Knitting and Beyond

Making a Tote Out of Kids Clothes

Mon, 31 May 2010 00:24:09 -0500

Here is a great project that will make for a very creative gift'a homemade bag out of an old pair of jeans. First you are going to need those old pair of jean'the ones that no longer fit anymore or perhaps the ones that have that hole in the knee. You want to make sure that you zip up and button the pair of jeans before you begin. Put the jeans inside out and sew the leg holes together at the crotch. You can either do this with a sewing machine or you can hand sew it with thread or even decorative and colorful yarn.After you are done sewing cut off the legs of the jean and turn the pant back right-side out. You can then put a decorative and colorful belt in the belt hoops and then you have a little bit of a handle for your tote. If you would rather you can even create a strap for the tote using the material from the legs that you cut off. And you can also take out the zipper and sew it closed. You can then decorate the bag with buttons, rhinestones or fabric gels to make it more intere...

Fly Fishing and Fly Tying Basics

Fri, 28 May 2010 00:37:01 -0500

Fly tying is an essential tool for fly fishing. Like everything else, the design of the bait for fly fishing is to resemble a fly or a winged object that may lure the fish to taking the bait. Fly fishing has been around for more than years and though there have been new technologies introduced in fly tying, such as the lure design making rare hairs or feathers that look like those of endangered species, the process of fly tying is basically the same. There are several essential tools in the fly tying process. These are the vise to hold the fly hook to be tied, magnifying glasses to see some intricate or delicate work, bobbins, hackle gauges, hackle pliers, lights, scissors and hair stackers. One may also have pliers, bodkins, floss bobbins, dubbing twisters, bobbin threaders, wing burners, whip finishers, and blenders. The old materials used in fly tying were threads, furs, feathers, yarn, tinsels, hair, wire, balsa and cork. Technology today has added other materials such as synth...

Fly Fishing Techniques; Strike Indicators

Wed, 26 May 2010 00:01:52 -0500

Fishing with a strike indicator is a delicate technique. Some say its cheating and even some fly fishing lake ban it.I like many others disagree! Using strike indicators is a method that needs plenty practice. Things such as turning over the fly for a good presentation and the depth the strike indicator is set at all take time to master.In this short article I hope to cover the basic technique of fly fishing with strike indicators and ultimately help you catch more fish.Love 'em or hate 'em strike indicators are an essential part of fishing buzzers or nymphs static. And believe me they can increase your strike rate tenfold.So how do you use them?Strike indicators come in a few forms such as putty which is gently pinched over the line to mold it, yarn or wool is also used but the most common and east to use is little polystyrene balls which slip up the leader to your required depth and can be moved all the time allowing you to change the depth of the fly when needed.Usually when fishing...

The Other Evening News

Tue, 18 May 2010 00:18:57 -0500

The "Evening News" Afghan is created in several ways, yet many are shades of semi-gray, light gray and mohair blends. Mohair is wool made of soft, silk and comes from the Angora goat. To start your Afghan you will need your finish, which should be around inches by inches. Next, you will need material. How to choose material: You will need smooth, wool cloth, which is closely woven without a nap, and made from tight twisted yarn. The wool should be made up of long-fibers of wool, which you can obtain from worsted cloth. Buy the cotton wool and ounces of semi-gray shades. Buy another batch of heavy worsted mohair blends and ounces of light colors of ash, i.e. gray. You will need ounces of darker gray, preferably the sport-weight wool from alpaca. The wool is made from shaggy, long hairs of alpaca and can be a glossy cloth made of wool, cotton, rayon, etc. Use the wool, and purchase another sport-weight batch of machine washable wool. You will need ounces of medium shade...

Chrocheting a Knot Stitch

Sat, 15 May 2010 00:13:52 -0500

When you start a knot stitch, you will need to avoid knot stitch the first square. Instead, start in the first row, chain stitching one time and single crocheting in the identical stitch. Draw up you loop to inches and Yarn over Yo through your loop on the crochet hook. Next, intersperse your hook so that it is beneath your single back strand, Yarn over Yo and pull it through, Yarn over YO again and pull it through both your loops at the hook twice, and skip two stitches, single crochet in the following stitch, and repeat your steps across and to the finish, and turn. Complete your knot stitch on the second row. Chain stitch five in the first double crochet and another two chains in the next single across the middle knot of your starting loop. Chain two stitches, a single crochet in the middle knot of your following loop, continuing across, to the finish and chain two stitches a double crochet in the beginning chain of your preceding row. Repeat the steps outlined in the first row ...

