Sewing for knitting: DPN & straight needle case

I did it!  I managed to sew two more cases to match my circular knitting needle case and it didn't take me a year to do it.  After looking at many online I sort of came up with my own pattern.  It wasn't terribly hard, just a simple rectangle on top of a rectangle with sewn in slots for the needles and a flap at the top so they don't slide out.  This makes it easy to roll the case up and tie it with an extra piece of fabric so as the case fills with needles you can adjust the size with your tie.   I made two, one for straight needles and one for DPN's:

 

What a relief it is to be able to find needles when I need them.  I should have made these a long time ago.  But just when I think I'm done, now that I have some extra Loft 1800 by Moda fabric I'm considering making a knitting bag that can house my new needle cases and any knitting project I'm working on.  If I can decide on a bag pattern I'll make one because with summer here (almost) it would be so convenient to just grab a knitting bag with needles and everything and go.  Very handy with summer traveling.  For now though I'm so happy with my new cases, I finally have a place for all my grandmas knitting needles.

Sewing for knitting: Circular needle holder

This week I tackled a sewing project that's actually for knitting: a circular needle holder.  I got the pattern from Stitch 'N Bitch: The Knitter's Handbook.  It wasn't a hard project but it did take a few hours.  I'm so happy that I don't have to dig through this mess to find my needles now:

It's so much nicer to have them all lined up by size on my new circular needle holder:

 

I've never worked with printer fabric before and this gave me an opportunity to explore that.   The handles are attached with velco on the back:

If I had enough money, not to mention time to use them all, I'd make several of these to house different lengths of needles too, but for now this works and I'm so glad I took to the time to organize them.  I'd like to make two more similar needle cases, one for DPN's and another for straight needles.  Hopefully this will inspire me to get moving on those! 

Simplicity 9958

Argyle undies anyone?

Yes, I do in fact make my husbands boxer shorts.  If I can find discounted cotton fabric it usually ends up being cheaper then the store bought, but with some of the nicer fabrics it's about the same or over what you'd pay for boxers at a big box store.  However, you don't get the quality of a homemade sewn item with shorts from store.

My favorite pattern for boxer shorts so far has been Simplicity 9958.  It's a pattern of only boxer shorts not a pattern of a robe plus shorts plus whatever so it's all about the pants which I like.  It's also the easiest and most practical pattern I've found.  Unlike some other patterns I have for boxer shorts (I have a boxer shorts pattern with no pee hole!) this is the most wearable pattern I have.  I can usually get about one short per yard so last week I whipped out four shorts from some great fabric I got from Hobby Lobby by Brother Sister Designs.  Once you've made a few it's easy to customize the pattern to what you need, make it longer, wider, smaller etc.

A pile of homemade boxer shorts make a great present for birthday's or Christmas too.  It is a challenge though to find fabric that is suitable for men (usually I can only find girlish fabrics or little boys fabric) Does anyone else have a good pattern they use for guys clothing or know of a good place to find men's fabric?  It's certainly nice to be back to sewing a few things besides Ash Tree Organics items.  I forget how much I enjoy seeing a finished sewn item!

How to: Make Thanksgiving patch napkins

I was inspired by The Purl Bee to make these quilted patch Thanksgiving napkins.  They will be a nice touch to our organic and farm fresh feast.  I used my Ash Tree Organics napkins and some leftover scraps from a quilt that I made a few years ago. They aren't perfect, but sort of folksy and I'm glad we won't be using paper napkins that we'll just throw away this Thanksgiving.  I'd love to make the table runner that matches it, but I don't know if I'll have time. Maybe the table runner will be next years project!

Supplies:

Napkins (either bought or make your own)
Sissors
Sewing machine (or by hand)
Scrap fabric
Thread
Fusible interfacing


Instructions:

First, I cut the patch pieces out of scrap fabric.  For mine, I made 2 1/2" triangles.  Then I sewed two triangles together to make a square.  Press the seem open on the back like this:

After you have pressed all your seems on your patches, trim off the overhang.  Next, cut squares the same size as your patches out of fusible interfacing.

Aline your patch and interfacing so that the front of the patch and the fusible side of your interfacing face toward each other (see photo above on right).  Sew around your patch now, leaving a small gap on one side.  Turn your patch inside out, making sure to push out the corners.  Your patch should now look like this:

Next, iron your patch onto your napkins as directed on the interfacing packaging.  Let cool.  Then, sew your patch on in whatever quilt pattern you desire.  I just sewed around the patch and then down the center, 'in the ditch'.



Tis' the season for holiday crafts!