Wednesday, May 12, 2010

Scarflets of Grey and Linen Things

I just brought Tricotage de Lin (see pictures here) which is a Knit & Crochet book published byAttention Japanese Products(!). Its really nice. The linen they use to make everything is really nice. The photos are really nice and the finished products look really nice. The company also has a really nice web catalogue of perfect people wearing perfect clothing living perfect lives (yes, really!)

I made a scarf (one of a set of three) from the book and it turned out really nice. I wear it as a necklace substitute.

Set of two scarves in Rowan Lenpur Linen (Linen/Viscose)

As a necklace

Original pattern image with my scarves (second one is not finished the same as the pattern as I ran out of linen!)

Shell textured shawl, a possible future make

Definitely going to make these coasters

And the real reason I brought the book - these socks! Aren't they fabulous?

I dreamt about this camisole top last night. I think its a sign.

The cover

Liberty

Little Thing Magazine inspired me this month. Its a Chinese magazine and you can download it from i-tunes for 0.99c! Worth it if I could read Chinese, but I can't! Its fashion is quirky and just a little bit silly. Big bows are a new love of mine.

Liberty of London in So-En Magazine (Feb 2010)

Feb 2010 was an issue focusing on Textiles and its full of inspiration. Japanese, European and lots of pages of interesting colours, textures and designs.

Emelia's Flowers

I also brought a Japanese Liberty Print's Magazine came with a little Liberty Print bag which is my new favourite weekend bag. Mostly I brought the magazine for the bag, but the magazine isn't bad either!

I never used to like patterned fabrics, I always preferred plain solid colours, but recently I've been in love with florals and geometric patterns. I've even been trying to print my own fabrics (more on that another time!). Though I've long been inspired by William Morris who considered the design of textiles worthy of a serious designer's attention and Marimekko and Ikea fabrics, I never thought to design or wear them myself!

Friday, May 7, 2010

shredding your t-shirt can be wonderful


I came across this tutorial when I was searching online and it looked easy enough to try. The basic idea is that you take a some stretchy knit cotton fabric and you strategically unpick it. I'm planning on making a shawl with mine (a simple loop of white). However, its taking a long time to unpick and I need to be in good light to do it as the threads are so small. Still, its looking good even if I wont be finished until 2015... The stripes look great though shredded, so its tempting to have grand ideas about shredding striped dresses and things...

little triangles



After I made some journals I had some scraps of fabric left-over so I decided to sew them together to try making a necklace. The result is quietly beautiful. Two shades of grey, light grey corduroy and dark grey wool flannel on a white knit cotton base. I love triangles, so many possibilities.