A new bolero in cotton-cashmere – and new works in progress

Posted on February 4, 2012 by fats

Yesterday, I gave the cotton-cashmere motif bolero a roadtest and here are some photos of the finished product. I made this with a 3mm hook and sport weight yarn from Lotus Yarns (Autumn Wind Yarn).

The finished bolero in cotton-cashmere yarn.

At the last moment, I decided to crochet the front of the bolero together since it easily fits over my head anyway. I also didn’t fancy an open front bolero and also didn’t want the bother of making ties (as I’ve done earlier with the modified “Glitter Girl Bolero” here and here) or using a pin.

The back of the bolero is something that I particularly like with its uneven hemline. I did about 3 rows for the sleeves working the last two rows in treble stitches at the cap (just over the shoulders). The seams are sewn with silky camel 2-ply yarn.

Cotton-cashmere yarn is smooth and tends to slip off easily thus weaving in ends took extra work. Also, as with most crochet garments, don't store on hanger like this! This could stretch and ruin the garment! This is just for photo purposes only!

The bolero – worked entirely with a schematic / pattern drawn on paper – fits very well, than goodness! Now I am using the same paper drawing for the blue silky cashmere bolero that I started earlier. By putting the piece over the drawing, I could easily see how I should be shaping the garment. I think the paper drawing also helps in creating new shapes and designs particularly for the neckline and sleeves.

Work continues on the sliky cashmere bolero. Still using the drawing on newspaper. My newspaper doesn't smudge, but yours might so use craft or Manila paper if you have one!

A new work in progress in the meantime is a (hopefully) bridal purse, taking after the Motifs on a Mesh Purse. I have been thinking of doing some items for weddings but never really got around to working on anything – well, now is the best time, thanks to reminder from Michelle!

Bridal purse a work in progress. Pattern to follow ...

My plan is a little purse that has a satin (or organza) handle, no zipper but rather a drawstring – plus matching crochet jewellery. It is just unfortunate that I wasn’t able to get those beautiful silk and silk blend yarns in my last order with Lotus Yarns! Silk would’ve been perfect! But for now, I must settle for cotton.

And finally, on the drawing board is a crocheted dragon amigurumi for my 10-year old nephew. My inspiration is this amazing dragon I saw in Chungli, Taiwan some seven years ago.

Dragons in Chung Li, Taiwan

February 4 is supposedly the start of the Dragon Year in the Chinese Lunar Calendar. So … Welcome the Dragon Year!

Lavender Bolero with Flower Motifs

Posted on January 22, 2012 by fats

With Dora Ohrenstein’s “Glitter Girl Bolero” (in “100 Crochet Projects”) as basic shell, I completed this flower trimmed bolero in cotton thread size 8. This is in size Medium for my mom.

The finished bolero as to be worn with a dress underneath.

Project Notes:
See New Paths with new crochet materials
Jan 5: I am working on a size M now using cotton 8 thread. I increased by adding the next multiple. For example, the pattern starts with ch 92 (110, 128) which are sizes S, M, L in increments of 18. So for cotton 8 thread that’s 128 for small, 146 for medium and 164 for large.

At row 3 the patterns says V-st in next V-st 14 (17, 20) times. Those are repetitions in multiples of 3, so for cotton 8 thread that should be 23, 26, 29.

In the original pattern, there are two additional rows for sizes M and L (starting at Row 10). I am tempted to add rows in multiples of 2 for cotton 8 thread but I’m not sure if that’s correct. That would probably need working out by actual measuring rather than adding rows. But I’ll need to double-check when I get there!

Finished the motifs and trimmings around the sleeves then ran out of thread to finish off the bottom hem.

Jan 7: Continuing my work on the bolero in size Medium and lavender colour.

So far I am at the back section of the bolero and I have been taking measurements as I work. I base my measurements on schematics in some knitting magazines that I got a few years ago. I don’t knit and these back-issue magazines were cheap, and they have proven their usefulness in terms of a chance to study garment sizing through the schematics.

I also found out that “The Glitter Girl Bolero” pattern has a rather tight armhole. When I worked in size Small I added two extra rows at the shoulders. This time, working in size Medium, I added one extra row at the lower section of the garment and then two extra rows at the shoulder to increase the armhole size. At the moment, I am confident that this will be the right fit for my mom.

