Why materials matter!

When I was a newbie crafter I often purchased materials because I thought they were cute (for the kids), or beautiful (for me), or they were on sale (cheap). I put little thought into the properties of the materials I was using because I didn’t understand how critical they were. I thought that yarn was yarn, and fabric was fabric. And I think this is a common mistake that many new crafters make.

For me, choosing the wrong materials lead to many projects that were technically OK, but just didn't sing. And if you are going to take the time to make something with your hands you really want it to sing, don't you? 

Materials categorically affect the success of your project. They affect the longevity, the usability, the beauty and ultimately the joy the project brings; while it is being created and during it's lifetime. 

When your project is completed, it is the properties of material that matter - does it drape, does it pill, does it stretch, does it have enough weight, does it have enough strength, is it stiff, is it floppy, is it too heavy, too light and most importantly does it work for the thing you are making. Some properties are immediately visible but sometimes you can’t tell until the project is complete. And sometimes, even after a lot of practice you get it wrong. 

As a lovely instagram friend reminded me the other day - a gorgeous material is only gorgeous if paired with the right pattern. The perfect pairing of a project and materials will bring out the best qualities of both the pattern and the materials.

Let's use longevity as an example because it is one of the key things I am looking for. I want my projects to last, and I want them to wear beautifully.

Much of my making is children's clothes. Much of the wearing they do of those clothes is a little harsher than you or I might wear them. Blueberries, watermelon, grass, glue, ink and many many rocks have created havoc on the things I have lovingly made for them. As a loving parent your only option when faced with the carnage is to smile and hold your pain deep deep inside. As a result I have upped-the-anti on the materials I use, based on the number of outfits coming home from school with holes in the bottoms. I'm still making the same patterns but I no longer use flimsy fabrics. For shorts I once used cotton fabrics including jersey and quilting cottons. My baseline is now a lightweight canvas or linen/cotton blend. Something with strength and durability.

I do something similar for kid's frocks. Although the odd one gets made out of something super light and plain (I'm looking at you lovely pale pink Geranium that now has three ink stains and a hole in the front), I generally only make them out of a quilting cotton weight fabric. I trade off beautiful drape for durability.
Lesson - Small person shorts (in our family) need to be made in a light canvas if the aim is to get more than a few weeks wear from them.

I was wondering out loud the other day why I use so many prints in the fabrics I choose, rather than solids (which I love). I have realised the answer is "to disguise the wear and the stains". Again this is something to consider when choosing your materials if you are making for mucky pups like my lot. You will never achieve the gorgeous tone-on-tone linen kidswear look so beautifully epitomised by the Scandinavians, but I've learnt to live with that and you can too ;).
Lesson - Prints increase longevity due to stain disguising powers.

After strength, the next thing to consider is how it wears as well as the beauty of the material. Ask the question - is it still beautiful when used with the pattern I have in mind?

A knitting example - Once when I was a newish knitter I got completely suckered in by all the comments on Ravelry about the softness of Malabrigo Worsted. It is truly an amazingly soft yarn! I took the plunge and ordered a sweaters worth in the gorgeous Paris Nights colourway. I then knitted a whole jumper. At the time this was a massive undertaking that involved emotional strength and guts. Before I had even finished the jumper I could see that it was going to pill like a b@#%ard. Who wants to walk around the streets looking all pill-y? So it became a house cardigan - but it was too depressing to even use for that. I threw it away for it’s sake and mine. It just made me too sad.
Lesson – A super-soft wool is not generally a good sweater wool.

Later I used the very same super-soft Malabrigo Worsted for a Toddler Cowl – a project to which it is entirely suited and it still looks stunning a year or two in. The kid loves it because it is “just so soft mama”.  Perfect pairing. 
Lesson – A super-soft wool makes a great kid cowl.

