How to Ply Yarn

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A plied yarn is stronger, more consistent, and more stable than the singles from which it is made. Also, in the ply structure, more of the individual fibers are covered and protected from abrasive wear, light and chemical damage. Whether you’re learning for the first time, want to weigh the benefits of single- vs. multiple-ply yarn, or want tips for plying on a drop spindle, Interweave's free eBook is packed with helpful tips for spinners of all skill levels.

The book contains tips from Maggie Casey, Judith MacKenzie, Rita Buchanan and other spinning masters. The free eBook contains a wealth of information for the beginning spinner and experienced spinner.

Guild Library Display

Cinde P., Rachel B., and Cheryl O. prepare
 the Guild display in the Riverton Library
March 2017

Rachel B. adds name tags to the display items

The display preparation crew
Cheryl O., Rachel B., Nancy S. and Cinde P.

Forty-eight items were carefully arranged in the display case and labeled. Items include: weaving, knit, crochet, hand-spun, dyed fibers, sewing, quilting, basketry, needle-felting, wet felting. The variety of projects reflects the impressive talent of our members.

The Guild's display will remain in the Riverton Library 

for the next two months (April and May)

Tell your friends to go check it out.

Working With Silk Yarn

Silk is a luscious fiber; however, it does have some unique characteristics. YarnSub's post on silk fiber and yarn explains those characteristics, some tips for using it for knitting, crochet, and also stitches and techniques that require caution when working with silk.

Sewing with Knits

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Recently, Guild member, Brenda H. presented two programs on working with knit fabrics to a Lander sewing group.

To build on the information Brenda provided, use the website Sewing with Knits. That site has numerous tips, techniques, patterns, and tutorials available.

To get the most out of the site, use the pull-down tabs.

Shibori Scarf Tutorial

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Shibori is the ancient Japanese art of indigo dyeing. Utilizing resists on fabric, and the richest of indigo vats, Shibori is one of the best ways to highlight the subtlety of natural indigo dye.

Wearing Woad shares a simple tutorial on creating a loom-controlled Shibori scarf, or wrap. 

The difference between loom-controlled Shibori and regular Shibori: in regular Shibori you stitch and tie an already fully-woven piece of fabric, and in loom-controlled Shibori you insert the resist threads while you are in the process of weaving the item. 

Screen Cleaner

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We all love our tablets and phones, but face it the screens can become nasty pretty quickly.

Wild Olive's Turtle Screen Cleaner tutorial is a quick and fun project for yourself or as a gift.

Interfacing Tips

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Many sewing patterns only name interfacing in generic terms: light-midweight interfacing, heavyweight interfacing, etc. That can make it sort of difficult to navigate.

Sew Sweetness offers a comprehensive post on selecting the type of interfacing (fusible and sew-in) for making bags.

Reclaiming Wool - March Program

Nancy S. introduced the concept of reclaiming wool from old or thrift
shop sweaters at the March meeting. Members were encouraged to look
for non-serged seams. She also explained how to make a simple niddy noddy
out of PVC pipe. Nancy uses the reclaimed wool to knit items for charities.

Directions for making and using the Niddy Noddy can be found on this previous post.

Natural Dyeing

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Natural dyeing can be as simple as collecting tansy leaves from your garden or old tea from your cupboard, placing it and a skein of yarn in a canning jar filled with water out on your porch on a sunny day. Of course, it can be more involved as well—it depends on what colors you’re looking for, the fibers you are dyeing, and the pH levels in your water supply.

There are basic rules to dyeing: know your dye, know your fiber, and know your water.

Interweave offers a free Guide to Dyeing Yarn eBook - an essential guide whether you’re a beginner or are experienced in dyeing. 

This book will help you dive into the basics of hand dyeing yarn and understand the different approaches depending on the fiber, from cotton to wool.

Wearing Woad complied a list of Natural Dyeing Resources that may also be helpful.

Show and Tell - March

Jeni V. is nearly finished with the toe-up socks she started with a friend,
Laura B. brought two gorgeous scarves that she spent countless hours
weaving, Nancy S. displayed her embroidery project started at the
January Guild meeting program, lead by Vicky B. 

Dana H. has been busy knitting slippers with liners as well as wool
moccasins. All the slippers have been felted.

