I made this - Elizabeth Barnett

I Made This is a weekly blog series that features makers from around the world and aims to talk about the things we are proud of; of the objects we make that have meaning to us and the journey we take to make them.

This week's I Made This is by the amazing Elizabeth Barnett - a visual artist and maker from Melbourne who I met randomly many years ago at a sewing class. When we met she was making these beautiful textile collages - some of which you can see on her website. Normally I include the person's logo (if they have one) below - but I really wanted to include one of her paintings - just to give you a taste of her work. 

I made this Lisa dress from a pattern that I bought at Tessuti fabrics in Melbourne on the Cup weekend recently. Bel aka dyeingtrade (who I met at the Craft Sessions in September!) and I have been talking a lot recently about planning our summer wardrobes and so when I saw this pattern I was pretty sure it would be the centerpiece of my summer wardrobe. Bel and I met up on the weekend and madly sewed our dresses (Bel made the wiksten tank but as a longer dress version).

I bought the fabric at Treehouse Textiles in Mornington and the mother of pearl buttons are vintage ones from the beautiful L’uccello in the Nicholas Building. I spent quite a bit on these items but I am glad I did because I now have a dress that I love every element of and will wear often, rather than a garment that I sort of like but it isn’t quite right and I have a pattern that I will definitely use again and again. (and in light of Felicia's recent post on Materials... it confirms that one should use good materials that you know you will love to wear)

I had seen the pattern on pinterest and it instantly reminded me of a dress that I used to own that no longer fits me after I had my baby last year. I thought, YES! I can recreate the dress to my own shape and size in a fabric of my choosing. I like the way it is floaty and light for summer wearing.

I went through my stash to see if I could make this dress out of something I already had but none of the fabrics that I have were big enough (as the pattern required about 2m of fabric) so I decided to buy something new (going against the stash-less ideas that Felicia has been posting about recently and which has really got me thinking) But this project was special and I don’t have a huge fabric stash in large pieces so I felt justified in buying the Nani Iro fabric which I totally adore.

I am a pretty confident sewer these days after years of hacking away and fudging garments together. I have always been a maker/crafter (Craft has always been a part of my family) but my finishing of garments had always left me feeling unsatisfied with the things I made and they always ended up falling apart or I hated how “handmade” and dodgy they looked. I did a class a few years ago (where I first met Felicia actually!) at Amitie textiles when it was in Bentleigh. Our teacher Gwen has years of experience and she taught me things that I will never forget! Eg. button holes, hemming, inserting a zip, setting a sleeve, and the importance of pinning and tacking! These classes have been invaluable and have taught me not to hack at fabric or brazenly sew without pinning (which has its place for some projects but in most cases for me would end up in me unpicking and ruining beautiful pieces of fabric).

When I looked at the pattern I wasn’t that keen on putting in all the fabric stiffner and the shops weren’t open on the Sunday to get some so instead I did without and I decided to add a full lining for the bodice of the dress (with some leftover fabric from one of Mum’s quilting projects). I am really pleased I did as the Nani Iro fabric is really sheer and I am not that keen on see through garments for myself! I love the bias binding that finishes the neck and sleeves and helps them to sit nicely. I had never done that technique before but it worked amazingly and I starting thinking about other patterns that I could alter to achieve that look. I could even make different fabric bias bindings from my stashed fabrics for a nice bit of interest on the garment…. the possibilities!

I LOVE this dress and have not really taken it off since I made it. I will definitely the pattern again and maybe even in two fabrics, one for the top and one of the skirt (perhaps something in my stash will work for this).

I Made This - Christine Chitnis

I Made This is a weekly blog series that features makers from around the world and aims to talk about the things we are proud of; of the objects we make that have meaning to us and the journey we take to make them.

Today's I Made This is by Christine Chitnis, a writer and photographer from Providence in the US. I was lucky enough to befriend this ace woman at Squam last year through my gorgeous friend Kellen. Sitting in our cabin in the evening, and watching the care and patience with which Christine knits, was truly inspiring. I often find myself trying to race through my knitting to get something finished - but she seemed to be content to quietly and carefully knit*. I learnt something in that moment. 

I suppose I am a long-time crafter.  My love of making dates back to my youth when I first learned to sew from my mom.  I would piece together wonky doll quilts and over-sized fleece pajama pants.  I hated measuring and cutting straight lines, but loved zipping along on the sewing machines.  I have the same habits today, and my imperfect quilts still make my mom laugh.  To me, they're perfectly imperfect, just the way I like it.  I decided in middle school that I wanted to learn to knit, and since my mother didn't know how, she signed me up for lessons at the knitting shop in our small town.  I spent hours there after school, knitting with and learning from a circle of older women.  Looking back, I can't help but wonder how they viewed the awkward pre-teen in their midst.