The shops didn't carry any of the lavander thread anymore so I used variegated ochre-white thread for the bottom edging which matches the color of the ribbon and some of the flowers.

The shops didn't carry any of the lavender thread any more so I used variegated ochre-white thread for the bottom edging which matches the colour of the ribbon and some of the flowers.

I have done this bolero earlier in size Small, as shown in Crocheting in 2012 and http://crochetology.net/2012/01/first-fo-in-2012/

Detail of the ribbon and motifs.

New things learned while working on the lavender bolero:

Some of the flowers at the back of the neck tended to fold over. One way to stiffen them was to sew nylon thread through the edges of the motifs. I learned this method while washing a chiffon dress (beach dress) which used nylon thread along the hem to give it weight and keep the dress from being blown up by the wind.

Perhaps next time, I can make a bolero made entirely of flower motifs.

The use of tailor’s patterns for crochet is not such a bad idea. It provides a basis for shaping into what they call “tailored” or “tailor fit” which can be rather nice with certain garments. I would like to try this some time with skirts since crocheted skirts tend to hug the body in unflattering ways.

Running out of thread meant implementing a new design feature. This happened to the bolero in a small and simple way. The shops didn’t carry any of the lavender thread any more so I used variegated ochre-white thread for the bottom edging which matches the colour of the ribbon and some of the flowers.

New Paths with new crochet materials

Posted on January 9, 2012 by fats

The shell for my motifs bolero is complete. I took measurements yesterday and this is definitely in size Medium, one size larger than the first attempt, the bolero in purple colour.

The bolero shell - this is a modified version of The Glitter Girl Bolero as found in the book "100 Crochet Projects."

Now working on the pattern a second time, it is now quite obvious that the bolero’s shape takes from tailor’s patterns. The V-stitch increases resemble darts employed in tailor’s patterns to shape a garment. The V-stitch seem most suitable for this purpose as the stitch is quite simple to work and use for increase and decrease in crochet shaping.

Previously, I have attempted shaping with more complex stitches, and those failed rather easily. It is much better to start with simple stitches to build complex shapes and constructions.

I am now working on the motifs for the bolero. Again, I am using Duplet magazine as reference for the motifs, and as usual, I modify the patterns to produce new ones.

My favourite reference for this project is Duplet Swimsuit Edition #3. There are leaf and flower motifs there that are quite useful.

I am making motifs using and modifying patterns from the Duplet Swimsuit Issue.

Colors were challenging at first, not so much because it was difficult to work out a scheme but moreso because I had to work with current stash. I didn’t really want to buy new threads for this project.

Lavender is the base color of the bolero. Yellow compliments lavender so I used some of the threads in my stash that had the yellow tinge. There is the pale yellow in rayon and variegated cotton in ochre. Green was slightly trickier because what I had in stock were brigher shades of green that didn’t seem suitable. Luckily, I still have a half ball of cotton in dark green which I felt added contrast to the colour combination without being garish.

I can never work on a single project continuously which is why I usually have two works-in-progress, one to distract from the other.

In this case, it is the yarns I ordered recently from Lotus Yarns. I decided to work with Tibetan Yak 2. It is fine yak in natural dark brown colour.

I have never worked with yarns in hanks before, so this was the opportunity to learn how to make a ball of yarn from a hank. It wasn’t easy and the task demanded patience as I work without a swift or ball-winder. I work manually with my hands.

When my husband saw me working I expected him to tease me for buying something that needed more work to use. But he didn’t. He looked rather please and excited, and asked if I wanted him to hold the hank of yarn for me. As it turns out, what I was doing reminded him of his grandmother way back in the 40′s and 50′s just after the War in England. He was the swift for his grandmother’s hanks of yarn.

I felt happy and found the act of making a ball of yarn from a hank all the more worthwhile. It was a rather meditative act and by touching the yarn I felt that I was learning more about the material. In my mind I was imagining what I could do with yak fibre.

I finished a 50-gram hank into three balls of yarn. I was so happy with what I accomplished.

A hank of Tibetan yak yarn, and the 3 balls of yarn that I made from it.

In the morning, I started crocheting. I decided upon a triangular motif. I thought that to work with yak yarn, I would work in motifs rather than a large piece. I felt that motifs would give me the chance to learn much quicker the qualities of this exotic yarn.

With a 2.2mm hook, I made several motifs to make a strip. Probably, this would be a lace scarf, I am not yet sure. The texture of the fabric is amazingly soft and it is almost weightless. I have always wanted to work with lace yarn like this.

