Tag Archives: handmade

Alpine, Seashore, Jewel and Sunshine

February 19, 2018
Assalamu’alaikum,

Hello everyone,

On the title are the theme of the yarns I recently dyed and are now available for purchase. It took me months to prepare these much and the progress continues InsyaAllah. My job is so much fun, Alhamdulillah.

To see the choices of hand-dyed yarns, select Hand-Dyed and select the choices from themes from the drop down menu. Under Shop you will find other type of yarns including the famous Balinese Cotton Yarns as well as the hand-dyed which are being sold as Clearance. Those in the Clearance Box are a mixed color of yarns and sold as a package.
Detail info of the individual yarns and pricing is shown on each photos.
If you have any question you can contact me via email or drop me a message on  Crochet Republic FB Page.
Thank you…
Happy crocheting or knitting…
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Tangle Free Yarn

March 1, 2016

How many times have you wound the yarns and ended up spending countless hours untangling it? Well if you are like me who wind your yarns a lot before  crocheting or knitting, here are some tips for you. This technique is especially useful when you work with a slippery yarns such as nylon or a certain type of silk.  I would call this method making yarn donut casing. With this method you are encasing each ball and pull one end while the ball stay inside the case. It will make your yarn ball hair and dust free too.

You need a plastic pocket in the size to fit the volume of your yarn ball, not too loose and not to tight. Umbrella yarn winder and a ball winder is needed but it is not a  must. If you are manually winding your yarns, just make sure to put something hollow to temporarily hold your yarns such as a bathroom tissue paper holder.

First method: Cut the base of the plastic pocket, slide it into the ball winder then tighten it with a rubber band. Wind yarns as usual. When finish, remove yarns from the winder then pull out one end of the plastic pocket gently and fold it around the yarn enveloping it inside safely.

Second method: Wind yarns as usual. When finish, remove yarns from the winder, slide in the precut plastic pocket through the hole then pull out one end gently. Fold the plastic around the yarn enveloping it inside safely.

Green Method: I have not tried  this but maybe a a crumpled old magazine paper might work as well as a wrapper.

Don’t forget to reuse and recycle the plastic containers.

 

Custom Made Crochet Frame Purse

February 29, 2016

As soon as this yarns came I thought I must immediately make something with it or otherwise I will be buried in other WIPs which never seems to finish again for a long time and the idea soon will evaporate and I will forget about it. I know, I am making excuse again for not finishing my works on time (sigh)… But I promise myself  making this purse doesn’t take much of my time .

To do this you need:

  1. 1 ball of  yarn, 100 gr/DK size, a crochet hook (I used smaller hook because I crochet very loose). 4 mm hook is the usual one for this type of yarns.
  2. A metal frame, mine is an oval 10 cm in diameter.
  3. A sewing needle.
  4. A thin nylon thread to sew the purse to the frame which can be purchased from a bead store. Something like a nymo will work.
  5. A piece of fabric for the lining (optional) depends on the type of stitching you will choose. If you are going to do single crochet motif only all the way you may not need  to line your purse.
  6. A sharp scissor.

The Math Thingy

  1. Measure the circle of your frame. With the frame wide open and using a measuring tape, measure the inside circle. Let say the inner circle is 30 cm. Let’s divide this number with 2 so 30:2 = 15 cm. this is the width of the bottom of your purse.

Using the stitch pattern of your choice (mine is inspired by Wheat Stitch Baby Blanket on Ravelry) and it is a free pattern (thanks to DankFiber), make a purse taking into account the width of the base  as measured above. You can make it as tall as you like but at least the height must be the same length as the base to give enough room for the pocket when the frame is sewn later.

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The finish pocket and the frame.

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Cut and hand sew the lining. Pinch the two corners and sew.

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Flip the purse inside out and slide into the lining.

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Pin and baste the lining to the purse.

 

Arrange the opening around the frame, tuck in the fabric and lining and spread evenly.

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IMG_4477 (1)

Sew the purse into the frame starting from the corner, from outside into the inside, insert needle just about 1 mm below the edge  into both fabric and lining and sew back into the same hole in the frame. Pull tight each time so the stitches are hidden inside the slot in the frame. 

Sew several times into the fabric, cut off  thread and burn the nylon careful not to burn your hand or the purse. Just be save with all you do.

You are done!

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NOTE: You can make the bottom of your purse as wide as you like but the opening has to match the size of the frame unless your fabric is thin enough to fold inside the opening when the frame is shut, then it doesn’t matter.

 

 

 

My First Time Dying Silk Yarns

September 27, 2014
Salam and hello everyone. I learned silk batik panting but working with the yarn is new to me and here is the result of my first experience doing this. I showed my work to the owner of a famous silk shop and he said he is impressed with my designs. It was very encouraging hearing his comments considering these are my very first  time playing with this luxury fiber. I used iDye from Jacquard diluted in water/vinegar solution (1 liter of water for 100 ml white vinegar).
 
