Calling crafters and makers: Simple projects...

[alicat]

I'm loving this thread ... they're about my skill level. Can I join your class @Andy in Germany ? I promise not to need much help, just praise for my efforts?

 

[Reynard]

If you can get some old slate roof tiles, they're easy to cut with a hacksaw and carve with small crafting chisels.

So drinks coasters, gaming counters (chess pieces maybe - the carved bits can be painted white & red with acrylics), house numbers...

 

[KnittyNorah]

For those who want to sit in peace, or for if there are almost no resources available, you can do a very simple thing based on a seven-strand straw plait, using a bit of sturdy cardboard and some scraps of yarn. It's like a very simple form of of kumihimo.
Here's a pdf download giving a basic introduction from the Braid Society; you just cut an octagon of sturdy card, make a little nick centrally on each straight edge and pierce a hole in the middle.

 

[annedonnelly]

For those who want to sit in peace, or for if there are almost no resources available, you can do a very simple thing based on a seven-strand straw plait, using a bit of sturdy cardboard and some scraps of yarn. It's like a very simple form of of kumihimo.
Here's a pdf download giving a basic introduction from the Braid Society; you just cut an octagon of sturdy card, make a little nick centrally on each straight edge and pierce a hole in the middle.

Sounds like French knitting - four nails hammered into (an old-fashioned wooden) cotton reel

 

[KnittyNorah]

Sounds like French knitting - four nails hammered into (an old-fashioned wooden) cotton reel

The concept of threads entering a hole separate and coming out all joined together, is about all it shares with French knitting!
It's known as 'fill-gap' and you just move threads around to - guess what - fill a gap ...
Most commonly done with seven threads (hence the octagonal card) but there are many and very complex variations once you enter the realms of 'proper' kumihimo. The seven-strand one is nice enough, though.

I do Anglo-Saxon finger-manipulated loop braiding, which requires no equipment whatsoever, other than thread or yarn, but although it is in essence extremely simple, it's one of those things that's apparently very difficult to learn. I've been able to do it since childhood but it was only a few years ago I learned it had a name and was of historic interest!

@Andy in Germany - you might also want to look at whipcording; you just need somewhere to suspend the cord at eye level or above - a hook in the ceiling, or a loop of string around a branch of a tree. It can be done as a cooperative activity with two people, each controlling two of the bobbins which hold the thread used to form the whipcord. It's a much faster way of making long, long lengths of decorative - and functional - cord than most other hand-manipulated methods.

 

[annedonnelly]

I do Anglo-Saxon finger-manipulated loop braiding, which requires no equipment whatsoever, other than thread or yarn, but although it is in essence extremely simple, it's one of those things that's apparently very difficult to learn. I've been able to do it since childhood but it was only a few years ago I learned it had a name and was of historic interest!

I did a workshop on that a few years ago but never practised afterwards. Every now & then I find the sample bits that I brought away.

I presume from your username you're a knitter. I can do this basics but it's not something that excites me at all. However, I do need to get started on a couple of dishcloths...

 

[KnittyNorah]

I presume from your username you're a knitter. I can do this basics but it's not something that excites me at all. However, I do need to get started on a couple of dishcloths...

Many years ago, I used to knit with one, two, four or five needles. It never really thrilled me - I always preferred dressmaking - but I found the repetitive actions soothing when I had a busy life and a stressful job.
Now I knit with up to 250 - much more fun and an entirely different skill of its own!

 

[Reynard]

Many years ago, I used to knit with one, two, four or five needles. It never really thrilled me - I always preferred dressmaking - but I found the repetitive actions soothing when I had a busy life and a stressful job.
Now I knit with up to 250 - much more fun and an entirely different skill of its own!

Knitting machine, perchance?

 

[lazybloke]

An early and not entirely successful attempt at felting merino wool into the Close Encounter mountain an ornamental pot.

 

[KnittyNorah]

Knitting machine, perchance?

