DIY: Knitted Sequined Collar

Right side

Wrong side

It's here, it's here!!! The pattern for my latest knitted creation is finally here:

THE KNITTED SEQUINED COLLAR 

Yarn: 1 ball of Moda Vera Ballroom yarn
Needles: 5.0mm
Gauge: I do not make swatches


Pattern:
(Please read the pattern very carefully before casting on! This is not a conventional written knitting pattern. If possible, try knitting the pattern using another yarn of a similar weight first. Believe me, frogging sequined yarn is a real pain in the arse.)

The picture above represents the knitted collar. 

The numbers represents the number of stitches and the lines represents where markers should be placed. For example, count 2 stitches from the beginning and place a marker.

The dots represents where a decrease should be made. For example, decreases should always be made AFTER the stitch marker on the left of the collar and BEFORE the stitch marker on the right of the collar. One dot represents 1 decrease and each decrease should be made as follows:

LEFT of the pattern: sl1, knit 1, psso
RIGHT of the pattern: knit, return, pass, return


Video examples of these decreases can be found here.

Summary: 
1 x Line = 1 x stitch marker

1 x Dot = 1 x decrease

1 x decrease on the left of the pattern = sl1, knit 1, psso

1 x decrease on the right of the pattern = knit, return, pass, return

Not all decreases occur at the same time, so read the pattern carefully! Ready? Here we go!
Cast on 180

Place stitch markers

Row 1 – 4: Knit

Row 5: Purl

Row 6: Knit all and decrease the RED dots.

Row 7: Purl

Repeat Rows 6 & 7 until the collar measures 5 cm from the beginning. End this repeat pattern with a purl row (i.e. Row 7)

Row 8: Knit all and decrease the RED & BLUE dots

Row 9: Purl

Repeat Rows 8 & 9 until the collar measures 6.5 cm from the beginning. End this repeat pattern with a purl row (i.e. Row 8)

Row 10: Knit all and decrease the RED, BLUE & GREEN dots

Row 11: Purl

Repeat Rows 10 & 11 until the collar fits your neck. I stopped when my collar measured 9cm from the beginning, but my neck is probably different from yours!

Cast off loosely. I used the cast off technique shown in this video. 

It is important that your cast off is loose! If not, the collar will fit very tightly around your neck!

Push all the sequins at the back to the front.

Block by pinning it in place and then hovering a steam iron over it for several minutes
Sew hooks.

You’re done! (n_n)

♥

DIY: "A glimmer of hope" tee

I hope you can see that the design of the tee is a pun. Colourless albeit shiny sequins that trace out the word 'Hope' in a beautiful cursive font on the front of a tee, rendering its design unseen and unknown to the careless observer = a glimmer of hope.

This tee that I saw in a Japanese magazine struck me with the idea of sewing my small bag of colourless (and almost useless) sequins onto my very very boring tee. I love Japanese fashion magazines!!!!!!!!!!!!! I bought the magazine because it came with a free bag, but that's just another story.


I was initially thinking of doing some other word instead of 'Hope', but I also thought that 'Love' is quite ubiquitous and 'Dream' is a little too long. So, I ended up sticking to 'Hope'. Well, it was the long, beautiful and rounded tail of the 'p' that struck me in the first place. 


Materials:
White tee
Printer
Marker
Cloth marker
Sequins
Patience


Steps:

1. Type 'Hope' (or any other word that you decided to use instead) on MS Word using Monotype Corsiva in font size 320. Print the word out.

2. Use a marker to edit the design.

3. Put the paper underneath your white tee and pin it in place. Wear your tee to ensure that the word is not slanted in any way.

4. Trace the word out using a cloth marker. Remove the paper and then wear your tee again to ensure that the word is not slanted.


5. Sew your sequins along the tracing of the letters!


6. Wash your tee to remove the markings from the cloth marker!

Wheeeeeeeeeeeee! (^_^)

DIY: Sequin Flower Hairpin/Bobby pin (pseudo-vintage/Victorian!)

Ooh, I just can't get enough of my new hairpin. 

The iridescent quality of sequins makes it sparkle so much under the sun, it's hard to get a clear picture of it on my hair. 

Ooh, and it's pseudo-vintage/Victorian! How can you not make one for yourself!?

MATERIALS

Sewing needle

Thread

20 x Sequins

10 x Seed beads

5 x Small plastic pearl beads

Glue

Felt

Scissors

Plain hairpin/bobby pin

STEPS

1. Thread a long piece of thread through the eye of a needle. Tie the 2 ends of the thread together into a knot.

Bring your needle and the thread through a piece of felt. This is the point where the middle of the flower lies.

Insert beads and sequins through the needle in this order: 

1. small pearl bead 

2. small seed bead 

3. sequin with the concave side towards the eye of the needle 

4. sequin with the convex side towards the eye of the needle 

5. small seed bead 

6. sequin with the concave side towards the eye of the needle 

7. sequin with the convex side towards the eye of the needle

2. Insert the needle through the felt again. The point of insertion should be just a small distance away from the point of the middle of the flower.

3. Pull the thread all the way and make it tight. (BUT NOT TOO TIGHT!)

This is how your first petal should look like from the side.

4. Repeat the same for the subsequent petals.

You can make as many petals as you like. I like to have 5 petals because it makes it look like a sakura.

5. Tie a dead knot at the back of the flower.

6. Cut off the sequin flower from the piece of felt and trim the remaining felt such that the no felt can be seen when you see the flower from above.

Cut a small piece of felt and insert it between a plain hairpin/bobby pin. This piece of felt should be smaller than the back of the flower.

7. This is how your flower should look from the top! You shouldn't be able to see any of the felt.

If you find that your flower seems a bit floppy, you could fold the flower into half to reveal the felt at the centre of the flower. Then add a small dab of glue to the felt and push all the petals towards the centre again!

8. Use super glue (or whatever kind of adhesives that you are comfortable with) to stick the small piece of felt between the hairpin to the back of the flower.

Enjoy your lovely, new, pseudo-vintage hairpin!