the lace differently to minimise seaming, keep seams to less noticeable areas and ensure that the grain of the lace pattern was vertical from important angles. I cut the flared part in in 4 sections; centre front, sides and back, and the front part of the fitted section in a single piece with two darts at the top. The back fitted section however had to be cut in 4 sections due to the complex shaping. That’s 8 pieces in total, and a lot of seaming. The theory sounded simple enough, but the practice was a little different.

Pattern pieces have to be cut outside of the cutting lines on the paper pattern, around the lace pattern, to allow for a significant overlap. I used lines of contrasting thread to mark seam lines since seam lines are not a fixed distance from the edge of the fabric.

Aligning lace using seam lines marked with thread.

Matching the seam lines, I pinned the pieces in place then tacked them together around the lace shapes. Using a different shade of contrasting thread was useful at the stitching stage to help me see where to machine sew. Pins are not much good at holding lace securely so tacking prior to seaming was essential.

Pieces tacked together around lace pattern

I stitched around the lace patterns with a narrow zig-zag. The resulting seams are pretty hard to spot, the disruption to the lace pattern is hidden by it’s overall busyness.

Spot the seam!

Why was it such a nightmare? My machine couldn’t deal with it, the stretchy, uneven lace got chewed up. I did over half of the seaming by hand, which I am very, very slow at. When this drove me insane I went back to the machine and tried using paper to stabilise the seam. First pattern paper, because that was what I had to hand. It worked a treat… until I tried to get it out of the seams, that took longer than hand-sewing. Next I tried tissue paper, it made the machine slightly more temperamental but was doable. The tracing paper had to be stitched to the lace along the stitching line in order for it to work, and I could only sew along the cording. The preparation time was epic, and even then, machine sewing was only marginally faster than hand-sewing because of those pesky angled flower petals.

Finally, 2 full days behind schedule, the lace was finished.

Scalloped lace edging

Most all-over lace has decorative edging that can be cut-off and used for hems, but the edging on ours wasn’t great and we ordered some from Harrington who had been so helpful in sending us lace samples. When it arrived my heart sank, the colour was far paler than our lace. The scalloped edge that I thought would compliment the lace, also just looked wrong.

I found myself once again scouring the internet but found nothing, so hit the high street and found only edging that was the same colour, so I bought it, even though it was zig-zag shaped and nothing like the lace pattern.

At a loss, I sort the advice of my trusty Twitter followers, and got a unanimous response to use the zig-zag edging.

Zig-zag edging

Thank you Twitterers! You were so right. It’s got a lovely antique feel that looks great on the final garment. Luckily the bride to be is delighted with it too.

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I scoured the internet, high-street shops and wholesalers, discovering more about bridal lace than I ever thought possibe, but actually found very few specimens I liked enough to order samples. Most were either too glitzy or verged on net-curtain territory. Of those short-listed, some turned out to be a bad colour match, others didn’t have enough drape, had a 4 week ordering lead time from Paris or were just too expensive. All but two were over £45 /m. Although bi-directional, most were no more than 1 m wide. We’d have needed at least 4 m which would have blown the budget. I’d also have been terrified of messing up!

Left to right: Viscose / nylon corded lace, £59 /m; fine French cotton corded lace, £46 + VAT /m trade; fine French cotton lace, £55 + VAT /m trade; Nylon corded lace, £20 /m; Heavy ivory and gold corded lace, £46 /m; James Hare fine corded Chantilly lace, ~£100 /m.

The one we chose was the cheapest of the bunch at just £12.99 /m and 140 cm wide from good old John Lewis – a pretty, medium weight corded lace with good drape, and being 50% cotton, a lovely, soft feel. It is mid-ivory, so a bit darker than intended. Unlike pricier options, the edging is not attractive enough to be used on the dress, but the incredible price more than made up for it. I’m very happy with the way it looks on the final piece, definitely the right choice.

Zoe's wedding dress

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A couple of days in to the Custom Pattern Cutting and Fitting course I took back in April I decided that this was something I’d definitely continue. I had managed pretty well with just a 30 cm ruler and a set square but I felt that it was worth me investing in some proper equipment.