Now all this talk about the "right" materials may have you thinking that I am talking about expensive yarns and fabrics. To which I would say – not at all!! Two recent projects were tiny baby vests that I made using yarn that was about $4.50 a ball. One was a tiny big squeaky but the other was Alpaca and simply divine. A favourite pairing of materials and pattern was a Wiksten skirt I made by chopping up an old pregnancy dress I loved. It no longer fits as I no longer have DD boobs, but rather than throw it out, I hoarded it because I loved the swish of the fabric. I made it to go on holiday and it is one of the favourite things I have ever made.

Below is a photo of the aforementioned skirt but in an effort to keep it really real in this space I want to give you the following info ;). The photo is a selfie taken in a campsite bathroom that was citrus yellow and royal blue. It was taken at a very very weird angle to make use of the tiny white bathroom door as a backdrop. In real life I am much more woman shaped. 

The right materials are ones that suit the pattern you are using AND with that pattern achieves the properties you want the project to have. 

simple things to remember when choosing materials if you are a newbie
 

Fabrics - If you are choosing materials for clothing think about the weight of the fabrics that you currently wear for that type of garment at the moment. If you are making a frock check the back of the pattern obviously, but then go and feel similar frocks in your cupboard to get an idea of the weight of fabric you should be looking for. Pick up the skirt in your hand and let it fall to see how the fabric drapes. These are the qualities you are looking for in a fabric is what you are looking for when you shop.

Yarn – Look for yarns that have similar properties to the ones suggested in the pattern. But remember that 100% wool and 100% wool are not the same thing. If possible feel them, look on Ravelry, and ask for advice. Look for whether they have ply's twisted together (strands twisted together) or whether they are a single yarn strand or whether they are woollen spun. Some 100% wools are supersoft and floppy. Others are twisted and solid. Others are bouncy and spun. If you aren't sure what any of this means then pop back tomorrow and I will give you a wonderful resource.The more you can learn about fibre the better!!

Feel free to ask me any question you want about what materials to use when. I'll do my best to help.

Felicia x 

Stash Less Challenge - Let it go...Let it go!

The series where we talk about having a thoughtful stash.

Stash Less last week meant taking stock of my stash, and as part of that I looked for sweaters that were sitting in my cupboard as "monuments to learning". What I mean by that are sweaters I have knitted that don't fit, or are the wrong style, and I don't wear. For some unknown reason quite a few of them have been sitting in my cupboard for a long (long long) time. Some of them have been there for years. 

I wrote a blog post early on in my blog life called how to choose a sweater pattern, which details many of the mistakes I have made over my life of sweater knitting. My hope is that it has helped you avoid some of your possible mistakes. Many of these ill-fitting sweaters have been donated to other happy recipients with different body shapes than me, but in the process of taking stock I realised that I have at least four sweaters sitting in the cupboard. I have no plans of ever wearing them. I haven't worn them for years (ever) and yet I keep them. Which got me to thinking about why I haven't ripped them out.

The jumper in this post was one of them. The thing was it didn't fit. It has never fit. The photos kind of make that clear don't they. The sleeves are 17inches wide - normally I like a 12ish inch sleeve - that's 5 inches of ease. That is correct 5! Not really ideal. And the body makes me look like a barrel. Again not a good look for me. But for some reason I've kept it. 

As part of my research for this blog post ;), I just checked on Ravelry for the date I finished it and what I found makes me feel a little bit embarrassed.

July 19 2009.

Yep - it has sat there for over FIVE years. How nuts is that. 

Why would I hold on to something that I know has no purpose, and in many cases no beauty, unless they are simply monuments to learning. Monuments to learning aren't that useful. The lessons I have learned are contained within my knitting memory and I take those lessons with me into each new project. A physical reminder is unnecessary, yes?

Worse that that - looking at them makes me feel bad. If I tune in to what I feel when I look at them, there is a mixture of annoyance that I got it wrong, frustration, horror, avoidance and misguided hope of the "if I try it on again it might not be that bad?" variety. Maybe it is simply avoidance of those feelings that means that I don't look at them or deal with their existence. 

Why would I want that in my life? Why would I want to hold on to those feelings? Why would I not just let it go?  Is it just that I am avoiding the process of ripping it out? Why not just address it and get it done. And really how bad could it actually be. I mean really.

