Finger Crochet on wire frame hat

Hoorah! this is easier than I thought it would be - and much faster than wrapping nasty prickly tulle around the wires. I'm finger-crochetting over the wires.I've spun the yarn myself (from Bendigo Woollen Mills' sliver in "Red Currant") nice and chunky - once the wire is all covered I'll stitch on some very chunky knitting, cables etc. So this is going to be a chunky, thick hat; which is turning the whole purpose of making a wire-frame hat on its head, so to speak! tee hee I'm being naughty - again.

A Whole Week of Making Things

Made the frilled bloomers

and the bonnet
to match the embroidered dress I’ve made my grand-daughter – see previous posting for the dress. The Bonnet buttons up at the back and when unbuttoned it lies flat which is great for laundering and packing ...

Then I started yet another knitting project – a zipped, hooded, cabled jacket for my nephew whose 8th birthday is just over a month away - will I get it done in time??? It is 12ply (from Bendigo Woollen Mills) so a fast knit but the pattern is from a French booklet and is all in French; to my shame, I’m totally mono-lingual.

However, French knitting patterns are fantastic, they give schematics with every measurement and with the aid of an old French/English dictionary I’ve worked out the basics … maille = stitch (and thence to chain maille ?) aiguille = needle, monter = cast on (I hope) …


Am working (travail) the fronts in one with the back to the armholes (emmanchure ?) and have changed the cables a little.


Those wire frame hats for the Cert 4 Millinery class are progressing – but slowly and they just won’t be finished by the due date – next Tuesday :-/ Here is the black one (I blogged about it when it was a head cage!) I was going to pile a heap of black lace onto it but that made it a hat for an un-Merry Widow and my teacher keeps reminding me that I’m supposed to be making “Fashion Hats” not reproductions from another era. Drat Double Drat - I don’t like most currently Fashionable hats and I lurv the old ones. Anyway, I think this might be a compromise – old tatty lace bits but cream not black and some paper butterflies that I bought in Paris – ahhh! Will look better without the pins and surplus wire.

On the weekend I was busy dyeing – a very old Indian Sari that I’ve had for over 20yrs (and it was old back then) a very lt weight pale apricot silk with metal thread medallions, very lovely.
But it had been in a box for far too long – so although it did feel like a total sacrilege I cut into it and turned it into 4 large shawls and 2 small neck scarves. But pale apricot is not a good colour for people with pallid skin so into the dye-pot they went. I do love playing with dyes, have a huge pot that barely fits on my stove – it is so tall I have to stand on a little chair and I stir the pot with a bit stick, recite Hamlet and feel like a real witch ☺ Very happy with the results, lovely fruit colours – apricot, peach, strawberry, blueberry … I've listed this shawl and one scarf in my Etsy shop.

So Old Fashioned :-)

I feel like I qualify as a really old-fashioned Gran'ma at the moment - have finished this sweet little dress for my granddaughter. It hasn't been washed & ironed yet but I couldn't wait to boast :-)

The pattern is from my (large) collection of vintage patterns, circa 50s, they suggest lazy-daisy stitch for the flowers but I did bullion grubs. The fabric is a soft cotton twill.

Now to make the matching bloomers (with frills, naturally) and sun-bonnet :-)

Have also been busy with the Knitting for Blythe swap (on Ravelry) which upset my own Blythe doll somewhat - Lillian demanded that I also knit something for her - such as the trousers I promised ages ago ...

Beanie, Bonnets, Beetles, Blythes ...

Lots of Etsy activity this week :-) best of all I've had a couple of sales - a baby's frilly playsuit with matching sun-bonnet and a vintage knitting pattern. The playsuit & sunbonnet were new-sewn from one of my fav vintage sewing patterns - I've used the pattern so often the tissue paper is more sticky-tape than tissue ! I used 2 co-ord fabrics with cute ladybird prints and made 2 sets - one for my little granddaughter and one for etsy.

The vintage knitting pattern sale was rather marvelous and you really do have to love the www sometimes. Fancy a knitting pattern, over 60 yrs old (WW2 time), a Sun-Glo - so published in Australia, Australian designs - and it is now on its way to Norway. I think that is just so lovely.


Also on Etsy I've listed the latest member of my GumNut family - a GumBlossom beanie for an adult "Little Ragged Blossom".

I've also listed 2 theatrical bonnets - they are made to theatrical standards (very robust) and are quite accurate to the fashion of the 1850s Crinoline era and the Jane Austin era. Have mixed feelings about putting them up for sale as I just can't charge enough to compensate for the hours spent making them - all that hand-sewing :-/ but I'm never going to wear them, they take up space and I'd rather have them being used than sitting in a box and deteriorating.