For forming curves there are a number of options: A basic set of French curves will do a reasonable job but I found them a bit small. A ‘hip curve’ is great for forming long curves (err, hip curves) and also great for armholes and necklines. A smaller ‘armhole curve’ is also an option if a hip curve is a bit unwieldy, but the hip curve seemed to fit curves more easily. For me, both were a bit pricey just just for drawing curves so I opted instead for a Patternmaster, a tool that combines a hip curve, an armhole curve, a 40 cm rule, set square, grading rule and more. All come in both metric and imperial – I’m used to imperial for sewing but trying to retrain myself, mm are much nicer than 8ths of inches.

Drawing a front neckline curve with a Patternmaster

Surprisingly, one of the secrets of drawing curves is right-angles. The neckline above is perpendicular to the centre front line where they intersect and the armhole curve below is perpendicular to the side seam and shoulder seams where it intersects with those. Right-angles at these points ensure that when the garment is sewn together, curves are uninterrupted by seams. Drawing a little right angle at the intersections before placing the curve tool helps locate it correctly.

Basic bodice block

Tracing a block to make a pattern

What about seam allowance? To make a pattern from a block, each section of the of block is traced around the stitching lines onto a new piece of paper. Adding seam allowance on straight lines is simply a case of lining up the grading lines on the Patternmaster (or grading ruler) with the seam lines. When adding seam allowance to curves, it’s all about being parallel to the curve at all times. At various intervals along the curve, align the grading line parallel with the curve where they meet and draw a small mark. Join these marks up and you’ll have another smooth curve for your cutting line. It’s surprisingly easy!

A pattern piece with seam allowance added

Drawing a skirt hem is pretty similar – think of it as adding a giant seam allowance to a curved waist band. The hem is always at right angles to the vertical and equidistant from the waist. Mark as many points as you can, join them up with a smooth curve and you should have a perfect straight (curved!) hem.

From sewing bought patterns I’m used using a 1.5 cm seam allowances everywhere but in commercial pattern cutting, different widths are used in different places; 1.5 cm on side seams, 0.5 cm on curves and 1 cm standard everywhere else. With varying seam allowances on one garment you need to know where to sew. Notches are used not just to help align pieces, but to mark stitching lines. I couldn’t bring myself to invest in notchers because they’re kind of expensive and a little snip with scissors will do. However, they’re a pleasure to use and make pattern pieces look so professional.

Pattern pieces with notched stitch lines

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Fitting a toile on the Custom Pattern Cutting and Fitting course at LCF

The next phase of Zoe’s wedding dress was to take the basic block and trace it as pattern pieces, add seam allowance, cut it in calico and sew it into a toile. Calico is used because of its firmness and lack of stretch. It’s very unforgiving, so if it looks right in calico, you know it will look right in the final fabric. Calico needs to be pre-shrunk – either wash it on a hot cycle or steam iron it before cutting pattern pieces.

It’s always a bit nerve racking doing a first fitting: Did I write down the measurements right? Did I do the maths right? Did I draft the block right? Did I trace the pattern properly? Thank goodness the answer to all these questions was yes. The toile was a good fit, but as this is for a wedding dress we’re talking about tolerances of a few millimetres and further refining was needed to make it the exact shape of Zoe.

Zoe's basic toile

Certain body measurements are very difficult to take accurately. The rules of thumb used to place darts etc are not right for every figure. Any ripples, bunching or odd angles indicate that adjustments are needed for a perfect fit. There are a number of things to look for:

• Is it too big/small at the bust? The overall width should be adjusted.
• Is the waist too big small? The size of the bottom darts should be adjusted.
• Does the toile fit the shame of the bust? The shape of the darts should be changed (the dart lines will become angled).
• Do the side seams slant? They should be re-drawn, pivoting from the underarm.
• Is there bunching above the waist? The waist should be raised at back, front and/or sides.
• Is there bagginess below the shoulder? The top darts may need adjusting.
• Do the shoulder seams slant? They should be moved.
• Is there a gap between the toile and the shoulder at armhole? The slope of the shoulder should be adjusted.