 
Picture above from left:
 
1. The light purple/light green was pre-soaked in warm water for 1 hour, painted, set aside for 1 hour without steaming, hang to dry (no steam, no heat). I washed the silk after it dried to check the color, no dye in the water at all.
 
2. The dark purple, yellowish and green was pre-soaked in water at room temperature for 1 night, painted,  steam 30 minutes, hang to dry.   
 
3. The red was pre-soaked for 2 hours. I put the dye inside a pot with 1.5 liters of water to dissolve, once it is warm right before boiling, I carefully lay the skein inside the pot and turn the fire very low to prevent it from boiling for 30 minutes then let it cool. Once it was cool I was it with cold water 3 times. 
 
4. The red and blue same method as no. 3.
 
5. The far right  was pre-soaked in water at room temperature for 1 night, painted, steam 30 minutes, cool, dry flat.
A friend in crochet group lent me a valuable tips: “Put the colours on, cover and ‘cook’ in 
 
the microwave for 2 mins at a time until the colour has been taken up/exhausted. Rinse in 
 
warm water. Dry.” Thanks to Robyn Cobby for her kindness to share her tips.
 

 

I understood now why you should never hang your silk to dry. The water will pull the yarns down resulting in an uneven texture. I will remember this next time: Lay flat your silk yarn to dry.

Silk yarn in its natural color and after dying/painting

Testing out the result firsthand. 

Next batch Silk of India insyaAllah… 

Thanks Laurensia Debyana for  videotaping it for us. Sorry for the video turned dark in some part in the middle because light went off. Yeah, light do went off about dozen times in our place, but we are still very lucky because in many more places in the world in fact they have no electricity at all.

https://www.youtube.com/v/S3uMO7600n8?version=3&f=user_uploads&c=google-webdrive-0&app=youtube_gdata
 
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If you like what you see and made something from my free patterns, please credit me by mentioning my name and my blog and provide the link to my blog. Please DO NOT re upload my files by any means to another blog or website. All my photographs are copyrighted. Thank you.

Me at Homespun Australia

April 11, 2014
Hi everyone, hope you are as excited as I am this morning!

Yay, my design was published in Homespun Australia. I hope I am not making you all bored with this strawberry stitches again. On the contrary I hope you will make something out of it. Ok enough said, here is the image of the printed magazine with my Strawberry Crochet Bag in it. Patten can be found in here…Strawberry Stitch Pattern

Photo credit: Homespun 

Souvenirs from Bali

January 12, 2014

Hello all… I am back. It is hard to update blog while you are on vacation because there are too much interruption or should I say attractions going on hehe.

Here are my souvenirs to you from Bali in pictures. Some are crochet related and some are photos from the places we visited.

In search of Balinese Cotton Yarn
According to the info I have, there are only 4 national spinning industries left in Indonesia out of original 10. One of them located in Gianyar. I was told that there was one in Denpasar but the factory was closed and I could not go back to Gianyar to see the actual spinning work in progress because of time constraint.

Local spinner, photo  from Tempo.co

Nevertheless I found the yarns were sold in craft shop like Toko Central in Kuta and in many places even outside Bali. The cotton yarns in the pictures below are available in many colors but only in one size (Sport/Size 2). It is not as shiny as the other Balinese Cotton Yarn but is very soft and squishy and didn’t split when crocheted and is suitable for baby apparels.  Laying next to it is the label that was attached to it.

 

Above and below are crocheted bags  and afghan for sale in the market in Ubud. There are many different type of cotton yarns produced in Indonesia. All the crocheted item you see in the pictures in this post are mostly made of Benang Katun Lokal (local cotton yarn). The name might sounds strange but that is just how the Indonesian people call their yarns and if you look for them by any other name you will not find what you are looking for. The texture of this yarn is very similar to Lily’s Sugar and Cream cotton–rough and dry.

 

Silk batik scarfs on display among many crocheted items
 
Tourists strolling Ubud market.
 
If you travel further to the north from Ubud toward Tegalalang you will find several rest area with restaurants overlooking the rice fields below. Along the streets there are several craft shops selling crocheted items as seen below. These blanket are big, I think it would fit a king size bed. I asked for the price and the seller asking around US$50. Unbelievable! It would take me a year to do that.

 

 

 

A dress made of local cotton).

 

I can’t resist not to buy one of these hats so I purchased the purple one.

Waiting for sunset in Tanah Lot. Look at the crowd on the bridge in the background.

My son enjoying his cup of coffee at Grand Kuta Hotel and Residence. 