Once I reached high school, I was fully entrenched in sports, music and academics, and for the time being, my love of crafting took a backseat.  Busy high school years led into college, where I juggled nanny work with a full time student schedule and various clubs and activities.  After college I started working straight away, six days a week in the non-profit sector, as well as evenings waitressing.  I was busy. 

Until I wasn't.

At 24, I married and moved away from my friends, my beloved city of Chicago and my work to be with my husband at his new job.  As a newlywed in a brand new town, I didn't have a clue as to what to do with myself.  I have never been good at down time, but I felt it would be a mistake to rush into the next job, not knowing what I really wanted to do with my life.  Around that time, seven years ago, blogs were becoming a "thing" and I thought I would start one, and use it to improve my writing, if nothing else.  Little did I know it would completely change my life, give me a new career as an author and photographer, and reintroduce me to my love of crafting and making. 

Inspired by all the projects I saw out there in the blog world, I returned to my needles and relearned the art of knitting, sharing all my beginner project on my blog and feeding off the positive reinforcement.  I bought a used sewing machine and began quilting again, working my way up to garment making as my skills improved.  I had my first baby, then 20 months later, my second.  Knitting and sewing, photographing and writing became a life line, a way to infuse the daily drudgery with windows of creativity and joy.  I love my kids dearly, but life as a young mom can suck you dry.

My youngest is now 2, and my oldest started preschool this year.  Our lives are hitting a nice pace, and I continue carving out time for my craft, finding ways to fit it in between the endless loads of laundry and dinner preparations, the book deadlines and bedtime routines.  Now that I have relearned the necessary skills, I am shifting my focus to creating garments that I actually want to wear.  Garments that fit my life and style. 

That meant taking a hard look at my style, and what I like, and this is what I found: I am a tomboy at heart, most comfortable in a worn pair of jeans and t-shirt, or simple sweater.  I love a pop of color, and a fun detail, but ease is key.  I'm becoming better at gauge and fit, though I still have much to learn and I'm the laziest gauge-er you've ever met.  My favorite sweater thus far is my Antler.  It is perfection, it really is.  Well except for that small hole where I might have dropped a stitch, and the way it's a bit short under the arms.  Perfectly imperfect, just the way I like it, and just the way it'll always be.

* As evidenced in her lovely quilted vest.

I Made This - Myf Walker

I Made This is a new weekly blog post that features makers from around the world - some of them you will know through their online presence, others you will not - but their stories are equally inspiring.
I Made This aims to talk about the things we are proud of; of the objects we make that have meaning to us and the journey we take to make them.

Today's I Made This is by Myf Walker, a multi-talented maker that runs Tinker Maker. She lives with her family on the outskirts of Melbourne. 

When Felicia asked me to contribute to I Made This, I immediately said “yes, of course, I’d love to!” And then it dawned on me a little later that I’d have to choose ‘a favourite’, no easy task. What criteria would I use to narrow it down? The most beautiful, useful, technical or difficult? I deliberated. And couldn’t decide. So I thought I’d just write about the most recent thing I’ve made.

The weather is getting warmer, anyone who know me knows that I don’t cope too well in the heat. Anyone who knows me also knows that I have a 6 month old daughter and that I am breastfeeding. Summer and breastfeeding = hot.

A few weeks ago we had our first run of beautiful warm spring weather, just perfect for dresses, except as I realised, I didn’t have a single one in my wardrobe that was suitable for feeding Anaïs. I needed a new dress. Fast. 

Lots of clothes designed for maternity and breastfeeding are jersey. Which is fine, comfortable and utilitarian. But jersey clings and makes me feel lumpy and hotter. So I thought about my favourite Summer dress which is a simple, breezy pinafore made using the pattern from my much loved copy of Happy Homemade vol. 1. 

Quick and easy to make, critical, as I have very little free time. Oh and it has pockets. Perfect.

I had just enough gorgeous checked crinkle linen bought from Tessuti and thread to match. The last remaining obstacle was modifying the design to allow, um, easy access, which proved fairly straightforward. Instead of sewing the straps into the front yoke, they just needed to be attached. Somehow.

The thing is, I’m only going to be feeding for maybe another six months, so I thought it’d be good to be able to unpick the yoke and sew the straps in properly later on. Making button holes would look messy. I decided on heavy duty press studs, although after a good search, I realised I didn’t have any.

This meant a trip to the closest purveyor of sewing supplies, located in the local shopping centre. Which should be quick and painless, but is never, ever quick and painless with my two kids in tow. I avoid shopping centres like the plague.