Most changes will also require the armholes to be re-drawn and even small adjustments can significantly alter the master, so a new a new master should be drafted, accounting for each alteration.

The toile fitting was a good time to for us to make decisions about the position of the straps, the height of the garment front and back and the point at which the skirt should flare. Calico is a great material for scribbling on and it’s good to mark all the adjustments on the toile as well as listing them on paper.

In addition to the adjustments from the fitting, I made a few other changes to the basic block with the final garment in mind. I’m intending to cut the bodice and skirt in continuous panels, so moving the skirt darts to line up with the bodice waist was essential. I got rid of one set of darts on the skirt back because would not have worked with this panel construction, and spread the excess between the remaining darts and the side seams. I also tightened the fit above the bust by enlarging the darts – this is to help the dress stay in place given that it will not have large straps.

It’s worth mentioning that a toile would normally have a front opening. I chose to make mine side-opening because a) that’s what I’m planning for the final dress, and b) it was less sewing.

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I’m finding my latest project, Hannah Fettig’s Featherweight Cardigan a bit fiddly (laceweight on 4 mm needles) and the loops of 4 ply I was using as markers were getting in the way. My lovely handmade markers would have got caught on the delicate stitches.

I found the perfect solution in these rubber hair bands from Claire’s. They turnout to be useless as hair bands – too small to manoeuvre onto my fingers to get round my hair – so I’m happy to have a use for them. They’re £2.50 for a pack of 100 and they’re neon, so easily visible against the yarn. They look like they’d fit up to a 6 mm needle and they can easily be snipped off if need be. I will be using these for all stitch marking purposes from now on.

Neon hair bands from Claire's

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Dapple finished!

I’ve almost forgotten the anguish of Dapple despair now that the sweater-dress is finished and worn. Once I’d found the motivation, it didn’t take too long to re-knit the sleeves and finish it off.

I made a number of mods; added length at the bottom and at the waist, lengthened the sleeves, added sleeve shaping and deceased both sleeves and body to from size S to XS stitch counts at the neck, to make it less ‘off the shoulder’. I accidentally added extra rows to the neckband, further narrowing the neckline – I liked it so I left it.

Despite adding significant length, it’s too short for me to wear as a dress without jeans or leggings underneath. It is also quite bulky and maybe not the most flattering garment for those of us with curves. However, I think it will get a lot of wear in cooler months.

Ravelry project page

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Drafting the bodice block

With the detailed set of measurements I took in day one of Custom Pattern Cutting and Fitting, day two was spent drafting a bodice block from those measurements.

The block is a representation of the shape of the body on paper, which is traced to make patterns. This starts life drawn on paper as a rectangle, the height of the torso and half the width of the torso circumference at the widest point. It is divided to create front and back, then bust darts added, slope of shoulder accounted for, neckline and sleeve openings drawn, all positioned using a combination of body measurements and rules of thumb.

My master draft bodice block

I’m not going to describe how this is done – there are plenty of books available, such as Pattern Cutting and Making Up: The Professional Approach. If have one one criticism of the course at LCF it’s that the handouts were confusing and ambiguously worded. I had trouble following the instructions the second, third and forth times on my own, so I’ll probably invest in that one myself.

One thing you’ll notice about the bodice block is that the armhole is not symmetrical – it is tilted towards the front to allow for the fact the arms move in front of the body. This is something that is largely ignored by knitters and knitwear designers as it is accounted for by the stretch of the fabric. Although, I can’t help thinking that it would be possible to make a better-fitting sweater by applying a little of this tailoring knowledge…

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London College of Fashion's Curtain Road classrooms

A few months ago I did something I’d been meaning to do for a really long time; I took one of London College of Fashion‘s short courses, in Custom Pattern Cutting and Fitting. I’ve got to say it was excellent, well worth the money.

What was it all about? Designing and fitting clothes based on actual body measurements, rather than standard sizes. This is the basis of bespoke tailoring and couture clothing, and something that was a total mystery to me before taking the course. I’ve been sewing from patterns for about 20 years (yikes! I’m not that old, I started young), and I’ve got pretty good at adjusting by trial and error. But sometimes, no amount of adjusting makes something right.