A cafe inside the Agung Rai Museum of Arts. The museum is a great place to visit for art lovers, collectors and artists.

 

Above is the Thread of Life’s gallery in Ubud.
Threads of Life uses natural dyes in their yarns productions.

The picture above is Krisna gift shop selling items from aromatherapy oils and soaps to woodcrafts, batiks,  sweets and famous Balinese salty peanuts. I like shopping at Krisna because of the fixed and reasonably price thus save time. Krisna has several branches so check the link above to find out the shop near you when you happen to be in Bali.

Note for Muslims travellers.
Bali is the smallest province in Indonesia with majority of the inhabitants are Hindus. Only small percentage are Muslim lives in Bali. We visited Bali from time to time and  have seen some developments in the availability of halal restaurants. However, finding masjid is still difficult if you are outside Denpasar and Kuta area. A few friends decided to pray anywhere including in the local market between shops or  next to her parked car, while other friends suggested they go to Padang restaurants to pray. Padang restaurants are run by Muslim people from West Sumatra province. Krisna gift shop above also provides the prayer room on its 2nd floor. Check this link for more info about the hotels with halal restaurants in Bali. Other restaurants we went were Pawon Pasundan (Sundanese), Jl. Kediri No. 2, Tuban and Ayam Taliwang Bersaudara (grilled country chicken and steam kangkung with chili and tomatoes paste). Jl. Raya Kuta 89. Balinese food are very tasty, and seafoods are also among our favorites.

More to see in Bali:
Tohpati Batiks Factory
Celuk Silver Factory
Textile Info

Custom Made Hats

December 8, 2013



Making hats was our Lagos Crochet Group topic in past two weeks. Perhaps this chart is also useful for anyone making his or her own hats.

I thank Cherry Thayer Drake for publishing the chart in FB group I am in.  I retyped the chart according to our group needs. For detail instructions in English on how to design your own hat go to Loraine’s Blog
Hat Sizing Chart
Age
Head Circumferences
(inch)
Hat
Circumferences (inch)
Hat Crown Diameter  (inch)
Hat Height
(inch)
0-2  mth
10-12
8-10
2.00-2.75
2.5-3.0
0-3 
13-14
11-12
2.75-3.50
04.0-4.5
3-6
15-16
13-14
3.50-4.25
4.5-5.0
6-12
17-19
15-17
4.25-5.00
5.0-5.5
1-2 yr
18-20
16-18
4.50-5.25
5.5-6.0
2-3
19-21
17-19
4.75-5.50
6.0-6.5
4-10
20-22
18-20
5.00-5.75
6.5-7.0
Teens
21-22
19-20
5.50-6.25
7.0-7.5
Adult Women
22-23
20-21
6.00-6.75
7.5-8.5
Adult Men

23-24
21-22
6.25-7.00
8.5-9.5
Bahasa Indonesia
DISAIN DAN BUAT TOPI SENDIRI
Buat topi 2-3 inci lebih kecil dari ukuran kepala sebenarnya agar “snug fit.”
1. Tentukan diameter lingkaran atas kepala (crown):
Caranya: Lingkar kepala dibagi 3.14 (rumus lingkaran waktu SD/SMP). Ukur lingkar kepala seperti ilustrasi. Hitung diameter crown dengan rumus diatas dikurangi 2 – 3 inchi.  Misalnya lingkar kepala = 24 inch. Diameter yang dicari = 24: 3.14 = 7.6 in – 2 in = 5.6 in.

Illustration from Stetson EU.

2. Buat crown sesuai diameter  yang diperolah. Lihat cara membuat flat circle di post terdahulu pada blog ini untuk membuat crown. 

3. Lanjutkan merajut tanpa penambahan tusukan dari crown sesuai panjang topi yang dikehendaki sesuai motif yang dikehendaki. Selaraskan jumlah tusukan dengan pola yang digunakan dengan menambah atau mengurangi jumlah tusukan pada round terakhir dari crown.
Jika lingkaran kepala sebenarnya diketahui, gunakan ukuran sesuai hitungan diatas. Namun, jika tidak diketahui ambil angka rata-rata sebagai patokan mengukur diameter crown. Misal:   
Ukuran topi minimun =16 in : 3.14 = 5.0 inch
Ukuran topi maksimum =18 in : 3.14 = 5.7 inch
Rata-rata = 5.0 + 5.7 dibagi 2 = 5.35 (bulatkan menjadi 5.25)
Jika ingin menambahkan pinggiran:
Tambahkan 1-1.5 inch dari panjang topi untuk  topi bayi, 3-4 inch untuk dewasa.

Sunhat, clochet, flopp, kurangi 0.5 inch dari panjang topi.