…compilation of tutorials
As I said before, I mostly knit/crochet with the yarn end that sits in the skein to prevent the skein to roll all over.
Sometimes I must roll my yarn ball myself and I found that the tutorial on how to make my own center pull yarn ball is really a help.
It works great!
Links:
Center Pull Yarn Ball
Here at unikatissima:
Detangling Yarns
I found a great tutorial for a beaded macramé bracelet with a very interesting closure technique.
I’m not sure if I am patient enough for this bracelet, but I know that I must try it as soon as I find the time!
Links:
Beaded Macramé Bracelet
Once I found a tutorial on Hiragimi braid, but not only can’t I find it back, while googling for ‘Hiragimi’ I dind’t find anything.
Strange!
But at the tutorial the diagrams weren’t so good, so I sketched the diagrams again for myself.
And so you can download them now from here ;-))
Hiragimi braid is similar to Kumihimo braid, but the braid won’t be round but flat (see photo).
When making my braid I found it most difficult to get the tension right, I always pulled more to one side than the other so that the braid became curved ;-)
Links:
unikatissima’s Hiragimi (PDF, ~460 KB)
The PDF includes a template for a cardboard disk respectively card (at the end of the file) and a description for braiding the pattern that you can see on the photo
unikatissima’s entries:
Kumihimo
Kumihimo Beads
Kumihimo Edo Yatsu
While surfing I found mini or hand-held looms (see links below), which I find very interesting, because 1st I don’t have much place at home and 2nd I know that I don’t weave, I just try it once in a while ;-))
On the photo you see the front and back side of my little woven patch.
I would never actually buy a loom, therefore I made me one from – guess… – yes: cardboard! ;-)
On the photo you see me threading the loom in one direction.
Then I thread my cardboard loom in the other direction.
That’s the way my cardboard loom looks at the back side.
Now I’m weaving in one direction.
And here I’m weaving in the other direction.
After having finished with weaving I crochet an edging to neaten the edge.
The first photo shows back and front side of the finished little piece.
Links:
At Weavettes:
How to weave on a mini loom (English) (via knitting-and.com)
The original site doesn’t exist any more and is now available through webarchive:
At Weavettes:
How to weave on a mini loom (English) (via knitting-and.com)
At eLoomaNation: Big Ideas from Little Looms:
Get ideas what to do with your patches
Get basic woman measurement charts for clothing patterns at the website of Jessica Tromp just as for the Clothes From Crocheted Medaillons
I’m always interested in articles about weaving and spinning, even though I neither weave nor spin.
But that is the reason why I was so stunned by the tutorial on how to spin newspapers to yarn.
I really would like to try it – one day ;-))
Links:
Handspun Newspaper Yarn
I continued to play around with the Crazy Daisies. It is so much fun and I’m working on a Crazy Daisy Scarf. On the photo you see my scarf.
One thing I found out is that I love the little flowers much more without any edging. Therefore I’m joining them while working.
I’m measuring the yarn and wind the daisy. In doing so I’m pulling the thread immediately through the loops of the previous daisies using a blunt tapestry needle.
It takes a little longer, but this way I don’t have to assemble later and avoid the problem of hiding the ends.
The other thing I played around with is another cardboard loom. In my first Crazy Daisy entry I used a cardboard version of the ice-cream-lid-loom.
Later I found other daisy looms and created my cardboard version of it. It works very well.
My cardboard loom consists of 2 cardboard disks. I taped them together and put 12 pins between both disks. I can then wind a daisy and when finished I pull the pins out. For the next daisy I put the pins back in my cardboard loom.
Note: I found out, that the disks must be very tightly taped, otherwise the pins fall out.
I always use the same pin holes and this way the tape won’t be damaged. I used my well taped cardboard loom over and over and don’t have any problems with the pins.
This way I can make my loom on the spur of the moment in the shape and size I need at the moment. I also tried a square one and the square daisies looked also nice.
Links:
unikatissima’s Crazy Daisies
At the website of Knitting-and.com where I found the Crazy Daisies I also found the Butterfly Loom.
As always I didn’t want to buy something without knowing if I will use it ever again and cut my butterfly loom in different sizes from cardboard as you can see on the photo.
It worked out very well, but although I’m always coming back to different kinds of weave I think I’d never be patient enough to actually create something with this technique. It’s a pity.
;-)
Links:
Knitting-and.com: Butterfly Loom
via Knitting-and.com at The Butterfly Loom:
Patterns for the Butterfly Loom
Joining Butterfly Loom Motifs
You can also find a description, faq’s and a gallery of items made with their Butterfly Loom
Here at unikatissima:
Crazy Daisies
Via craftster.org I found another craft, I’ve never heard about: Ganutell.
It makes me think of my Starburst card ;-)
Originally they made flowers with this technique, but it looks great as earrings as seen at this craftster discussion thread.
I have to face it: it is another technique on my (long, long) what-I-really-have-to-try-list ;-))
Links:
Ganutell
Discussion thread at craftster.org: How to make these ‘woven’ earrings?
Here at unikatissima:
Starburst Card
Once I found a really good idea on how to make inexpensive bobbins from clothespins.
Later I found more very good ideas at Gabriela Marková’s Kumihimo blog, all entries labelled with ‘Equipment’.
You can use those bobbins very good when making you own Kumihimo cord.
Links:
Learn Intarsia Knitting (the clothespin bobbins are mentioned there)
At Gabriela Marková’s Kumihimo blog:
All entries labelled with ‘Equipment’ (English)
I found recently the blog of Gabriela Marková. I’m very glad about, because her (German) book ‘Kumihimo – Flechtkunst aus Japan’ ‘Kumihimo – Flechtkunst aus Japan’ was such a help for me to learn Kumihimo.
In this book she describes not only different braids, but she always encourages the reader to play around, to try new braids, colour combinations and so forth.
It really was the right book for me ;-)
On the photo you see one of my braids, and I’m almost sure, that it is a Edo Yatsu braid ;-)
If you want to give the Edo Yatsu braid a try, check Gabriela Marková’s blog entry.
Links:
Kumihimo blog of Gabriela Marková
Kumihimo Edo Yatsu braid
The link isn’t available no more.
Gabriela Marková’s German book ‘Kumihimo – Flechtkunst aus Japan’ (English)
At Amazon.de:
Gabriela Marková’s German book ‘Kumihimo – Flechtkunst aus Japan’
Kumihimo here at : unikatissima :
Kumihimo beads here at : unikatissima :