In other news - I'm madly knitting very small cute clothes - I've signed up for the 4th International Knitting for Blythe dolls Swap on Ravelry. My swap partner has 4 Blythes and I can't bring myself to knit for only 1 and disappoint the others so .... lots of wee garments flying off my dpns :-) but I'll have to be a tease, I can't show you pictures until those 4 Bythes have all their knitted things.

Some more Finishing

'Tis late - or rather Very early - has been a busy day. Got some things finished - a couple of them were for my Etsy shop and I managed to get them photographed and listed ... which makes me feel extremely productive and virtuous. But before I get too smug ...

One Teddy - had to raid on over-stuffed cushion for some filling so I could finish this little chap. He is to live in the pocket of the jacket in the last post - and he does fit despite his large feet :-)

One Baby Bonnet - which was all done except for chin-strap fastening (my daughter has a phobia about long ribbon ties on baby garments - so I've made a chin-strap with a snap-stud). The pattern is a great one by Erica Knight - very vintage style but in quick-to-knit thick yarn Yea! cheating :-) successful cheating too, as it still looks lovely - the back has a very pretty star design. I've used cheap tencel blend yarn in a yummy raspberry colour and the big ear-muff rosettes are double - 2 pink ribbons. Looks better on baby than on my hand too!

The Etsy listings were 2 of my 1930s style wraps for Evening / Special Occasion / instant everyday glamour! One in champagne silk which I think looks quite bridal - the other in a very unusual devore velvet, quite dramatic and Paul Poiret in the colours - purple on blushing peach.

Knitting & Spinning - it's a good yarn

Knitting - have done some finishing - these two are for my grandchildren.

The mauve jacket is a heavily adapted pattern, I had lots of fun with the lantern sleeves.

The many-buttoned jacket is a Touch Yarns pattern, and in their possum yarn - which is yummy and soft with a halo of fuzz. This jacket took a while to knit as I was bored with all the garter stitch but I'm happy with it now it is done - the buttons are metal. There is to be a little teddy bear who will live in the big pocket of this jacket, the bear is all knitted but I had to tidy my stash-room and now I can't find where I put the toy stuffing! Can't find it anywhere ... grrrr I'm going to have to buy some more ... Moral of this story? Never Tidy your Stash/es.

Spinning - last Saturday we went to Robertson to a show organised by the Black & Coloured Sheep Breeders Assoc. Couldn't believe the really really black sheep they have now. I bought 2 bags full (not quite like the ole nursery rhyme). A 1/2 black fleece which I've started spinning - in the grease VBG spins up a dream and so dark ... just like strong black coffee. The other is Border Leicester, a yummy warm grey, slightly coarse to the touch ... I'll spin it in the grease too.


Spinning cont. - have also been spinning the yarn for that 2nd Wire Hat (see previous post) this is Bendigo Woolen Mills sliver - "redcurrant" - trying to get a soft, lofty thick yarn.

Head Cage? and other millinery

I've been busy trying to catch up with all my home-work - I've missed 5wks of millinery class !

Have just finished making this Head Cage -
Well, that is the beginning of a wire frame hat, tedious work that breaks fingernails - but now the REALLY tedious work begins because I have to wrap all those wires with tulle - then cover the hat with frothy fabric and stuff. Should be fabulous when it is finished - a modern version of the big "Titanic" hat - from the 19teens.

Have to make 2 wire frame hats for this exercise, No: 2 will be very similar - not as wide in the brim and I'm going to cover it in knitting :-)


The other millinery exercises have not been very happy - still haven't even started one [Oops!] and mixed results for the other.

I posted about my plans for glamourous 1930s style hats ... hmmm Marlene Dietrich would not wear this -
and the pattern-making took me ages. Very Big Sighs!

There are 10 pattern pieces - asymmetrical crown, asym brim, that godet with the pleats ... I had head spins! had to work with seam allowances - so confusing for someone so completely mathematically challenged as myself!! (in costume-making you usually do patterns without seam allowance and I'm really out of practice) .

Well, the pattern isn't too bad really - but I made this prototype using far too soft an interfacing in the brim - it really is floppy. One day I'll make another with stronger stiffening and I think it just might be an OK hat. The contrast pleats over the eye are quite glam.


The other part of that pattern-making exercise only had to be made as a toile. I didn't think I'd like this hat - based on a photo of a real hat from the early 1930s - but it turned out better than I expected. (this is only a calico toile, it'll look better in a nice wool fabric ...)
The top is reather silly and over -complex (trying to comply with course requirements) there is an inverted pleat down the middle and ... ears - yes the 1930s had had the ears too .... really, truely it did

But I'm really pleased with the brim - it has a nice turn up and disappears into a bow at the back. Quite neat!

Think I'll be making this one again - as a cloche with a less complex tip - though the ears are rather cute in a way - perhaps I'll make one for Easter! :-)