knit headband

Easy Knit Headbands

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knit headbandI’ve seen girls around Boston wearing these fantastic knit headbands instead of stocking caps and decided I needed one too. I got searching online for patterns. I’m not an advanced knitter by any means so I needed a quick easy pattern. I found a great one on the cute blog Crafting College.

 

The first headband I knitted didn’t go exactly as planned. In fact the thing was kind of a hot mess. It was my first time using circular needles and I forgot to combine my first and last stitch to make it one continuous piece! Just plain silly on my part. I was knitting it straight and had to sew it together after it was completed.  I was using a bulky weight yarn, Plymouth Grande Glow Yarn. I was in a hurry and saw 10 on the needles but they were actually US size 15, I bought a set of circular needles awhile ago. Anyways as per instruction I cast on 60 stitches. It ended up being too big, but I’m going to go ahead and say that’s because of a couple of things. 1. I didn’t combine my stitches at the beginning and 2. More importantly, I have at tiny head. So I guess this will probably turn into a Christmas present. Also, because of the bulky yarn I didn’t do step 4 of the instructions, Repeat steps 2 and 3 three more times. This headband was plenty wide.

For this headband, I used US size 15 needles, bulky weight yarn. I cast on 60 stitches. Knit 4 rows, purl 2 rows, knit 3 rows purl 3 rows, and bind off. I didn’t follow the directions so it wasn’t the cute twisty one that she did on her blog but I do like the way it turned out.

knit headband

top view

knit headband

side view, crappy phone quality picture

So I tried again. This time with US size 10 circular needles. I also used Rowan bulky Biggy Print yarn. It only has 33 yards in the ball. If you’re considering using this you’ll need another ball.  I cast on 50 stitches, combined my first and last stitch! I then placed a stitch marker on that stitch so I would know when a row was completed. knit headband

Next, I did what I did for the green one, knit 4 rows, purl 2 rows, knit 3 rows, purl 3 rows and bind off. I did it! I successfully used circular needles for the first time and it had the cute twisty effect that the original one had. I’m thinking about making another one out a lighter weight yarn too, but I wanted a nice warm wool knit headband so I used the bulky yarn I had. I am very pleased with how this turned out and now my ears can be warm without having such bad hat hair this winter!

 

knit headband

side view

knit headband

top view

 

 

 


knit headband

Knit Headband for Running

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knit headband

I wanted to a knit headband I could wear while running in the late fall early spring that would cover my ears. I decided on Lion Brand pattern #60760, which is available for free if you sign up for an account with them. I did not check my gauge in this like it says to do in all capital letters. But it turned out well in the end, it was supposed to be 3.5 inches wide and mine turned out to be 2.5 inches which was perfect because I only wanted my ears covered. I used an acrylic instead of wool because I want to be able to throw it in the wash after each run.

The pattern is super simple, US size 10 needles, cast on 10 stitches and stockinette stitch until desired length, bind off. Sew ends together, weave in tails.

To make the stockinette stitch you knit one row and purl the next, and repeat. I wrote down a K or P after I completed each row to help me keep track.

knit headband

It started to curl around row 20 but that’s ok, it just hugs my ears that way. I whip stitched the ends together with a fingerling weight yarn in a similar color. I did this because I wanted to be able to go over it twice for extra strength but not add a lot of bulk.

knit headband So different colors but I’m going running, I don’t really care that it’s not perfectly blended. But, if I make another one to wear just out and about I’ll be more careful with my yarn choices.

knit headbandNow I can’t use “my ears are cold” as an excuse to not run. I don’t know if I’m happy or sad about that.


kiwi

How to Peel a Kiwi

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kiwi

I bought a couple kiwis at the store and I realized that I didn’t know how to peel them.  Usually I buy them pre-cut so I have never thought about how to do it.  My husband showed me a quick an easy way to peel a kiwi. It was so clever I thought I’d share.

First cut the fruit in half.

kiwi

Next, take a soup spoon and wedge it between the flesh and the skin and move it around the fruit to separate it

.kiwikiwi

Peel back the skin from the fruit.

kiwi

Slice.

kiwi

Enjoy!


dress into a skirt

How To Turn a Strapless Dress into a Skirt

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dress into a skirt

I had this strapless dress and although I like it and love the color, I hardly ever wore it. I decided it needed a make over into something I’d actually wear. I made it into a high-waisted skirt and kept the pockets.  I worked on the fit in the waist of the skirt before I moved on to the length of the skirt.