Day one of the course covered taking body measurements. As I’ve long suspected, it’s impossible to measure yourself, and in fact it’s quite a skill to locate various points of reference on the body on someone else. The waist for example, is the narrowest part of the torso, which is much higher than what most of us think of as out waist. Having an accurate set of body measurements for the first time ever, it was clear why I have trouble getting things to fit (aside from my elongated proportions) – my shoulder measurement is a UK10, while my bust and hip are a 14, and the rest somewhere in between.

There wasn’t a single person on the course who was a ‘standard’ shape, which made me wonder how off-the-shelf clothing ever fits anyone! Our tutor explained that brands will choose a body shape that best matches their market and use that as their pattern block. So that’s why Ted Baker fits me, and H&M doesn’t (at least that’s what I tell myself when justifying expensive purchases). One of the few places that bases their pattern blocks on detailed surveys of real people is M&S.

I’ve been meaning to blog about the course for some time but other things have got in the way recently. So why now? My good friend asked me to make her wedding dress. This is exciting and terrifying in equal measure. I’m confident I’ve got the skills to do it but nervous about the time scale, the wedding is in September. So, I’ll be providing progress reports, without revealing too much about the final dress of course!

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Tom's amazing lino prints

I’d always thought of lino printing as hap-hazard and earthy, but Tom’s precise, multi-layered, multi-tonal pieces totally challenged my assumptions about the medium.

My source image

Tom asked us to bring a design idea, I had a few in mind, including this photo of a circuit board (I’ve always thought those things were kind of beautiful, odd I know). But, I settled on something safer and more traditional – this photo of my Japanese Maple tree I took on my iPhone using the Hipstamatic medium-format app.

There are various ways of transferring an image to lino and many decisions to be made; how much detail to include, which areas to print and which to clear, to cut outlines or solid areas etc. I sketched my image directly onto the lino in pencil, I cleared the white areas on the photo so that the leaves would be printed and the sky, not. I like the photo border so I kept a border on my lino, I think it frames the abstract leaf shapes nicely.

My design turned out to be rather complicated. Although I started cutting first, I was the last to finish. What can I say? I like a challenge. I mainly cut with a scalpel in order to achieve the sharp edges, although there were special gauging tools in a variety of sizes. At first I worked painstakingly, trying to be precise, by the end I was cutting as fast as I could just to finish. If anything I prefer the areas I did at the end as they were more geometric, although I accidentally gauged out a few extra bits.

My lino, with ink

Inking up

A thick, linseed oil-based ink is used. It’s applied to the lino with a roller, after spreading on a glass surface to ensure an even coverage.

Lino printing is normally done on thick paper, similar to watercolour paper, and put through a letterpress. However, Tom prefers a fine-grained, off-white Japanese paper that is thin, yet strong. To transfer to ink to the paper, the paper was laid over the lino and pressed with the back of a spoon in a circular motion.

Up until the final moment when I peeled the paper from the lino, I was convinced that my image would not be recognisable. No one was more surprised than me at the results.

My print

Not the most expert execution but I’m really happy with it! I think the combination of the Japanese aesthetic, the fine paper and the plain black ink all come together.

Everyone finished the day with a successful print, it was really interesting to see how different they all were.

Hanne's print

Sofie's print

Kirstie's print

Let’s not forget the real reason we get together for craft days…

Mmm... cake

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It had been a crappy day from the outset; a workplace frustration preceded a chain of events that lead to me missing two social engagements. I set off on the Central Line to make a third social engagement, got off at Oxford Circus, walked a few meters down the platform and noticed yarn trailing from my bag, down the platform, through the doors and into the carriage. A ball had fallen from my bag as I was getting off.

As the bleep from the doors sounded I was too far away, I yelled ‘NOOOOOOOOOOO!!!!!’. I stood helpless as gormless commuters just stopped and stared at the ball of yarn on the carriage floor. When the doors closed I knew my work’s fate was sealed. I took the knitting from my bag and placed it symbolically on the floor, and like a funeral casket jettisoned from an air-lock in Star Trek, two cabled sleeves accelerated away from me along the platform and under the wheels of the train. When it was all over, a stranger turned to me and simply said ‘sorry’. I walked on, finished my journey, got to the pub and promptly burst into tears. Putting so much effort into something then letting it go in order to watch it being destroyed was utterly heart-breaking.