In the words of a wise woman I know called Andrea "why are you holding on to something that no longer serves you". Or for those of you with small children/nieces/nephews, in the immortal words of Elsa - "Let it gooooooo, let it goooooo…."

This weeks challenge!

Have a look through your knitting discography and find something you never wear and is a monument to learning. Pull it off the shelf and rip it out. Simply take it out of the cupboard, sit down with a glass of wine and a pair of scissors and unravel it. Sing along with Elsa if you need to. But get it done.

I promise you it will be cathartic and joyful. I cannot tell you how good it feels to see all those balls of yarn wound up, ready to go out into the world and embody the lessons you learned through knitting it in the first place. 

Get it done by November 10th, take a photo and hashtag it with #stash_less_ripping. I'll find something ace to send one lucky person chosen at random. Or if you aren't on instagram etc just leave a comment if you are taking me up on my challenge. I'm not sure I'll have any takers at all on this one ;)…..but i'm hopeful.

Felicia x

PS. You can see other posts in this series by clicking HERE.

"You're so talented" and other malignant myths.

There were many things that spurred me on to create The Craft Sessions, but one of the biggest drivers was hearing the words "You're so talented" when someone saw something I had made. Now before I sound totally ungrateful, I know that the person saying "you're so talented" to me, is trying to be kind and complimentary. But the way the statement is often used implies that the crafter in question, in this case me, has a special quality that means that I can make beautiful things due to the magic of talent.

Talented is a quality that you either have or you don't, because talent isn't something that one works towards, is it? Talent creates a divide between those that make things, and those that wish they could. The concept of "you're so talented" really bugs me - really really bugs me - because I think that the idea of people being "talented" is so deflating and discouraging to so many people. AND for what we do - which is craft for joy - talent has nothing to do with it.

So bear with me while I explain why I have such an issue, and why I think that talent is totally irrelevant. 

So let's say we are runner's rather than crafters. Most of us runners are simply looking to put on our sneakers and go out for a run around the block. We aren't concerned too much about our speed or the finesse with which we run. We just want the exercise and the joy of running. Obviously this joy only happens once you get past the initial six week hump, which in crafting equates to the "learning to sew/knit/quilt" hump. As we get better we might want to improve our technique, so we might start reading the odd article about footstrike, or maybe join a running club. We may want to start challenging ourselves to get fitter and improve our speed, so that we get a bit more enjoyment out of it.  But - and here is the key - we aren't trying to become Olympic athletes - we are just trying to go for a run. Now, if you were wanting to be an Olympic athlete, you probably need some natural born talent. All we are looking to do is run around the block (enjoy making some stuff), and maybe eventually do a fun-run here and there. Talent is not necessary. Practice is.

It goes without saying that the internet has been a total game changer where craft is concerned. It has given us access to techniques and skills that previously existed in silos of local knowledge. We have been able to learn to craft (in my case knitting) without having someone teach us in person. But the biggest thing it has done is inspire us. There are so many amazing (talented? ;)) people making so many beautiful things. However, there is a dark side to all the inspirational joy we get from looking at what others make. The prevalence of beautiful pictures without context, can sometimes have the opposite effect on us, leading us to make less not more, as we struggle with the idea of being less "X" than someone else. Questions arise; "How do they make something so beautiful", "Look at their gorgeous finishing", "Look at their perfect topstitching", "How do they make so many things, when I can't find the time to do one?". And those questions can stifle us, deflate us and ultimately lead us to not make. 

These contrasting feelings of inspiration and deflation can coexist. I wrote on Wednesday about the uber-inspiring Gee's Bend book, which on the one hand floors me and encourages me, but on the other hand deflates me with feelings of "there is no way I could ever make something that beautiful". I think I said to something to Anna over coffee this week about a quilter in the book being "genius". She gently (mockingly?) reminded me that I had just been talking about writing this blog post. Whoops.