Taking Your Doll's Measurements

Sun, 09 May 2010 00:14:03 -0500

If you intend to design a doll dress, you will need to measure your doll. To start you will need to measure the doll from the crown and down to the toes. If you have a baby doll, you will need to measure the chest region. Usually, the dolls have wider chests. The leg measurements should include the internal and external areas, especially if you are designing trousers. If you are creating a bodice, you want to measure the doll, starting at the center front, and at the baseline of the neck. Continue measure to the waistline. If you are creating yokes you want to start measuring the front center and to the equidistant of the armholes from the back of the neck. How to design longer dresses: You may have a doll that requires a longer dress at the waistline. Use your measuring tape lengthening it so that it meets with the bodice region where the armholes meet the body region between the ribs and the hips. How to design wrist and shoulders: You can add additional length to dolls with bent arm...

Learning How To Knit With The Basics

Fri, 07 May 2010 00:04:07 -0500

So have you caught the knitting bug? Have you learned the basic stitches and are now wondering what to do? With a little practice and tips from experienced knitters, you can be creating awesome creations in no time.Once you learn three basic techniques you will find that there are numerous projects you can learn to knit. The three basic foundations of knitting are casting on, the knit stitch and the purl stitch. Once you master these three techniques you can begin to add more advanced knitting skills.You can learn the basic stitches from other knitters, online or from a book. You can truly only become a functional knitter from practicing as much as possible. Starting out you will want to use medium gauge wool yarn which is the easiest yarn to start out with. It may not be the prettiest, flashiest novelty yarn, but it's the easiest yarn to learn how to knit with. You do not want to use cotton since it has no give in it. Wool has just a bit of stretch so it is much easier ...

What are Sample Squares?

Sat, 01 May 2010 00:16:37 -0500

Crafts are fun experiences all of us can enjoy, providing we know how to sample our squares. Of course one must learn chain stitching, double crochet, double-triple crochet, Chevron stitching, clusters, cross double crochet stitch, crossbatch and more. To get started however, we can learn how to sample your squares. How to sample your squares: In craft terms, sample squares include a variety of stitches and crocheting patterns. Crafters' use a variety of hooks, loops, stitches, etc, to complete particular projects, yet in this article you will work toward completing the "Evening News" Afghan. The gauge to complete your Afghan must reach inches over squares.How to sample squares: To begin you will need to chain stitch ounces of sport-weight, darker gray wool, and ounces of the pearl shaded grays. In the first row single, crochet into the second chain stitch away from your hook. Chain one stitch, skip one chain, and single crochet into the following chain stitch. Chain two...

Zigging Your Zag

Wed, 28 Apr 2010 01:55:32 -0500

The zigzag stitch is a common stitch expert cricketers' use to create Afghans and more. The steps are relatively easy and must be learned to finish the "Evening News" Afghan, or other patterns of Afghans. After you finish your chain, bobble, Chevron, cluster, cross double, crossbatch, V-stitch, etc, you will need to zigzag your lozenge stitches. To get started we encourage you to read the steps below. How to Zig your Zag to create the lozenge stitch: To start the zigzag lozenge stitching you will need a base. The base is factored by multiples of two, plus one. In the first row, starting on the left side, chain two stitches to start your half-double crochet. Half double in the following stitch and skip one stitch including a half double, chain, and another half double in the following stitch. Repeat the steps starting with the final stitches skip one stitch and work two half doubles in your final stitch, then turn. How to half double stitch: Chain stitch and then intersperse your hook...

Finishing an Afghan

Tue, 27 Apr 2010 14:45:53 -0500

To complete your Afghan you will need to learn steps, such as chain loop stitching, clusters, cross double stitching, cross-batch, and the lines joining angles spike stitching. Of course you will need to learn more about Fantail stitching, knot stitching, popcorn, puff, shell, V stitching, zigzag lozenge stitching, sample square, bordering, assembling, and more to complete your Afghan.To get your started we can consider chain loop stitching. To chain loop stitch avoid starting your square with the loop stitch. Instead, in row one chain stitch six lines, skip one stitch, and single crochet in the following stitch, throughout, i.e. across, and then turn. In row two chain stitch four rows, double crochet in your following chain, and continue across, finishing with a turn and proceeding to the next row. Now, chain stitch and add a single crochet in your six chain loops and move to chain one throughout until the finish and complete with a double crochet in the initial, i.e. the first chain ...

Analysis of Different Outlook PST Backup and Recovery Tools

Fri, 23 Apr 2010 19:32:04 -0500

There are three important tools that you could use to back up all the important data that your Outlook PST file stores. The Outlook Personal Folders file or PST, stores not just the email messages but contact details, address book, appointments, journal entries, notes and tasks. Clearly, if you are a regular user of Outlook, it is vital that you select one tool and take frequent backups with this tool. You should also familiarize yourself with the restoration techniques that each one of these tools adopts so that if you are dealing with a damaged or corrupt PST, you will know the exact steps you need to take to carry out a reliable outlook repair .The three main tools that Microsoft Outlook provides to its users are - Exporting, Archiving and the Personal Folders Backup Tool..Exporting - In the Export method, you can simply create a file and then export the folders from the Outlook application, one by ...