I started Dapple a while ago and completed the body sections quite quickly but took a break before starting the sleeves as I wanted to make some mods. They’ve been my only project for the last couple of weeks. I added some shaping to make them look less baggy, and more length. I knitted them 2-up on circular needles so that I wouldn’t have to note down the mods so not only did I lose them BOTH (and a 5 mm Addi circ) but I’ve got no record of my calculations.

Today a friend told me that the only way to get over this tragedy is to re-knit them, he’s right. I’ll order myself some 5 mm KnitPro tips (and maybe a few other things to cheer myself up) and make a start tomorrow. It will be a long time before I can pass through Oxford Circus without shuddering. This time I think I’ll knit one at a time, just in case…

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I really like the way you can sort Ravelry stash items by colour now

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This was totally enexpected, and what a lovely write-up! I don’t subscribe to any knitting magazines so I wasn’t familiar with Knit Today but I was presently surprised. Highlights in this issue include patterns for super-cute toddler mittens and tea-cosies, a free frill sweater pattern from Artesano and a review feature on slub yarns. The magazine is pitched towards new knitters and has a great little pictorial tutorial covering the basics.

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Kool Aid!

Why Kool Aid?

If you’re new to dyeing, there is no quicker, easier, safer or more reliable introduction than immersion dyeing wool with Kool Aid.

Kool Aid is technically a food stuff (although you wont catch me drinking it), so it is non-toxic and you’re totally safe to use your kitchen pans and implements. Kool Aid dyeing is an acid dyeing technique - acid reacts with protein fibres to set the dye. But, unlike other acid dyes, it already contains citric acid so it requires no additional chemicals (unless you’re dyeing stubborn fibres or plant fibres). It comes in small, manageable, measured sachets, in a rainbow of bold colours (flavours) that are washfast when set.

So why would you want to use anything else? On the downside, it would work out expensive to dye big quantities. Some of the colours are stronger than others, and there are certain shades that it’s simply impossible to create with the palette available. Some shades are also less light-fast than proper acid dyes, but don’t let that put you off!

What can be dyed?

Superwash merino 4 ply, left to right: Berry Blue & Grape; Strawberry & Orange; Strawberry, Grape & Pineapple.

You can dye any type of protein fibre based yarn using the method described below. Protein fibres include wool, alpaca, silk, cashmere – basically, animal fibres. Some fibres absorb dye more easily than others, superwash merino is ideal – the superwash treatment helps the yarn suck-up dye, giving vibrant colours, while silk and cashmere require more treatment in order to get the dye to set.

You don’t have to use yarn – top (roving), felt and finished items can also be dyed. If using fleece of handspun yarn, make sure it’s been properly cleaned and all the oil removed.

Cellulose (plant) fibres such as cotton, linen, bamboo and tencel cannot be dyed using this technique. There are ways to dye cellulose fibres with Kool Aid but they are not described here.

If you’re dyeing yarn made from a blend of animal and plant fibres, the dye will take to the animal fibre content only, so overall the colours will be paler.

Equipment & supplies

Superwash merino 4 ply dyed with Pina Pineapple

What you need

• Undyed protien-based yarn (wool, silk, alpaca etc.). If you’re new to this, use superwash wool – it absorbs colour more easily and there is no danger of accidentally felting it.
• Kool Aid (see table below for quantities)
• A stainless steel pan, large enough for your yarn
• A plastic or metal stirring implement
• Rubber gloves

Optional extras

• White vinegar (50 ml per 100 g yarn) or citric acid (10 g per 100 g yarn) to aid dye fixing on stubborn fibres only (silk, cashmere, alpaca etc.)
• Salt (25 g per 100 g yarn) to slow dye absorption, giving an even colour

I have found citric acid slightly more reliable than white vinegar, but vinegar is much easier to get hold of.