So, I figured I’d just make something to attach the straps. I’ve been mucking around with hammering copper wire to use with some of my dyed textiles. I thought about how I could use the wire to make a kind of buckle. Easy to get on and off and strong. Unlikely to come apart if pulled by little hands, an advantage over press studs.

My first design resulted in a buckle that came undone a little too easily. So I revised my original idea and came up with this.

It’s not perfect, it bothers me that there’s bit of white stripe that peeks out under the front yoke.
And even though I thought I was being clever matching the stripes on the dress front and yoke when cutting, I forgot that the front is gathered, thus they don’t match and I shouldn’t have bothered. Some of my stitching is quick and not as neat as I’d like. I too am learning to let these things go.

But the buckles work brilliantly and (I think) they’re pretty! Throughly road tested over the last week, I’m pleased to report, my beautiful new dress keeps me and my baby happy.

Hooray for making things!

I Made This - Felicia Semple

I Made This is a new weekly blog post that features makers from around the world - some of them you will know through their online presence, others you will not - but their stories are equally inspiring.
I Made This aims to talk about the things we are proud of; of the objects we make that have meaning to us and the journey we take to make them.

So I know this is a weird way to kick off a series that is all about other voices -  but I'm going to start. Mainly because I have been wanting to post about a cardy I made and this is the perfect format for it. 

I Made This by Felicia Semple

I made this cardigan but I still don't understand exactly how. My hands began making while my head was playing catchup, trying to find an idea. 

The cardigan began with some materials. We were two days into our camping trip when we visited a farm that did natural dyeing as part of a Tudor reenactment. They took wool from their own sheep, and dyed it using camomile and madder and woad and pussy willow. The skeins were so beautiful I couldn't leave them in the farm shop.

My middle girl saw the colours (she LOVES colour) and kept asking over and over "are they for me….could they be for me?" "Course they could love." "A cardigan?" "Sure."

OK. So I'm making a colourwork cardigan. I set a few parameters; Keep it simple. Think of it as a learning experience - I don't know that much about colourwork. Only use one or two colours per pattern. Make it stripy - four rows between each pattern - one big pattern then one small. I decide to think of it as a colourwork sampler of sorts; a place to practice my skills.

Final rule - I can't procrastinate - I have to just start. I have a tendency to procrastinate when using materials I love. I don't want them to run out and so I plan and plan and don't make. So I decide not to plan. We were camping and I have the time to do something a little challenging. I make up some starting numbers for the body of the cardy and start knitting. 

This cardy was the craft project that came out of our adventure. Like the adventure, I made no plans. I picked patterns by using spotty wifi to do a quick google search for "colourwork images" to find something I liked. I'd quickly scribble it down, and knit some more. Sometimes there was no wifi and I would make a pattern up as I needed to keep knitting. I ripped and ripped and ripped this thing. I did the yoke at least six times to get the shaping to work. In doing so I used a whole heap of personal qualities I'm not that practiced at - like patience and sitting with uncertainty. Doing something so uncertain, and so unlike my normal making, made it addictive. I wanted to see if I could. 

Technically it is a bit of a disaster. I don't have that much experience with colour work. I have made a few things but never taken the time to learn the rules. Even (especially) if you plan on breaking them, having a basic understanding of the rules is helpful. For example I used a two stitch seam of the natural coloured yarn on the underside of the sleeve. This lead to many interesting tangled sloppy stitches  that are really obvious if you are up close (see below). A bigger error was that I didn't pay enough attention when I was buying the yarn. I assumed it was all DK and just thought that some of the skeins had been spun a bit thin. I realised about 3/4 of the way through that actually three of the colour skeins were fingering weight. It works. Kind of. I also realised at the end of the cardigan that I'd been holding what I wanted to be the dominant yarn in the non dominant hand. Whoops….. And then there is the fact I used a 4mm needle with dk yarn to knit a colourwork cardigan for a child that "runs hot". It is a thick coat, not a cardigan. Plus it's too small. Technically I might get a fail if we were looking at it from a technical point of view. Luckily we are not.

Because she loves it. And I love it. To her it is her "colourwork cardy" that she asked me for and I made because I love her. She doesn't care that it isn't technically great or too hot or too small. And I'm proud of it. It challenged me and extended me and I learnt.

It holds the memories of our trip and many places we camped. I cast on in England, I redid the yoke in Albania and I crocheted the steek in Greece. She and I sat together at our camp table under the trees in Umbria and cut the steek. I put the buttons on only this week - maybe finally accepting that it is over and we are home. 

It almost feels like this came together through some kind of magic. I don't believe I would have been able to sit down and "design" something I like this much. One uncertain leap lead to another uncertain leap. Such an unusual process for me; I surprised myself.