Things I Made

3D Printed Rigid Heddle Loom

Julia 1 Comment

I made a loom, and wove a scarf!

3D printed rigid heddle loom

I’ve always love the prettiness and feel of fancy dyed yarns, but have never been too tempted to dive down that rabbit hole since I really don’t enjoy knitting or crocheting. Recently I’ve been seeing weaving pop up around instagram (check out ), and then talked to someone about it at Maker Faire in New York City last month, and I think I might be jumping on the yarn bandwagon.

Rigid Heddle Loom Scarf

I found a few 3D printed loom designs around the internet, and decided to go with this one from thingiverse. It’s not exactly what I think I’m looking for, but it seems to work well and now I actually have an idea of how rigid heddle looms work. It includes an 8 dent reed, which can be put together in 4″ sections (the design images include 4, which is what I chose to use, for a 16″ heddle). It took about $40 in supplies (about $20 of filament for the 3D printed parts and $20 in the wooden dowels and screws to hold everything together). The thingiverse info for this print doesn’t have much information for construction, but it’s relatively straight forward from the photos shown. If you want to build one from this file, the most useful info I have would be my dowel rod cutting dimensions. The design is somewhat modular so there is a degree of flexibility, but this is what I used: long dowels were cut to 26″ (7/8″ rods), the dowels for winding the front and end edges of the warp were 16 7/8″ (also 7/8″ rods), the two dowels through the heddle were 16″ and 16 1/2″ (7/16″ rods), and the tension dowels were 18 1/8″ (1/2″ rods). You also need short bits of 7/8″ rods to connect the winding rods to the braces. If I’d known how long they would be in advance and planned more efficiently, I could have gotten away with (3) 8′ lengths of 7/8″ dowel rods, (1) 8′ length of 1/2″ dowel rod, and (1) 8′ length of 7/16″ dowels. You also need about 60 of the #6 x 1/2″ wood screws.

3D printed loom

I printed everything with 3 perimeters, 2 solid layers on top and bottom, and 30% triangular infull. I had no problems with these settings in terms of tension or strength during warping or weaving. My printer is set up such that I get quite good dimensional accuracy. but I had a really tough time getting the dowels through my printed parts, and the pins for the brakes were never going to fit in their holes so I slimmed down the posts in blender. My opinion after having a chance to play with it are that many of the support structures would be just as easy, and much quicker, to create by drilling holes through wood than by printing them. I’m hoping to find time to work out a design somewhere between this one and some others I’ve seen online that comes together a little more easily and for less money – but need to find a chunk of time to work on it.

Woven Scarf

As far as the scarf, I used some basic yarn from a big box craft store and sort of just warped up what seemed like a reasonable amount – the finished scarf is 12″ x 48″. I used for instructions on how to warp, and ended up 3D printing a little hook shape that I drew up (something like a flat crochet hook) for pulling the yarn through the reeds. I used one of the extra dowel pieces and some scrap wood with a hole drilled in it as a warping post. I made shuttles out of cut up cereal boxes, but will probably get around to printing some sturdier ones before my next scarf. The scarf itself came together remarkably quickly – I made it in a day, during which I had plenty of other errands – so probably only about 4-6 hours of weaving (which is faster than I think I could ever knit anything!)

Wool Spinning

At Maker Faire, I also was taught how to spin yarn and sent home with my own spindle and chunk of roving, so now I’ve got that to play with as well. Maybe at some point I’ll get enough spun and plyed that I can make weave with my own yarn!

Scalloped embroidery hoops

Julia 2 Comments

Have you ever spent hours on an embroidery project and wanted something cuter to put it in than a plain wooden hoop? If you follow me on , you probably know by now that I’ve been making a much more adorable option.

scalloped embroidery hoops

My husband and I bought a 3D printer kit and put it together (over 16 hours) for our anniversary.

3D Printer Build GIF

We’ve been printing a bunch of gadgets downloaded from the internet, but I’m also tinkering with 3D modeling to create my own things. The first such project has been these scalloped embroidery hoops.

Unique Embroidery Hoop

I’ve got them available in a range of colors in my etsy shop here. They come in two sizes – 6″ and 4″. I’m also working on developing teensy ones for necklaces or brooches which will hopefully be available soon!

aqua_001

I love that if you know what you’re looking for, you can tell these are 3D printed instead of manufactured in bulk. The plastic used in the aqua hoops (shown above) is slightly transparent so you can even see the internal structure. There’s lots more info about the hoops (material information, size specs, a video for how to use them, etc.) in each of the listings, like this one.

Reversible Crepe Dress

Julia 3 Comments

My latest dress is a cute wrap dress, the Crepe Dress from Colette Patterns. This post was originally posted at Sew Sweetness as part of her Dress Up Party series – check it out for a ton of fun adult garment pattern reviews and some garment pattern giveaways!

crepe dress

You know how it seems like most patterns like dresses have names just for the sake of having a name? They need to have a name so you can talk about different patterns conveniently? Most of the time, pattern names (especially for garments) seem to have little to nothing to do with the actual pattern itself. The crepe dress, however, actually resembles a crepe in that it is a wrap dress!

