Learning

 

I'm working on another link necklace, learning as I go. First of all, a circumference of five beads is better than one of six. It just feels less chunky. I started off with a pattern I'd been thinking about, that turned out to be a mistake. Luckily I could turn it into a key ring. The pattern is one that overcomes bias, so that the flowers are all in a line. That results in a 'double pattern', with flowers on one side and zig zags on the other. Not so good for the links. I prefer the spiraling effect. The pattern I'm using is called Flowers by SnowMirna. Here's the key ring:

Linked

 

The links necklace is done. It goes over my head, no problem. I have some ideas for more necklaces like this.....

Pin Attrition

 

I like to use glass headed pins so that if I drop a pin, I can find it again. Nevertheless, my pins always seem to dwindle over time. Eventually I get to the stage where I don't have enough to pin out an entire dress pattern. Time to break out the reserve packet! 

Slowly Adding Links

 

It takes an hour and a half to make each link, so it's a slow process. I worked out how to make a clasp, but I think that a continuous chain that goes over the head is a better option, so I still have a way to go. 

On Track

 

I used one ball of cotton yarn for each sleeve. I have four balls each for the back and the front, which is fine. On I go....

It's All About The Width

 

I bought 2 metres of fabric on Friday, the end of a roll. The shop owner looked a bit sceptical when I said I was planning to sew a dress with it. I soon saw why. The fabric was very narrow - 110 cm, 43 inches across.  When I pinned on the pattern pieces, it was clear there wasn't enough for a dress. What to do? I could make a top, but what I wanted was a put-on-and-go Summer dress. I had a look through my stash and found some Shweshwe fabric that co-ordinated well. Aha. Shweshwe fabric has a rather stiff sizing on the back, so I soaked both pieces of fabric for an hour, dried and ironed them before going back to the cutting table:

By working very carefully, I could make a short dress. It comes to just below my knees, which is fine. This is what the inside looks like:

With wide fabric, I can get a long dress from a metre and a half. With narrow fabric, I struggled to make a short dress! 

Linked

 

Ever since I made key rings with small loops of beaded rope, I've been thinking of making a necklace by linking such loops together. At last I've got down to it. To start with I thought I'd do a 'black and brights' scheme:

But I soon realised that it would make serious inroads into my stock of black beads. Since I'm still at the experimental phase, I decided to use less 'precious' colours. It's going to take a while, but so far so good.