How I did it:

1. Removed the hook and eye and zipper.

dress into skirt

2. Next I removed the top part of the dress being careful to keep the seam stitching on the top part of the band that is in between the top part and the skirt part.

dress into skirt

Close Up of the Seam

3. I shortened the zipper.

dress into a skirt

4. Next I put on the skirt to figure out how much I needed to take in on the waist because it is going to sit at a different spot on my body.

5. Seam rip the side seam.  Mark and pin it together with the new measurements. I left the seam allowance to be quite large to be cut down a bit with pinking shears later if I needed to let out the seam a bit.

6. It’s time to sew the new seam and install the zipper! It is important to note to TEST your FABRIC and USE the CORRECT NEEDLE in your machine. I’m sure you all know that, but I had a blonde moment and didn’t test my fabric first resulting in my universal needle poking/ripping some major holes into the material.

dress into a skirt

blurry picture of the holes that need repaired

The jersey/knit needle worked much better. Mark on the skirt where the zipper will begin. At that point, you’ll back stitch a couple of stitches and then change to a longer or basting stitch on the machine. The basting stitch is where the zipper will go.

7. Press the seam open, and carefully pin the zipper onto the seam making the teeth directly over the seam line. Make sure the pins can easily be removed as you sew the zipper on and that you changed to a zipper foot on your machine.

dress into a skirt

8. After the zipper is installed, it’s time to finish the top hem. Because I cut the top to where there was stitching at on the top band, I simply folded over ¼inch pressed and pinned. I then sewed it and pressed again. The only thing I wish I had done differently with this side seam and zipper would have been to leave space for the hook and eye. Rookie mistake on my part.

9. I put it on to make sure it fit and to figure out the length I wanted. I pinned it to the desired length. I needed to remove about 3½ inches. I marked the skirt to just below the desired length, and cut with my pinking shears. Folded up ¼inch and pressed and pinned.

dress into a skirt

10. Sew that seam! Press! Try on!

11. Enjoy!

dress into a skirt

Finished skirt and bonus flip flop tan lines!


shorten a shirt dress

How to Shorten a Shirt Dress

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dress

I recently bought a shirt dress to wear with boots as a fun fall work outfit but of course it is too long, about 2 inches too long. I knew I needed to shorten my shirt dress. This was going to be tricky for me because of the curves at the bottom. I usually only work with straight lines because my lack of patience usually gets the better of me when trying to work on a curve. But after a long afternoon with Rusty whining behind me from lack of attention I managed to get it to my desired length.

Here’s what I did:

Stood in front of a mirror and figured out how much fabric needed to be taken off the bottom. I pinned the length and then stood up straight to make sure that was my desired length.

shorten a shirt dress

chalk marks

Next I unbuttoned the shirt and laid it out, right side down, and with my chalk pencil, I marked a lot of spots up to the desired length of the dress. Then,  I also marked about an inch below that to serve as a cutting line.

shorten a shirt dress

two rows of chalk

It’s now time for my most time-consuming part, the hem! I needed to clip a couple of spots on the curves in order for the fabric to lay flat. Little by little I rolled over a ¼inch of fabric and then another ¼inch of fabric and pinned. I made sure to put the pins in to where I could sew with them still in the fabric so I’d have one less thing to worry about. And after all of that work, carefully, put the dress back on to make sure it is at the desired length.

http://www.covergirl.com/collections/nfl-collection/chicago-bears

lots of pins

Sew time! Slow and steady with some patience, wins the race because it is a tiny hem and there are curves, it’s best to go slow.

Try on one last time. Good? Press. Now I have a dress that will be perfect with flat and boots this Fall!

shorten a shirt dress


Make Your Own Dress Form Links

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Ever wanted to make your own dress form? Me too! I have complied a list of tutorials to choose from. Pick the one that is best for you and good luck on your dress form making endeavors!

dress form

 

This how to is from The Esty Labs Archive gives a very detailed description with pictures to make a dress form out of a t-shirt and duct tape with the help of a friend. You can also jazz it up a bit by using colored or patterned duct tape.

 

 

 

dress form

 

This paper tape dress form from Instructables is great idea with the use of paper tape, t-shirt, spray sealant foam and a friend. The instructions and pictures are extremely detailed.

 

 

 

dress form

 

This dress form from Jezebel is probably the closest to buying the real thing, but it is also a lot more involved. It uses plaster bandages, sealant foam, IV cart to create your own stand for it to go on and sewing and creating a cover to cover the form.

 

 

dress form

 

 

I love the creativity used to make this form. It seems to be so simple. Syzygyo of Worlds created one from chicken wire and some duct tape!

