3D Printed Shawl Pins

The worlds of knitting and 3D printing collide once more with these 3D printed shawl pins that I've added to my Etsy Shop. I like to use shawl pins to fasten quite a few of my sweaters but I've always had issues with the pins I've purchased. One of my recent favorites is a large safety pin style fastener but it can get unfastened sometimes and it also has a tendency to rotate around a bit. I've used the decorative ones with a stick through a circular loop but they can come loose easily and the stick ends can be sharp. I also don't like long wooden sticks that poke out a bunch. It took a few prototypes and wearing time but I can honestly say that this pin stays on and does not rotate around or poke me in any way. It's made of plastic, which makes it really light in weight and doesn't drag down my garment. The stick is attached so I can't lose it. Now, let's see if I can sell any.....

Raglan Flared Sweater

I recently finished this flared raglan style cardigan, using Rowan Silk Twist. The pattern is improvised. I wanted to experiment with the placement of the raglan increases. In the standard raglan sweater, at least for me, the stitches are divided up such that when I separate the body from the sleeves, I end up with fairly fitted sleeves and a fitted bust line area. Usually this happens when the length of the slanted increases is about 8 inches. In this case, I wanted the increases to continue much further down so that the armhole would be much wider. I've seen a ready-to-wear sweater in a shop with this sort of fit and I know I've also seen a few patterns with this style. My idea was to end up with something that sort of fits like a poncho for the upper part of the body, but is much easier to wear because it has sleeves further down. I also had such success with a stand-up collar and an i-cord front with this cardigan that I wanted to try that again. I don't know if it ended up very poncho-like, but I'm very happy with the result. It's very easy to wear and the silk twist yarn is not overly warm.

This sweater is one of those one-size-fits-most sort of garments. For those who are interested, here are my rough notes on this pattern.

• I divided the body and sleeve sections into quarters for the raglan placement. I cast on aiming for a neckline opening of about 17 inches. I did not cast on all the neckline stitches at once -- I did a few rows at the front neckline where I cast on some additional stitches so that the front neckline is lowered. I also did a couple of short rows on the back area to raise the back neckline a bit.
• After that, it's your standard raglan increases with 8 stitches added on every round done with YOs. I stopped the increases when the raglan length was about 12 inches. At this point, I have wide armholes and the split happens way below the bust line.
• I continued increases on the body every 4 rows for about 3 inches, then every 6 rows for about 3 inches. At that point, I changed over to a broken rib pattern for the bottom section. I did one more set of increases in the rib section about 1.5 inches in, and then just knit with straight sides to the bottom.
• For the sleeves, I increased every 4 rows about 2 inches, then every 6 for an inch, then changed to the rib pattern and threw in one more set of increases about 1.5" into the rib.
• The front edges are finished with a 4-stitch i-cord. The collar is knitted by picking up stitches at the neckline and then folded over and attached on the inside to give it a good stand-up look.

3D Printed Stitch Markers

The world of knitting and 3D printing has collided and I've added 3D printed stitch markers to my Etsy Shop. These markers are colorful and ever so cute, if I may say so myself. They should be snag-free as they are printed as one piece. In case it's not obvious, the cut-out is that of a cat silhouette.

Sewing: Simplicity 1068 stretchy skirt

This was another quick sewing project with a very simple pattern -- Simplicity 1068. My skirt is in between views C and D in length. I only had to cut 3 pieces of fabric out of 2 pattern pieces. The fabric is this printed knit fabric by Nicole Miller for JoAnn. It's a very tightly woven polyester and feels like a lighter version of the neoprene fabrics that I saw in the stores last spring. I'm not sure that I love the fabric because it feels strangely slimy. I decided to try it for a skirt because I figure it wouldn't breathe much and be uncomfortable for a dress. It's also a little annoying to work with because it doesn't hold a crease and even my ball point needle wouldn't sew through it easily. That being said, I do like the look of the completed skirt. The bottom trim is just some wide bias tape folded in half and sewn over the raw edge. I saw that done in some ready-to-wear garments made with similar fabrics and I liked the idea. The red gives it a bit of pop at the hem.

Petra Shawl of many colors

I just finished knitting the Petra Shawl. I'm not much of a shawl knitter, mainly because I don't really like to wear them. I did knit this one last year, and I actually wear it as a large scarf quite often because it's light and warm and also has bling. I knitted this latest one because I wanted to make use of this colorful ball of yarn that I bought last year. It's named Woollee, and I couldn't resist the name or the colors. The knitted end product is actually a bit more colorful than I like, but it's fine as a big scarf.

Sewing: Simplicity 1072 Knit Skirts

I recently sewed two, count 'em, two, skirts, one after the other. I used Simplicity 1072, and it's a super simple skirt pattern. You have to cut just 3 fabric pieces out of 2 pattern pieces. It's cut for stretch fabrics, so no darts are needed and the waistband encases some wide elastic.

I love how these came out. They are the perfect casual and comfortable skirts that I can wear through most seasons. I won't bother with the leggings in warmer weather. The pattern calls for stretch knits, but any moderately stretchy bottom-weight fabric will work. The first one is sewn in a stretch quilt fabric. I found it in the juvenile fabrics section at JoAnn -- it was there probably because of the hearts in the quilt design. I managed to cut the skirt with the hearts upside down, but I don't think anyone will notice. I sewed the second one in a mauve colored stretch corduroy that has a very narrow wale.

Footnote (no pun intended) -- if you're wondering about the leggings, yes, they do have a subtle camouflage pattern. Camouflage seems to be everywhere these days.

My tiny right brain -- Etsy Shop is open!

I opened my Etsy Shop last month, named 'TinyRightBrain'. I'm selling jewelry designed my moi and and manufactured using 3D printing. I'm starting off with earring designs and a few pendants. I'll be adding many more designs as time goes on. I hope you'll check it out, and even if you're not interested, share the link if you can, because my little shop needs eyeballs!

Here's a photo of a pair that I just added to the shop today. I named them "Barrel O' Fun".