Kool Aid strength chart

Method

Soaking

• Soak the yarn in enough warm water to cover with a drop of washing up liquid for at least 30 minutes.
  • If using citric acid, dissolve it in a small amount of boiling water, then mix with enough warm water to cover the yarn. Wear gloves when handling citric acid if you have sensitive skin – it is not harmful but may cause irritation.
  • If using white vinegar, simply mix it with the water.

  Soaking helps the yarn absorb dye quickly and evenly. The washing-up liquid aids wetting by breaking the surface tension.

• Once soaked, remove moisture by gently squeezing. Do not wring as this may damage fibres.

Making single coloured skeins

Merino aran dyed with Berry Blue

• Add to a pan, enough warm water to cover your yarn – the actual amount is not important. If you’re using salt, add it now and mix until dissolved
• Add the Kool Aid and mix well. The colour of the dye bath will be very close to the final colour of the yarn so you can make changes at this point by adding more packets, for example if you want your green to be bluer.
• Add the yarn to the dyebath and push it under, making sure it’s fully submerged.
• Turn on the heat, bring to the boil.
• Simmer for 30 minutes. By this time all the dye should have absorbed and the water will be clear (or milky with certain shades).

The liquid turns clear when all the dye has been absorbed

Making multi-coloured skeins

Kool Aid rainbow: 1 x Pineapple, 1 x Strawberry, 1 x Berry Blue, 1 x Grape

• Place the yarn in a large, flat saucepan (a sauté pan is ideal), and add enough warm water to cover.
• Empty different colours of Kool Aid into different areas on the pan and very gently agitate each area using a chopstick until the powder dissolves.
• Turn on the heat, gently bring to the boil.
• Simmer gently for 30 minutes, do not allow to boil vigorously while the water contains colour.

Rinsing

• Leaving the yarn in the dyebath, allow it to cool until it is handleable for superwash, or room temperature for everything else.
• Rinse using water of the same temperature as the dye bath, taking care to only agitate the yarn while submerged, until the water runs clear. Do not be alarmed if takes several rinses, especially with red colours.
• Gently squeeze the water out of the yarn. Remove excess by rolling it in a towel or using a washing machine delicate spin cycle. Hang to dry.
• Admire your work!

superwash BFL sock dyed with 1 x Pineapple, 1 x Orange, 2 x Strawberry, using multi-coloured method

Links & UK Stockists

Keep samples with dye recipes for future reference

• Kool Aid World – a vast range of flavours, and do a good value 27 pack set for £16
• DT Crafts – dyers favourite Kool Aid shades (with colour charts) for 45p per sachet, plus other dyeing supplies like citric acid
• What a Kool Way to Dye – Ravelry group dedicated to dyeing with Kool Aid and food colouring
• Texere – good value undyed yarns
• Self-striping yarn with Kool Aid by Eunny Jeng
• Kool Aid dyeing on Knitty
• Kool Aid colour chart
• Kool Aid colour chart showing mixed colours and stronger concentrations

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Fyberspates offered a wide selection of clubs – single skeins to jumper quantities delivered monthly, you choose the yarn and whether you want semi-solid or variegated colourways, ensuring that all the surprises are the kind you like. I went for Sheila’s sock (4 ply superwash merino), in semi-solid colours.

February’s parcel was a sophisticated shade of pale blue (not a baby blue), something I would never have chosen for myself but I love it.

Fyberspates Sheila's Sock in 'water'

March’s parcel was very much something I would have chosen, a deep plum.

Fyberspates Sheila's Sock in 'violet'

The two colours go so well together, initially I was thinking of combining them for some stripy socks or handwarmers, but I’ve decided to wait and see what I receive in April!

If you’re tempted to join, Fyberspates will be taking sign-ups for the next three months soon, keep checking here. Postage works out free, as if you need persuading…

Posted by suzie for It's a Stitch Up, © 2010
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Logwood Purple extract, 3/4 tsp on 100g organic merino aran, alum mordant with iron sulphate added to byebath

The logwood purple extract gave a good strong indigo-purple. My book told me that with alum mordant, the logwood purple is not very washfast, so I added iron sulphate to the pan. The dye bath was very dark, especially after the iron went in, but all the dye was absorbed after an hour of simmering. During rinsing most of it came back out again! However, it only took a couple of rinses to run clear so I’m confident it will stay this colour. I think it would look great mixed or overdyed with some lac or brazilwood.