 

 

 

Also, if you have your own dress form already but it isn’t to you exact measurements, look at FabulousFit, they sell “fitting systems” which are pads you can buy to help make adjustments to any part of your dress form!


tortilla

Tortilla Recipe

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tortilla

I love soft shell tacos and love to make tacos at home. I decided I wanted to learn how to make tortillas. I’ve made these flour tortillas with two different types of flour, all-purpose and bread flour. Whichever flour I have the most of, that’s the one I use. All-purpose flour tends to be a little stiff but still good choice. Bread flour is chewier than all-purpose so it really depends on what you have on hand and what you prefer. My husband can barely tell the difference between the two so I don’t think it really matters.

Makes around 6 tortillas.

Ingredients:

  • 1½ cups of flour, bread or all-purpose
  • 1 Tbsp olive oil
  • 1 tsp garlic salt
  • ½ cup hot water

Directions:

  1. Pre-heat large skillet on medium heat.
  2. In a medium bowl, add all ingredients and stir until it becomes an elastic lump, about 5 minutes. If it’s too sticky, add some more flour. If it’s too dry, add some more water.
  3. Divide into 6 pieces and roll into balls.
  4. On a floured surface, place a ball and roll into a flat tortilla. *I can never get mine into circles. They’re always ovals or rectangles.
  5. Place tortilla onto preheated, non-greased, skillet. Cooking each side for about 5 minutes, until there are golden brown circles on it.
  6. Roll out another tortilla while one is cooking on the skillet. Repeat until all are cooked.
  7. Enjoy!

I like to make my tortillas before the rest of the meal, when I’m done making them I wrap them in tin foil so they stay warm while I’m making the rest of dinner. These can be refrigerated for a couple of days but are best when eaten on the same day.


yoga pants

Shortened Yoga Pants

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yoga pants

This always happens when I buy new pants. They’re too long and these new yoga pants are no exception. I was a little worried about altering them because my experience with stretch fabric is next to zero. There was that one time when I used lycra for Rusty’s lions mane. But these pants needed to be about three inches shorter if I was ever going to get any use out of them. And let’s face it, when I say use, I mean lounging around my apartment, not working out in a yoga studio.

yoga pantsI folded and pinned the pants so they were the proper length while they were still on me. I changed and then measured the in-seam and the folded part to make sure that the lengths of each pant leg were even. Also, to see how much length, 3 inches, needed to be taken from each leg.

Next, I removed the pins and turned the pants inside out. I then carefully measured and cut 2 inches from each pant leg.

yoga pants

I then folded over ½ inch of fabric and pressed and then another ½ inch and pressed. Then I pinned the folds into place.

yoga pants

Rusty was not impressed by my cutting and ironing skills. I gave him a stretchy collar but he was even less impressed with that.

yoga pantsI placed my pins so they could be quickly and easily removed as I was sewing. I realized that although my machine can use a double needle, I don’t have two spools of thread in the same color. So that option was thrown out and instead I used a stretch stitch function my machine, a triple zig-zag stitch. I definitely had to pull out my user’s manual to make sure I was doing it correctly, very glad I kept it.

yoga pants

I stitched both legs using the edge of the folded fabric as my seam guide. I then pressed the seams.

yoga pants

I have crazy flip-flop tan lines on my feet. :/

I turned the pants right side out, put them on, and enjoyed my shortened yoga pants by watching TV and cuddling with Rusty.


How to Add a New Ball of Yarn to a Project

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 I am starting a new knitting project. I cast on 80 stitches and then realized that the tail was way too long and decided to trim it. Only, I didn’t just trim the tail. I also cut the thread attached to the yarn ball. You know it is time for a nap when that happens.add a new ball of yarn

I freaked out a little bit thinking I was going to redo it and then I realized that I can just tie the ends together! Like I needed to add a new ball of yarn to a project. So that’s what I did. I tied a little knot and now I go back to my project and knit away.

add a new ball of yarn


hard boiled eggs

How to make Hard Boiled Eggs

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Every time I want to make hard boiled eggs I have to call my dad and ask how to do it. It really is a simple process but for some reason I can never remember how to do it. Well, I finally wrote it down and decided to share.

Get a sauce pan, with lid, large enough to put the eggs in a single at the bottom of the pan.

Put enough room temperature water in the pan to fully cover the eggs.

Place on stove and add a dash of salt and vinegar. I usually add rice vinegar but I’m not sure if it really matters what kind of vinegar you use.

Carefully place the eggs in the pan and put the lid on.

hard boiled eggs

Put the heat on medium and bring water to a rolling boil.

Turn the heat off and leave the eggs in the pan with the lid on for 15 minutes.

Remove lid and carefully remove eggs from pan with a slotted spoon.

Let eggs cool down and then peel and enjoy!

hard boiled eggshard boiled egg