Indeed! And it's all done backwards ... a bit like Ginger Rogers, who did everything that Fred Astaire did, but backwards and in high heels!

My favourite is the entirely manual, plastic Bond from the 1980s - I have three of them which it is possible to link together (if you have a suitable surface on which to use the machine) and that's what gets me 250+ needles in one go. More usually I just have a single machine set up for 100 and sometimes just half a machine with 40 - 45 usable needles. I do have other machines as well, much more sophisticated ones, but there's something about the simplicity of the Bonds that I really like.

I'm currently looking for a Record or similar garter stitch machine - these usually date from the 1950s. One of my contacts took one to the tip a couple of months ago because he had no idea that I might be interested in it ... aaaaarrrrgggghhhhh!

 

[Reynard]

Indeed! And it's all done backwards ... a bit like Ginger Rogers, who did everything that Fred Astaire did, but backwards and in high heels!

My favourite is the entirely manual, plastic Bond from the 1980s - I have three of them which it is possible to link together (if you have a suitable surface on which to use the machine) and that's what gets me 250+ needles in one go. More usually I just have a single machine set up for 100 and sometimes just half a machine with 40 - 45 usable needles. I do have other machines as well, much more sophisticated ones, but there's something about the simplicity of the Bonds that I really like.

I'm currently looking for a Record or similar garter stitch machine - these usually date from the 1950s. One of my contacts took one to the tip a couple of months ago because he had no idea that I might be interested in it ... aaaaarrrrgggghhhhh!

Ah. The marvel of trying to replicate human actions with engineering can lead to some interesting solutions. 250 needles must give you quite a wide bit of knitting.

Mum's the yarn hobbyist here - lace, crochet, knitting. I merely nick her needles for modelling and craft purposes...

 

[KnittyNorah]

250 needles must give you quite a wide bit of knitting.

Because of the way that knitting machines work, holding the stitches on the needles under tension, the entire setup is ~ 3m long and the piece of knitting it makes is up to ~ 2.25m wide - so I've rarely had the entire thing set up. It is actually very impractical and uncomfortable to use at that width, and the knitting itself is very unstable, floppy and drags and pulls, as it has no seams or other stable 'constructional' points. It's just a curiosity, really.

When making blankets and throws, from small lap blanket size up to large double size, which I've made lots of for various charities, I much prefer to make them in panels. With an odd number of panels - three or five - it's easy to make the finished item look 'planned' even when it's just made from scraps.
Joining long panels is not as onerous as it sounds, as I use various types of 'SAYG' (seam as you go) techniques on the machine, which can be as plain or as decorative as I like. That means I knit the first panel in its entirety, then the next panel is joined to the first one as I am knitting it, so when I've finished the second panel, it is already joined to the first, and so on.

 

[Reynard]

Because of the way that knitting machines work, holding the stitches on the needles under tension, the entire setup is ~ 3m long and the piece of knitting it makes is up to ~ 2.25m wide - so I've rarely had the entire thing set up. It is actually very impractical and uncomfortable to use at that width, and the knitting itself is very unstable, floppy and drags and pulls, as it has no seams or other stable 'constructional' points. It's just a curiosity, really.

When making blankets and throws, from small lap blanket size up to large double size, which I've made lots of for various charities, I much prefer to make them in panels. With an odd number of panels - three or five - it's easy to make the finished item look 'planned' even when it's just made from scraps.
Joining long panels is not as onerous as it sounds, as I use various types of 'SAYG' (seam as you go) techniques on the machine, which can be as plain or as decorative as I like. That means I knit the first panel in its entirety, then the next panel is joined to the first one as I am knitting it, so when I've finished the second panel, it is already joined to the first, and so on.

I can quite picture that setup in my head - sounds a bit bonkers. Guess it's one of those things filed under "just because you can, doesn't mean you should"

Mum uses a similar approach to joining stuff together when making larger lace pieces.