Logwood Purple rinsing - a bit scary!

Remember that peachy-orange skein of handspun from my spinning update. Well now… it’s still orange, but I think it’s better than it was.

Handspun overdyed with lac

I put it in a dyebath of lac, but it didn’t absorb much of it as it was unmordanted (I didn’t want to risk felting). I am still at a bit of a loss as to what to make with it. The current favourite is the Japanese Feather Scarf by Anne Hanson.

I used the exhaust from the lac bath mixed with the exhaust from the logwood purple bath on another skein of superwash.

Lac and Logwood Purple extract w/ iron exhaust on 100g superwash BFL, alum mordant

It’s quite unusual and rather pretty I think.

Posted by suzie for It's a Stitch Up, © 2010
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Three runners up Frederica Eckstrom, Sarah Griffiths and Jan Pratt received copies of the Aduki hat pattern, and two grand prize winners, Sophie Barnes and Lizzie Page also have parcels of hand dyed yarn on the way to them. I do hope you enjoy your prizes and I’m really looking forward to seeing some new Aduki Hats.

Thanks again to the lovely SnB Stitchettes for hosting the competition, and for all their hard work running London’s best knitting group.

Posted by suzie for It's a Stitch Up, © 2010
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From left to right: Berry Blue Kool Aid, Brazilwood extract, Lac extract, Teal extract x2, multi Kool Aid

Yesterday, I had a couple of friends round for a day of dyeing experiments. I have spent the last few weeks procuring and preparing. It was very hard to resist dipping into the supplies until the big day.

We had a range of dyes at our disposal; natural dye extracts, Procion acid dyes, Kool Aid and onion skins. Yarn-wise, we had undyed organic merino aran and superwash BFL sock yarn, half of it pre-mordanted with alum for use with natural dyes.

Amazingly, everything we tried turned out really well and I will write up proper instructions for Kool Aid dyeing, acid dyes, mordanting and natural dyes as features soon.

Dyeing supplies

The onion skin dye took very well on alum mordanted BFL (no pics sadly). Books suggested we’d get bright yellow but we got a rich tan.

I prepared the onion skin bath in advance as this took some time. I had been saving red and yellow onion skins for a month or so and had a larger freezer bag full (we do get through A LOT of onions), weighing approx 60 g. I had read that we’d need 100 g per 100 g of yarn to get a reasonable colour, but we got a very good depth of colour with what we had. To make the dye bath, I boiled the onion skins in filtered water for about 3 hours, then sieved the liquid, squeezing the juice out of the skins. I was told this make the house stink, so I was presently surprised when it did not.

We simmered the yarn in the onion liquid for about 2 hours, though it only took about half an hour for all the dye to absorb. The colour did not bleed during rinsing. Although it would take a long time to collect enough onion skins to dye a big batch, they are reliable and effectively free.

Lac extract 1/2 tsp on 100 g organic merino, alum mordant

Powdered extracts are a great alternative to natural dyes in their original form. They require no prep and tend to be more uniform and predictable. We tried lac (pink – made from the crushed shells of beetles), brazilwood (pink / burgundy – a tree bark, good vegetable alternative to lac and cochineal) and teal (blue-green – a mixture of plant extracts). We used about 1/2 tsp extract per 100 g of yarn. The extracts simply dissolve in water like synthetic dye powders. We simmered the yarn in the dye baths for 1 – 1.5 hours.

Unlike synthetic pigments, the strength of colour varied a lot for the different extracts. Lac and teal were pale at the quantities we used, while brazilwood was darker and richer. It would take some experimentation to obtain a particular shade, but we were very happy with what we got. The lac bled slightly during rinsing but all seemed fast.

