Solar dyeing with lupin flowers again! Last summer I tried this for the first time, and it turned out pretty, but sadly the blue color faded in the wash. This time I used more alum, which is a mordant and should make the dye stick to the fabric and last longer. I'll try rinsing it with vinegar after taking it out, which should help with the fading as well. And I'll hand-wash it with cool water instead of machine washing.
Here's a short how to:
Wet the shirt with water. Stuff it with flowers, roll it up and put in a big glass jar with more flowers on the bottom and sides.
Measure 10-20% of the dry shirts's weight in alum and dissolve in hot water. Add the alum-water to the jar.
Fill the jar with water all the way to the top. Try to get as few air bubbles as you can in the jar so that it doesn't start to grow mold. Cover the top with some cling film and then put on the lid to make it air-tight.
Place on the windowsill to soak in the sun for two weeks. I have a plate and some tissue under the jar in case it leaks.
Take the shirt out and rinse with cold water until the water runs clear. You can try adding some vinegar to the last rinse to help the color last longer.
Dry and enjoy! Hand-wash in cold water to not fade the color.
This jar method is really eco dyeing, because it uses the sun's energy, and the lupin flowers are an invasive species here in Finland. You can use other materials as well, like many kitchen scraps! Onion skins, citrus peels, tea bags... I've collected some already!
This is in my own opinion and only crafts I do, but is also relative to the craft in general. Like these are aspects that don’t change project to project, no matter how much skills increase.
Knitting (and I imagine it’s the same with crochet): Counting. Whether it’s counting in a row or counting rows. Always paranoid. Always a pain in the ass
Machine sewing: Cutting out patterns. Do you like doing an hour’s worth of work without feeling any sort of accomplishment? How about pain? Too bad, have to do it.
Hand sewing like cross-stitch and embroidery: Little threads everywhere. Littering your workspace and your clothes. Second place is eventually acknowledging the fact that your life would be easier if you bought a standing magnifying glass or those fucking glasses even if it makes you look old or weird.
So a couple weeks back bae and I found this huge dead cottonwood with ribbons of bark just falling off its bone like trunk. Naturally we took some home and after a lot of time and a sanded off fingerprint Ive got cords.
Well what to do with heaps of cords? Make some coil baskets I guess?
Looks a little rough for now but once I build up the walls no one will see this mess
Handwoven checkered tea towels and matching coasters!
I was gonna go all in and design a plaid but after thumbnailing some patterns i got caught up in how much math i was going to need to do so instead i pulled back and went more simple but i really love how these came out. I think the design is a classic one for the kitchen
pattern is here and is very good and easy to follow. This took a little more than a week, I think? It went faster than I expected.
she’s super cuddly! Going to make a really good pillow, or at least a really good cuddle object. Haven’t weighed her but I used at least half of the 5-lb box of polyfill, and the yarn itself is pretty weighty as well (size 5). I used a 6.50 mm hook, which I believe is size K.
Sorry, path is blocked, you’re going to have to find the Pokéflute if you want to go upstairs
Solarpunk crafts! I made my old shorts bigger by sewing fabric strips from an old shirt into the sides. Added lace up details too! Some of the video clips got flipped upside down, but it adds to the aesthetic, I think. Happy solarpunk aesthetic week!
I completely forgot I started working on a Pacific Rim colorwork ugly Christmas style sweater
I've really just got the very beginning of the body chart and a concept sketch I can't find rn. But look it's got Trespasser on it! Also Danger's reactor makes a pretty cool pattern
I'll probably add Otachi on the yoke to really double down on the kaiju theme