2022 Fashion On The Ration Challenge

PollyWollyDoodle

Oh well done Laura. Can I ask, did you use a pattern or an online tutorial? 

Laura_Elsewhere

PollyWollyDoodle said:

Oh well done Laura. Can I ask, did you use a pattern or an online tutorial? 

In the past I had tried various patterns AND various online tutorials, both for woven-fabric french knickers and for briefs, and it's become an infuriating frustration over several years that all of them just didn't ruddy well work! 

So I dug out my threadbare favourite pair of knicks (cotton high-waist briefs bought in Australia) and used those for a pattern. Didn't bother with edgings or waistband, so it is just four pieces (front, back, two identical gusset pieces) and then four seams, the two side-seams and the two gusset seams, all straight lines and quite short... 

MrsCD

First spend of the year to declare! 100g of grey acrylic yarn for a craft project. I think it's 2 coupons, but could someone put me right please if I'm wrong?

Laura_Elsewhere

2oz is 1 coupon, p.1 says:

• "2 ounces of wool knitting yarn equals 50g of any knitting yarn containing natural fibres. Note: according to a display I once saw at the Imperial War Museum, there was a different coupon cost for man-made fibre, but I've never found out what so let's assume acrylic is half the coupon cost of wool."

So you have 4oz, ie two lots of the '1 coupon' yarn BUT acrylic is half the coupon cost, so I think it's only one coupon for 100g of acrylic. 

MrsCD

Thanks, Laura!

Cherryfudge

I’d welcome thoughts and wise words on the above from knitters please!

The photo is the back of the intarsia on the baby blanket I’m just finishing. I’ve woven in a large number of ends but if I trim them flat with the fabric, they work loose and stick out (you can see I’ve given in to them so there are lots sticking out).

Carried-across threads are just what they are, there are a lot more further across but fewer sticking-out ends.

What should I do to make it a) as resilient and b) as neat as possible? Last option is to back it with white fleece but I’m afraid this would distort over time so I’d want to stabilise the blanket somehow if I can’t hide the yarn ends any other way.

It’s acrylic so it probably won’t felt 🙁.

 Thanks in advance 😊

Laura_Elsewhere

@Cherryfudge, I'm afraid this is one of the problems with non-hairy yarns, that they wriggle their way free ime, no matter what I try! 

I usually leave them long, and just try to weave them as much as possible, and sometimes I unply them and weave one strand of yarn as two or three tails, iyswim. 

You could back the whole thing with fleece and then sew lines of stitching round the intarsia bits making it kind of quilted? That would save the distortion possibility from happening... 

Cherryfudge

Laura_Elsewhere said:

You could back the whole thing with fleece and then sew lines of stitching round the intarsia bits making it kind of quilted? That would save the distortion possibility from happening... 

I think that would probably be best - thanks! I found this YouTube video which I think I could do with the light-weight fleece I have. A simple fleece backing with blanket stitched edges would work with the weight of the knitting.

I had been wondering about stitching round the elephants but there are three of them and while they would take a while, they would be beautifully anchored but leave the rest of the blanket separate from the lining. At the moment I'm leaning towards a pattern of individual stitches, perhaps Swiss darning, spaced across the whole thing but using the same yarn so as to blend in. I'm sure there's a name for the effect but I can't think of it!

Laura_Elsewhere

@Cherryfudge, you could always stitch round the elephants to anchor them, and then do something like little daisy-flowers or cloud-outlines or stars scattered across the wide open spaces in between to anchor it? That might leave the elephants more prominent than a regular pattern of stitches might?

Cherryfudge

Laura_Elsewhere said:

@Cherryfudge, you could always stitch round the elephants to anchor them, and then do something like little daisy-flowers or cloud-outlines or stars scattered across the wide open spaces in between to anchor it? That might leave the elephants more prominent than a regular pattern of stitches might?

This is sounding better and better! I'm supposed to be getting some jobs done right now (LOL) but I'll go back and look at it afresh later once the ideas have percolated.