Sandy W. has been experimenting with a drum carder with Briana F.
Sandy showed the group bag after bag of the soft, blended fiber.
Sandy also spun some of the batts into colorful yarn. The green skein
in the bottom left corner was plied from her wrist with the Andean
plying technique.

Linda W. admires the items that Dawn H. brought for the Guild display
at the Riverton Library. Many of the items were made from past Guild
classes - basketry, tatting, embroidery with mirrors to name a few.

Cinde P. brought two sweaters to show the members. She spun the wool
into yarn, dyed the red wool at the October 2016 Fiber Fest, and knit the
two garments. Cinde also had scarves and cowls, but she was too quick
for the photographer to capture them.

Colleen J. brought a crochet sampler scarf she's making and a pair
of knit socks. 

Mary H. has been busy making dresses for her granddaughter. The Easter
dress has a matching hat and under pants. The little sundresses are reversible.

Repairing Damaged Quilts

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Repairing a damaged quilt is possible, and these two sources give tips to follow.

Abracadabra Quilting - repairing a hole in a quilt

Right Sides Together - Holey Quilts, Batman!

March Meeting

Items of note:

    •  Bring a friend to the meeting - Saturday, March 18th
        Lander Library at 10AM

    •  Bring items for the Guild display at the Riverton Library
           (details can be found here)  

    •  Program on reclaiming wool from old sweaters

    




   

How to Felt Crochet

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Why should knitters have all the fun felting items? Crochet items can also be felted. Interweave has a free ebook that explains the process and includes four free patterns for experimenting with felting crochet.

The link to the free ebook can be found on this Interweave post.

Weaving & Cell Phones

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Interweave explains how cell phone cameras can be helpful to weavers.

Check out the post here.

Supported Spinning Tips

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Sandy W. has given supported spinning demonstrations several times at Guild meetings.

Interweave recently published some tips on supported spinning for those who would like more information or need a refresher on the process.

Scissor Charm Tutorial

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AQS OnPoint shared a tutorial on making scissor charms - a quick little gift all quilters and their friends will love. The charms are a great way to identify scissors at a group sewing session. 

Scissor Charm Tutorial

How to Use a Color Wheel

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Learning how to use the color wheel will help in a lot of crafts - quilting, sewing, knitting, crochet, weaving, and spinning. Once mastered, color selection will become easier and projects will be visually pleasing.

We All Sew published a tutorial to show the effects of color choices and offers a free set of printable and portable cards on using color harmony.

Color Wheel Tutorial

Free Printable Color Harmony cards

Upcycle Vintage Linens

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Did you inherit a box of dresser scarves, napkins, or handkerchiefs and have no idea what to do with them? Those vintage linens can be turned into useable items for your home.

We All Sew presents step by step directions on upcycling the linens in the blog post - 5 Ways to Upcycle Vintage Linens.

Gather Display Items

Please take some time this week to gather one or more items of your best work for the Guild display at the Riverton Public Library. 

Bring the items to the Guild meeting next Saturday, March 18, 2017 at the Lander Library. If you're unable to attend, send your items with a friend. 

Wearing an Asymmetrical Shawl

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If you've made a lot of asymmetrical shawls but don't have any idea how to wear them, Interweave's recent post More than 10 Ways to Style an Asymmetrical Shawl will give you some ideas.

The Interweave article actually shows 16 ways to style and wear the shawl.

Put Down the Phone

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Interweave published an article: Put Down Your Phone and Pick Up Your Knitting

The article explains the risks of too much phone time as well as the health benefits from knitting (or any other craft).

Embroidery Stitch Booklet

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Embroidery is making a comeback, especially with the Year of Stitches projects. Vicky B. and Sandy W. introduced that challenge to Guild members in January.

Muse of the Morning has a handy stitch booklet that can be printed and placed on a ring for easy reference of embroidery stitches.

Three sets of free templates are offered.

    Section 1

    Section 2

    Section 3

Crochet Flowers

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Moogly's blog complied a list of free crochet flower patterns.

Posy Blossoms (shown at right)
Tulips
Easter Lilies
Rose bouquet
Lily variation
Pansy
Cherry Blossoms
Daffodils
Mountain Laurel

More flower patterns on this post.

The flowers can be used as embellishments on knit, crochet, or sewing projects.