Spinning Recycled Denim Fibers….

While at the Northern Michigan Lamb and Wood Festival this past weekend I wandered into (technically this is correct, as in true tourist fashion I was bumping into all kinds of things and people – just ga ga over all of the yummies all around me!) anyway, I bumped into a gal who was spinning with recycled denim fibers.

Determined to figure out more about this, as soon as I got back to the computer, Googled it. Couldn’t find anything in Google, YouTube or EHow. So, last night at our spinning group, I asked. Seems these “recycled” denim fibers are leftovers from the “makin’ o’ the blue jeans” at the mills.

Clever! The spun fiber was white with a bit of the blue specks in, but just the idea of spinning recycled blue jeans has me thinking. You know those frayed edges when you get a tear in your knees, or when you cut off your jeans because you’re too short to wear a regular size (no, I’m not over it, I’m short!) ? Never mind, it would probably be pretty time intensive, so rather than ravel out my jeans at the meeting, we just concentrated on spinning the usual stuff, you know, like wool, cotton and dog hair!

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Book Review: Hand Spinning

The other day I saw a post from Pinterest about trends for summer and it said one of them was “cultivating whimsy.”

Well, I don’t know where Pinterest has been all this time, but we’ve been cultivating whimsy here at Craft Gossip for a long time. I love sharing projects that are a little different, things that make you smile when you see them, and will make you smile when you knit them and wear them or use them.

Such it is with the Tutti Frutti tee knitting pattern from Bea Creative Knits.

This cute little baby tee is worked top down in the round with contiguous shoulder construction to shape the sleeve caps. There are short rows for the neckline and folded hems with picot edging at the hemline, neckline and edges of the sleeves.

All of this would be great on its own, but then there’s the addition of a super cute fruit icon, which is added with duplicate stitch. There are a lot of options, including strawberry, banana, orange, cherries, watermelon, lemon, blueberries, kiwi, peach, dragon fruit, apple and pear, so it’s likely you can add on your favorite fruit.

It is offered in eight sizes, to fit a bust measurement ranging from 28-30 inches (71-76 cm) to 56-58 inches (142-147 cm). The design is meant to be worn with around 6.3 inches/16 cm of negative ease, but you can choose the fit you prefer. There’s also optional bust and waist shaping included in the pattern if you want to make it even curvier.

This is considered an advanced beginner or intermediate project because of all the skills involved, but it’s sure to be a lot of fun even if some of these techniques are new to you.

Grab a copy of the pattern for yourself form Bea Creative Knits on Etsy.

[Photo: Bea Creative Knits]

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