A reality check is needed. The quilts are in the book because they are so clever. The pictures people post on the internet get posted because the person is proud of their work and they are pretty. People don't tend to put sub-standard quilts in books, nor do they post sub-standard work on the internet. They often don't talk about the ten/twenty/thirty quilts they made before they made the one in the book. I don't often post pictures of the many ugly jumpers I made before I made a pretty one. Or if I do, I post it in it's best light. 

Practice.

I strive for The Craft Sessions to be a place where we find balance in this. Yes - I post pictures of the pretty but I try to temper it with reality. Like that the buttonholes on the birthday dress are sewn all the way through the bib of the dress. Or that I ripped the yoke of the colourwork jumper out six times before I got it to something approximating wearable. Yes - I want you to find inspiration in the things I post - but I also want to talk about the reality. I want you to feel encouraged rather than discouraged by what you see here. I hope I've found some balance.

One final thing; Yes - there are talented people. But for most of us "talented" doesn't actually matter, and it dismisses the largest factor that affects a person's ability to make the things they want to make, and that is practice. Practice and practice and experience and making mistakes. 

This post is me setting the scene for a brand new blog series we have starting soon. It's all about the journey. I can't wait to share it with you. You're going to love it.

As always - I love hearing your thoughts...

Felicia x

Stash Less - Taking Stock

The series where we talk about having a thoughtful stash.

So last week I talked about identifying the reasons why we stash. Which was an incredibly useful way of figuring out how to create change - I loved your comments too - but this week for me was all about getting practical. And the first step was looking at what I actually have, and seeing whether I could figure out practically how I purchase, what I purchase, and if possible figure out why. 

And it was really interesting. What I found was many many things I have purchased without thought. Many things where I'm not quite sure why I purchased them. For example, I have two metres of BRIGHT YELLOW linen that is of a skirt weight. I don't really want a bright yellow skirt…..and I don't remember ever wanting a bright yellow skirt. I can't for the life of me figure out what it was for, especially as 2m would be a lot for a skirt?  

My stack of rainbow linen. Including 2m of yellow. I worked out that this stack alone is worth over $300. 

And a stack of blue linen. And some grey linen. And some stripes. 

I'm not sure if my stash is large or small. I know it isn't huge, but in a way that isn't that relevant. What is relevant is it's thoughtlessness.

So here is what I have learned: 

1. I buy yarn in smaller than useful batches. I like a yarn, I think it is pretty and I want some. I don't want to buy a sweaters worth (as that would be excessive ;)) so I buy a little. And a little isn't that useful. So it sits there. Three balls of wool over and over.

This chest contains my yarn stash. 

The bright stack. And the Nani Iro I often avoid using. That gorgeous black down the bottom is about 6 years old.

2. I buy bright fabrics that catch my eye in a store, but they aren't what I want to wear, and they aren't what I want the kids wearing, so they sit unused.

3. I don't use scraps because I keep buying for the next project, so I always have something new and shiny to play with. Therefore I am super inefficient with fabric. I have lots of pieces of 0.5m or less. Lots. 

4. I have a massive mending pile. And again, it sits there because I often have something new to play with, instead of working with what I have. 

5. I avoid using fabrics and yarns I really love. I'm worried that I won't love what I make. I'm worried that if I use it for one project I won't be able to another (classic opportunity cost avoidance). I'm worried that I haven't thought up the "perfect" project.

Avoiding getting started on the new colour work cardy. I really want it to be perfect so I'm just not starting. Good plan hey?

6. I keep some of my supplies in sweater form. I have made many ill-fitting sweaters over the years as I have been practising in the gap. And instead of accepting that mistakes are how you learn, and addressing the fact that they will never (EVER) be worn, I leave them in the cupboard as monuments to learning. And that is being generous to me and my motivation. I've started addressing that this week. 

I'd love to hear about your stash - what it looks like and why.

Felicia x

Previous post: Stash Less - Why we stash!

Note: I wanted to clarify, in case you have missed earlier posts (or I confused you) that I'm not saying I want to go stashless. I love having a stash. I believe in a stash. But I want to have a mindful stash. I'm saying that I want to reduce my stash and reduce my stashing behaviour - so I want to stash less often, As Kasia said in the comments last week "if I'm not making just collecting, I'm basically hoarding right?" I don't want to be a hoarder. 