Brazilwood extract 1/2 tsb on 100 g organic merino aran, alum mordant

Teal extract 1/2 tsp per 100 g, alum mordant. Left: superwash BFL sock, right: organic mernio aran

Kool Aid rainbow: 1 x Pineapple, 1 x Strawberry, 1 x Berry Blue, 1 x Grape

We also had some fun with Kool Aid. A large sauté pan turns out to be the perfect piece of equipment for making multi-coloured skeins without painting. We spread the yarn out in the pan, added enough water to cover and sprinkled Kool Aid straight in, with different colours in different areas, then simmered the bath for 30 minutes. Kool Aid dye takes so quickly, especially on superwash, that the colours don’t really bleed unless you want them to.  Hanne’s rainbow skein was possibly the most exciting thing I have ever seen (sadly no pics of the finished item). I made a red and yellow version using the same technique.

Kool Aid: 1 x Pineapple, 1 x Orange, 2 x strawberry on superwash BFL sock

So, big success! Lots of fantastic yarn for everyone, and my kitchen didn’t end up multicoloured. Although, I’ve yet to work out how to wash, mordant, dye and rinse that lovely organic merino without it felting somewhere along the way!

Posted by suzie for It's a Stitch Up, © 2010
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My questions are:

• Would you buy one?
• Would you prefer it to be made of recycled board (so it would fit in your wallet), 3 mm tough acrylic, or 6 mm wood?
• How much would you be prepared to pay for such a thing?

Either comment below, PM me on Ravelry (suziesparkle), or use the contact form.

I’ll put everyone who has responded into a draw for a free one if I get them made.

Thanks!

Posted by suzie for It's a Stitch Up, © 2010
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Dyed Wensleydale locks, chain plied

When I bought my wheel back in April 2009, although I ordered a range of fibres, I got hooked on spinning dyed merino top because of the amazing range of colours available. With hindsight this wasn’t the easiest thing to learn with – it has a tendency to make a wirey, compacted yarn, even after carding. It’s taken me a while, but now I’ve tried out everything in my fibre stash, with mixed results…

First of all I tried dyed maroon Wensleydale locks, which almost put me off spinning for good. My batch was matted, tangled and full of twigs and second cuts. I was very disappointed because I’ve seen some really exciting yarns spun from locks. I had to give up after just 40 g as it was such tough going. I ended up with an interesting-looking, lustrous yarn but certainly nothing that was worth the pain. Not a good start.

Pencil roving, 2 ply

Next I tried some pencil roving. It turned out to be nearly as tough going -hard to draft, it’s fairly coarse and I was fighting with the clockwise twist it already has as soon as I started spinning. Next time I’d spin it anti-clockwise. It is however an amazing shade of electric blue, and I got it relatively even and fine (5 ply / sport weight-ish). I will make a pair of gloves with the first batch (150 g), but there’s still 250 g left to spin! Buying that much without trying it was stupid – there’s an important lesson there, always buy a sample first!

Humbug BFL, chain plied, dyed with Lemon Lime Kool Aid

After that I moved onto carded BFL – a dream in comparison, so easy to draft. In a couple of hours I made a 50 g chain-plied sample skein and Kool Aid dyed it green, it turned out great! I used it almost immediately for a hat. I have a 500 g bag of brown & white mix BFL (I take it back about not buying a big bag, this stuff is great) which I’d love to make something substantial with, but that’s quite a commitment. Not to mention, how would I keep my spinning even over 500 g?

Hand-painted merino top

Finally, I picked up a nice looking hand-painted braid of merino top from a Raveler having a destash (well, I’m always happy to help others). I was amazed how different it was to spin than the dyed top I’m used to, proving that not all merino is equal. It made a fine, squishy, lofty yarn. I got 550 m of 2 ply, light sock-weight from 110 g – easily the finest I have spun. Sadly the bold yellows, oranges and splashes of purple melded together into a peachy shade that I’m not overjoyed with. I will probably over-dye with pink to give me a rich red. I’m also unsure what to make with it, it’s not strong enough for socks. Maybe this Japanese Feather Scarf or a large Ishbel? Any ideas?

2 ply merino from painted top

Posted by suzie for It's a Stitch Up, © 2010
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