Crepe Dress Back

The sleeves are a little unusually shaped on this dress, but they’re not especially difficult. Certainly not harder than normal set-in sleeves! It’s something cute and unusual about this pattern, and I have a lot more arm mobility than I usually do with normal sleeves. Gertie has a great Crepe dress sew along with videos that show all the strangest parts about the facing. If you’re not sure what the pattern pieces look like, you can see what I mean about them being unusual in this part of Gertie’s sew along. I made a bodice with the facings for a muslin, but I’m not generally a fan of facings and decided I’d take advantage of the lack of a zipper in this dress to leave out the facings and include a fun surprise…

Reversible Crepe Dress

I made it reversible! This actually wasn’t too difficult. I made two bodices (leaving the hole for the tie on different sides of each). I sewed one arm hole together, turned it wrong sides together (so as if one were a lining), and pulled the seam allowance through the other arm hole similar to the method in this tutorial, except that you can sew it all in one go. After opening it back up wrong sides together, I folded the neckline around to the bottom like a burrito and sewed the entire front and back neckline. I attached a skirt to each bodice, turned it all wrong sides together, and then sewed around the three edges of the skirts leaving a hole on one side to turn through. I left the hole in the side of the skirt that gets wrapped underneath – so the side that doesn’t have the hole to pull the armhole through. I haven’t actually finished it yet, because I might take the skirt up a couple inches, but no one can see it anyways! Voila – reversible wrap dress!

fs dresses sq

Here’s both sides of the dress. Remember how I’m an engineer? So nerdy fabrics like these are pretty much my favorite, and I was excited to get to work 4 of them into this one dress! The all black side has all kinds of math, physics, and chemistry equations and diagrams. The black and white side is the same atom fabric in two different colorways, and the tie belt is a bunch of elements from the periodic table.

Crepe Dress Sleeve

Overall, the dress was an easy one to make. The sleeves were intimidating, but not difficult. Setting in normal sleeves is usually my least favorite part of dress making, and I would take these sleeves over normal ones any day. They were harder to cut than to sew! The lack of a zipper to install was refreshing, even though I tend to actually enjoy that step. Plus as a wrap dress, if I eat too much food I can just loosen the waist tie! And if I spill something, I can just turn the dress inside out 🙂 I think the shape is flattering, especially the V in the back. I was a little worried about coverage since the back is technically open. Both back panels cover the whole width of the skirt, though, and I’ve worn it around for a full day in wind without any concerns. Will definitely be making more of these, probably mostly double-sided!

Crepe dress back tie

As far as pattern specifics, I originally cut a size 6, but after making a muslin I changed to a size 4 with a FBA (spread 1/2″). I made no other adjustments, which is actually a bit unusual for me at this point. The fit is really forgiving because of the wrap nature of the dress, though. I cut version 1 (but made it reversible), but there is also a version 2 which has a really cute sweetheart neckline. I also omitted the pockets from the side with the white skirt because I was worried about them showing through the fabric.

crepe dress atoms

 

Dress Specs:
Pattern: Crepe Dress by Colette Patterns
Modifications: FBA adjustment with 1/2″ spread, made reversible!
Size: 4
 Fabric: Equations and Periodic Table from Science Fair by Robert Kaufman, and an atom print by Sue Marsh for RJR fabrics.

241 Tote

Julia 7 Comments

With QuiltCon coming up (in less than 2 weeks!), its been great motivation for making a bunch of stuff that has been in my head for a while, but never got around to. My favorite of these projects so far is my new 241 tote! My old purse has been falling apart for quite a while, but I’ve never made a bag before and, well, they intimidated me. QuiltCon finally motivated me to make a go, and now I want to make all of the bags. I even used some of my very treasured Lizzy House constellations print on the front!

241 tote

I used the 241 tote pattern by noodlehead, and it was a great beginners bag pattern. I made a test bag just because I was nervous about it, but the practice bag actually turned out so well that I ended up finishing it off to give to my mom. I can’t leave anything well enough alone, so made several changes to tweak the bag to my preferences, but I love the look and shape of this pattern! One of my first changes was to add piping along the top of the side pockets and the sides of the main panel. Since the front and back main panels are different prints, I also added some piping between them. I made the piping (and the straps) out of the same Michael Miller ‘stitch in sea’ print I used for the background of my mom’s quilt.

