Monday, 3 September 2012

you win some, you lose some

This post was going to be called “necessity is the mother of invention” but my prototype is less than spectacular!

You've seen my intarsia blanket in progress (here). This is the methodical way I lay out my yarns next to my chair.
2012 intarsia blanket selection
This is the storage unit where they are kept when not laid out for work!
2012 intarsia blanket carry bag
And this is my solution.
2012 intarsia pocket system
Looks okay, you think? It works to a point but the pockets are too small for full 100 gram skeins so I have to force the yarn in and drag it out (meaning I  don't put the skein back in the pocket, I just drop it on the floor beside my chair). There are too few pockets for all the yarns I am using (some fell out of the bag and got left out of the photo).

I could have made something like this (picture from http://flickrhivemind.net/Tags/handmade,oilcloth/Interesting)

but as the skeins got smaller they would fall out. Hindsight tells me I could have used elastic to solve that! I was trying to use what I had to hand to do the job and I didn't have any wide elastic. Perhaps in my second attempt, I will purchase what I need to be more efficient.

And I forgot to mention – I cut the binding at 2” instead of 2 1/2” then sewed it on at 3/8” instead of 1/4”! Therefore sewing down 132” of narrow binding took hours, put stress on my hands and could have been avoided if I had tried the pockets first before applying the binding!

Any suggestions greatly appreciated!

Linking up with Sew What Monday


10 comments:

  1. Your organization looks good. You certainly have lots of balls to deal with. I hope you manage to perfect things.

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  2. Oh, well, this is why it is a prototype! Prototypes never go to the production line until all the kinks are worked out! You have a good idea-you are close to the perfect solution!

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  3. I have done the same thing with binding. You can trim the seam allowance to lessen the bulk. Sorry to hear about the yarn holder, it looks like such a clever solution. Hopefully the second version will be just right.

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  4. I'm note sure what your goal is with the yarn holder....I've often thought that the containers that Clorox Wipes come in would be perfect for yarn...although not as pretty as your creation.

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  5. I think you are on the right track. Just needs some tweaking. It's hard when they are not pull skeins but unwind.

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  6. Do you have access to a serger? I would serge not bind the edge.

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  7. What if you faced all the pocket openings to the middle. Then you could hand it over the arm of the chair and all yarn would be facing up so you could easily pull it in/out of the pockets.

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  8. A great idea and a working prototype, so you did really good. It's hard to get it all right the first pass.

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  9. I think you've got a good idea going on here. Since they fall out as they get smaller, what about some way to add a drawstring to each which would adjust the opening for the size and still leave an opening for the yarn to be pull through.
    Also, I thought about you when I saw that "Totally Tutorials" is offering free yarn for a posted tutorial.

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  10. Aw! Look at how cute they are when they're all tucked in their little sleeping bags! Who wouldn't want to keep them in there all tidy?

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