Monday, September 11, 2017

Hello there!  As you can see dear reader, I have not posted in quite a while.  It seems Facebook takes up a lot of time and most people catch up there.  So, I think I should continue with posting the patterns, knit, crochet, loomed and sewn, that  I have modified, or have thought up myself. Here's a picture of me at the beach,July 2017  knitting up a hand towel, based on a pattern I got from Ravely.

Wednesday, June 21, 2017

Baby it's HOT outside! You need to keep Cool with a Cool Wrap.  Here's how you can make them  up in two sizes, to keep you COOL in this hot weather.

Materials:  Cotton/blend fabric; Gelseeds or Waterbabies (Michaels has them in a jar); A sewing machine, or a hand sewing needle and thread and a little time. A string or piece of yarn 6" (15cm) longer than the piece of fabric you are useing
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How to:
1.   Cut a piece of fabric 4" ( 10cm) wide and 24"(60cm) long,  for the smaller, child or small size and for the larger, adult version, cut the fabric 4'(10cm) wide and 36" (90cm) long
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2.  Place the string in the middle of the fabric, while it is showing the right side (the side you will see when you wear it) lengthwise with about 1" extending from one end (which will be the first end you will sew)  Fold the fabric in half lengthwise, right sides facing.

3. Sew a narrow seam up the length of the fabric, joining the 2 sides, so you now have a tube.

4. Sew up the end that has the smallest piece of the string hanging out.

5. Pull on the the longer piece that is showing at the open end. This will help to turn the tube to the fabric's  right side. Cut off the string close to the sewn end.

6.  Sew a line about 6"/ 15cm(small size) or 9"/22cm (large size) from the sewn end

8.  And now the fun part, filling the fabric tube with the Waterbabies.  Fill the tube about 1/2 of the way with the hydrated babies, or 1/4 of the way with dried out babies.

9.  Sew up the open end, first turning in the raw edges.

10. Making sure the babies are out of the way toward the first end, sew a line about 6"/15cm or 9"/22cm down from the just sewn end.

TAAA DAAA!!!  You now can put the finished tube into a bowl of water to moisten the fabric and the babies if they are dried out. Then wear it and be a Cool Dude!
Care of the Wrap.    It will get dirty and maybe a little stinky from your sweat or the dirt in the air, so after a few wearings, place it in a sink with warm water and dish soap and  gently swish until it is clean.  Then rinse in warm water and gently pat on a towel to dry the excess water. Let it dry until you need it again, when you will soak it in cool water to rehydrate it.