241 tote top zipper

I added 1.5″ to the center of each main panel for a little extra room. I also like my bags to have a secure closure, so I put in a zipper across the length of the top instead of just the magnetic closure discussed in the pattern. Maybe I’ll put up a brief tutorial for how I did this in the future? I used Breeze from Carolyn Friedlander’s new Doe line for the lining – it is my new favorite print to use with my favorite blue fabrics. I have a few more projects made with it coming up soon 🙂

241 tote key clip

I also added a clip in one of the outer side pockets for my keys. I love the look and accessibility of those pockets, but since I couldn’t even handle the top of the bag not having a full length closure, I wasn’t about to put anything important in them for long. With the key clip, I can have my keys easily accessible and not have to worry about them falling out.

cross-body 241 tote

The pattern includes instructions for a 26″ long shoulder strap, but I usually like cross-body bags, so I used some hardware from Jo-Ann’s to make mine with an adjustable strap. I followed the pattern directions for the strap, but made 2 pieces 8″ long and 1 piece WOF (about 44″ – I included selvages because they just got folded in on the ends). I folded the two short pieces around some square hardware and sewed them into the side of the bag as the pattern directs for the shoulder strap, then attached the long strap piece with slider hardware to the two square hardware pieces once the rest of the bag was complete.

241 tote inside

I changed the inner pocket dimensions so it would just fit my phone, and tucked one of my labels in the side. I ordered some custom label fabric from spoonflower recently, and have been loving sewing them into everything lately!

modified 241 tote back zipper

I wanted just one zipper on the back, so instead of doing it at an angle, I just put it straight across on the back. I used an awesome atom print from Mod Geek for the back because I couldn’t justify using my out of print constellations print for the back of the bag.

modified 241 tote

Bag Specs:
Pattern: 241 tote from Noodlehead.
Modifications: 1.5″ added to width of center panel, added piping, included zipper on top, made a longer adjustable strap to convert to cross-body, and added key clip to inside of one of the side pockets.
Size: Roughly 15″ wide and 14″ tall.
 Fabric: Constellations and Pearl Bracelets in Ice Skate by Lizzy House, Honey Hive in Turquoise from Emma’s Garden by Patty Sloniger, Breeze in Sky from Doe by Carolyn Friedlander, and Stitch in Sea by Michael Miller.
 Made for: me! Motivated by QuiltCon.

Planets Dress

Julia 6 Comments

My latest dress could pass as another space-themed Mrs. Frizzle dress, like my Halloween costume from last year.

Simplicity 1755

The fabric is my favorite. All the planets are there (including Pluto!) and the randomness of the pattern lends itself wonderfully to the circle skirt. Also, it GLOWS IN THE DARK. Seriously. It’s awesome. The fabric is from JoAnn’s, and my store still has some if you want to make something equally awesome with it.

Glow in the Dark Fabric

And check out how wonderfully the contrast sleeve/collar (also, pockets) fabric goes with the main fabric. I went to the store looking for some solid black, but found this with polka dots in just the same scale/randomness as the stars on the main fabric. Plus, I love polka dots. Win-win.

Fabric Pattern Matching

This was my first attempt at pattern matching on the back of the bodice, and I think I killed it. Not only is it a 4-way pattern (not just stripes where you only have to line it up in one direction), but there are  words on there. That you can read clearly across the zipper. If you can’t tell, I’m pretty pleased with myself.

Star Shoes

This was my last dress in a contest called Sew Dolly Clackett. Roisin, who blogs at Dolly Clackett and makes all of the most fantastic dresses, is getting married in about a month, and to celebrate a bunch of people made lots of awesome dresses emulating her style. Check out her ‘closet’ here. I’ve been hoarding fabric for dresses for quite a while, but this contest gave me the kick in the pants I needed to get started making them. In just over a month, I finished 7 dresses! I’ve actually finished another since then, too. I love them all <3. I’ll probably slow down on the dress making a bit, but I have plenty of plans for making more! Check out the flickr pool with over 200 dresses (I counted 228!) submitted .

Dolly Clackett Dresses
Blog posts: 1/2/3/4/5/6/7

Pattern: I used Simplicity 1755. I like this pattern a lot – I think its cute, I like the sleeve detail at the cuffs, and there are no set in sleeves! I also really like the way the collar is put on. While I changed out the skirt pattern for a circle skirt, I really want to try out the skirt pattern. There are a ton of pleats, and they’re inserted so they cover up side and pocket seams. Even though my measurements indicated a size 12, I cut a size 10 and it fit well. I’ll probably make it again.

Simplicity 1755 Sleeve

Pattern Changes: I skipped the lining and cut the bodice on the fold to avoid an extra seam. For the slit at the neck, I just used a bit of interfaced facing like this. I used hook and eye clasps instead of buttons at the front and back of the collar, and skipped buttons altogether on the sleeves because I liked how they stayed on their own. On the bodice, I just changed the arm scythes (up under the arm, in at the shoulders) and added an inch and a half to the length (I made a muslin to test those out). I skipped the skirt pattern entirely because I didn’t want my planets to get cut up in the pleats, and just cut a circle skirt as big as I could while fitting on the rest of the fabric I had left (if you’re curious, its a 61% circle skirt).