Stash Less - Why we stash?

The series where we talk about having a thoughtful stash.

OK. So I titled this post "Why we stash" but I'm going to talk about me to start with. I would love to hear your reasons in the comments as I'm sure I haven't yet uncovered all my reasons. What I do know is that a standard part of beating any addiction, be it cigarettes, sugar, you name it, is looking at your motivation. In order to beat it you have to understand your triggers.  So here goes.

The addiction in question today is stashing, which leads to the question - "why am I over purchasing craft materials"? What is the point of it? How does it make me feel before, and after, I do it? What behaviours am I engaging in, that have led to me having a larger than desirable stash? It's been on my mind a lot, and I have found a few initial answers.

The first is about lifestyle. Until my family recently went through our life change, I had a partner that worked a lot and I had three very small kids. As such, I suffered from a common modern ailment called time poverty. And what made it worse is that I had a lot of time to think. Doing housework for five people, especially when that includes three small grubby ones, means that I  had oodles of time to dream up wonderful projects and objects and ideas while doing things that I was trying to not think about so much, like the washing. Not very mindful I know, but I have never mastered the practice of being able to be in the moment when sweeping. Instead I go to some happy creative place. The thing is that to create all those wonderful things I obviously needed materials and I didn't have much time to go shopping. I may have shopped big when I had the chance, and done a bit of online purchasing, so that when I could make the projects and objects and ideas I had the things on hand. But see the thing was I was time poor, so I didn't get to tackle even a fifth of the "amazing" ideas. Purchasing was a way of getting the thrill of making, without having the time to actually do the making. Sometimes by the time I got to look at the materials, I often couldn't even remember which passing idea I had purchased them for.

The second is another modern ailment - fear of missing out (FOMA). I buy linen when I see a perfect colour because I know I only see it rarely. I buy Nani Iro when it comes out and I love it because I know it is in limited supply and the most beautiful prints sell fast. I buy it even if I don't have a project for it. I do this with other seasonal prints as I know I don't find ones I love often, so when I do I purchase without even having a project in mind. 

A stack of yarn that I've owned for years and never used as the colour isn't quite perfect.

The third is one is even more painful to write as it is even more frivolous. I buy things just because they are pretty and I want to see them, try them, have them. I want to own the pretty things. Errgh. This one makes me like myself a little bit less ;) as it is not in line with my principles. In the last couple of weeks I have had big big urges to purchase some of tonofwool's gorgeous Cormo and also the new yarn from Woolfolk which comes in such pretty pretty colours. Some people like buying shoes. My weak spot is pretty materials.

The fourth one is that I buy because I am looking for perfection rather than making do with what I have. I could make a jumper from a yarn in stash and instead I try to match the pattern to the yarn to make perfection. Which is a totally valid thing to do. Totally. BUT it means that I am not using things that would be 90% right which is often good enough. And it also means that I miss out on the magic of some of the ideas that come from creating from what you have.

So what to do. Here is what I am going to try to do to combat each of these "triggers".

1. Time poverty - I'm going to go back to my visual diary and plan. I think I need to get real about what I actually have time for. Ouch!

2. FOMA - I'm not going to look. I'm not going to wander around the internet looking at shops. Pinterest yes, but online shops no. I'm going to make instead.

3. Owning the pretty - This one annoys me. I'm just going to shut. it. down. Yes they are pretty but if they are pretty without purpose then they make me less happy, not more. I'm going to remember what I tell my kids "stuff doesn't make you happy" and also the Mary Poppins quote "enough is as good as a feast". I have enough.

4. Perfection - I think I may have kicked this one in part. Since embarking on this challenge I have been wandering around my sewing room pulling things out with totally fresh eyes and I am super excited by some of the things I can make. The combinations I am going to get by making do are so exciting. I can't wait to show you some. 

As I said at the top of the post, I would love to hear your reasons too. 

Felicia x

P.S. You can find details of the Stash Challenge here and here.