There has been a lot of holiday crafting going on round here. But this post marks return to my day job!
I made some Thai style fishing pants. I bought a pair in 2000 as the new century began, and they have finally gone to the worms in our worm farms, the ultimate destination of natural fibres that are worn past the point of repair and reuse around here. I traced a pattern from them and made this pair from a sarong found at the op shop. I assume the originals were cut to maximise the use of fabric from a loom that is a standard-ish size in the region, because the sarong was the perfect amount of fabric, with almost no fabric left over to be wasted or used for other things. Surely this is the goal of all hand weavers, as well as a decent goal for thrifty and green sewers.
I used french seams and then top-sewed them flat, so that I could use only cotton thread and ignore the polyester sucking overlocker. When commercially sewn garments go to the worms, the overlocker thread is usually all that remains. The worm farm offers an education in the biodegradability of garments, and I am increasingly aiming for biodegradable. There is a cotton-polyester t shirt in one of them that has been there since my daughter left home and abandoned it. Over 10 years ago. Polyester will clearly survive the apocalypse, along with cockroaches. Seriously, my everyday garments do not need to live as long as the Gobelin tapestries.
I made a pair of radmila’s slippers from a new book, Knitting from the Center Out by Daniel Yuhas. They are knit from handspun merino roving dyed with Eucalypts. I have to say that I gave up making matching pairs a long time ago and now make siblings rather than twins… further proof lies in the next two images. OK, make that three!
I took up knitting in order to be able to knit socks, and that is what led me to spinning and then dyeing. Sock production has slowed down, but I finally finished a pair of Jaywalkers for a beloved friend. She is a lover of bright colours who has appreciated these as splendidly red while they were still in progress. This yarn was dyed by a fabulous local dyer, Kathy Baschiera.
Remember the post where I was wondering whether a sow’s ear could be turned into a silk purse (actually, whether I could turn the less exciting parts of a polwarth fleece and some low quality alpaca into slippers)? Well, the answer is yes. These are knit using Bev Galeskas’ Felted Clogs pattern and dyed with Landscapes dyes. I hope Bev Galeskas has made millions from her pattern. I sure have made tens upon tens of these, though most are a shade less hairy. Clearly I spun in a fair amount of guard hair, and it won’t felt. Just the same, the recipient of the red pair at the back was very enthusiastic as he turned 40, and the delightful women who will be receiving a parcel today or tomorrow with the front two pairs are great mend and make-do experts who have darned their previous pairs extensively… they live in a very cold place and will enjoy warm feet and hopefully overlook the odd stray guard hair!
Ah, holidays. I hope you’ve had some to enjoy.
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