First time to work with lace yarn and I love it!

In the afternoon, I managed to clean up my studio and organize the stash a little bit. I brought in one of the unused tables on the balcony so now I have an extra table for working. Next on the agenda is to remove the capiz lamp hanging in the middle of the studio and to transfer that to the bedroom. Without the lamp the light will be much brighter so I can work much better in the evenings.

My studio, used to be bare, and now filling up with work slowly.

Quite a lot of new things learned and done early on this year. These open up even more things to study. The journey never ends.

Crotchless in Yarn Heaven

Posted on January 7, 2012 by fats

The yarns I ordered from Lotus have arrived. So I am currently floating in yarn cloud heaven.

Sunset – 70% Merino Wool and 30% Soybean

Silky Cashmere Fingering – 55% Silk and 45% Mongolian Cashmere
Autumn Wind – 90% Cotton and 10% Cashmere

Baby Camel 4 (Natural Brown) – 100% Baby Camel
Tibetan Yak 2 (Natural Brown) – 100% Tibetan Yak
Lace Silky Camel – 50% Silk and 50% Fine Camel

The shipment also came with a catalog/swatch of the beautiful yarns in the Lotus collection, plus samples of Moon Night (95% Lambswool and 5% Cashmere), Mimi (100% Mink), Miya (70% Mink, 20% Merino, and 10% Silk) and Bamboo Soft (100% Bamboo).

Continue reading →

First FO in 2012

Posted on January 4, 2012 by fats

Today I completed my first crocheted garment for 2012.

The finished bolero.

The bolero is based on Dora Ohrenstein’s “Glitter Girl Bolero” as found in the book “100 Crochet Projects.”

I selected this bolero as “base” for my motif experiment because it is a simple but elegant construction and looks easy to modify. There is also ample trim space around the sleeves and around the neckline and edges of the bolero where I may do my work of incorporating Irish crochet motifs.

Detail of the motifs. Frosted organza ribbon ties the front of the bolero together.

This turned out much easier than I expected. I have been thinking of a project like this for some time now and thus only a few challenging design decisions needed to be made throughout the process of completing this project.

Some notes:

To work with cotton thread 8 for my size (32-34) using the pattern, I use a hook 3mm (for lower half) and a larger hook, 3.5mm (for upper half). I use different hook sizes because I want the lower section of the bolero to be smaller and closer to the body to make a nice shape, and the upper section to be a bit loose.

I don’t sew the shoulder seams until I am sure of the fit: I tie the seams with yarn and wear the bolero. I see that the armholes will be a little bit tight, so I add 2 extra rows at the shoulders.

For the sleeves, I used 6-ch meshes, a total of 18 loops all around the armhole. The loops are joined to the armhole with sc in every space, rather than in the stitches. By round 5 I switched to the smaller hook. I also thought that 6 rounds was enough and let the rest be made up of joined motifs.

The idea of using a basic garment pattern to establish the structure (i.e. base or skeleton) for the intended finished garment turned out to be quite a good one. Although life would’ve been easier with a tailor’s dummy, this was a good alternative.

“Glitter Girl Bolero” was a good choice. Along the way, I realized that a whole dress could just as well be made with this basic process. More motifs could be added on the front of the bolero, and down towards the torso and around the body. The sleeves could be made up of motifs as well.

Color choices proved well. The photographs don’t show the exact colors (the base bolero should be more on the side of red than blue), but what I have here are combinations of purple, green and orange.

The small orange circles were a final touch and broke the boring alternating colours of green and purple. Multi-colour threads also gave the motifs better texture and altered the flatness of the bolero’s mesh pattern.

The edges of the sleeves are worked in ch2, hdc, picot, hdc, ch 2 and the lower hem of the bolero is worked in ch 3, 2dc-cl, sc. I was tempted to make the sleeves and hem wider, lacier and more decorative but decided to restrain myself. A good decision, I think, because it was better to focus on the motifs and keep the rest of the garment subdued.

The frosted organza ribbon works beautifully. I am so glad I got these ribbons – frosted organza in different colours is just so beautiful!

I am thinking of making another one of this, in natural cotton and more subdued colours and in larger size. The re-sizing for cotton thread is one of the more exciting stages in this project, and I am curious if I can re-size this for size L and XL.