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 

More retreat photos!

My words and ideas were all tangled up today, so rather than torturing you with crazy half-baked thoughts, I decided to dish up some more photos of our September retreat. While I have shared a few, I thought it might be nice once in a while to revisit the weekend that was.

Every time I look at them they make me happy and I'm sure they will do that for you too. 

A quick reminder that there is a Stash Less Challenge going on this week that you might want to join in with and on Wednesday I asked a question about quilting that I need your help with. Would love to hear your thoughts. 

Felicia x

Beautiful sunshine all weekend.

Sample hat from Jule's colour work class.

Stitching in the gorgeous light as the sun was going down.

Georgie's giant needles.

Cutting out a Scout Tee.

The gorgeous Leslie with her half finished merino wool leggings.

Random stacks of beautiful yarn strewn all over the place. 

A bit of sparkle for dinner.

Jules doing her dyeing magic.

Belinda's weaving class.

Jen wearing her newly made Scout Tee while doing the Wiksten Tulip Skirt class with Sophie.

Rose in the block printing class with Leslie.

A beautiful hand turned crochet hook (that I blurred in the photo!) during Mel's cowl class.

I'd love your thoughts.

So I need some help. I've been posting about quilting for a while; about my changing attitudes to it over time, and what I am loving. I have an extensive pinterest board full of gorgeousness and have written quite a few posts about it now. At each year's retreat we have run classes on quilting - which you all have loved - but I've been asking around my women and I'm not clear on where you are all at with it. 

I'm in the planning stages of putting together the program for next year. Some classes are totally obvious to me, but with quilting there is so much I think we could teach I'm not sure which way to go. I have been getting in such a muddle about it, I figured I would just ask.

I guess what I'm asking is

• Do you like quilting and quilts? If so, what kinds of quilts do you love? And what would you want to learn in a class?
• Do you want to learn to put a quilt top together? And if so, what kind of quilt top? Improvisational? Pieced? Would flying geese be of interest? 
• Do you want to learn to hand quilt? Machine quilt?
• When you say that you are interested in sashiko (which I heard in the comments on another post) do you mean hand quilting with thicker thread than traditional hand quilting thread? Or do you actually want to learn the more formal rules of Japanese sashiko?

I don't mind if you are coming to the retreat or not coming, in Australia, or far away - I'm just interested in all of you that read this blog, and what you like or would want from a class. 

Can't wait to hear your thoughts.

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