In February of 2017 I did an egg apron experiment for a friend with chickens. I made three kinds of egg apron from simple white cotton fabric that I had in my stash.
Photo description: white egg apron with woven rope tie and two rows of pleated pocketsPhoto description: round bottom apron with braided rope tie, large pocket with two hand access ports and division seams along the bottom edge to keep eggs from knocking togetherPhoto description: harvest style white apron with buttoned up large “pockets” to hold eggs or producePhoto description: same harvest style white apron unbuttoned
The experiment was interesting. The round bottom apron was hard to get the eggs out, the pleated pockets were nice, but if you leaned over too fast the eggs rolled out, and the harvest apron didn’t keep the eggs separated.
Now, with three of my own chickens and one or two eggs, I just use my pants pockets. Even when we had more chickens the aprons were more of a pain than helpful. Egg baskets are a more practical solution.
In August of 2016 I was in the throes of crocheting bracelets and anklets with small pockets. It started with being annoyed at my fitness tracker on my wrist. When I walked, I was pushing a stroller and my steps weren’t being counted because my arms weren’t swinging. I had the idea that I could put the tracker on my ankle, but there weren’t any bands big enough to go around, so I crocheted one. I had friends ask for one, so I made a bunch and started to sell them.
Photo description: eleven crocheted and braided bracelets with button closures and small mesh pockets made from pearlized cotton in various colors and lengthsPhoto description: closeup of the pocket, with a key inside, quarter on one side for scale, and a fitness tracker on the other sidePhoto description: bracelet shown closed
The problem with the crocheted cotton was that cotton stretches with time, and each strap was crocheted to size with no adjustment. The button also wasn’t a reliable closure. Sometimes brushing against furniture would pop the anklet open. I sold a few, but after the design problems became apparent, stopped making them.
In July 2016 I made my first arm bag using my favorite fabric.
Photo description: vines and floral fabric bag with very wide “handle” that fits over the forearm and can hold a small skein of yarn
I have made many of these bags, and I love them. It is a way to keep my yarn close and still allow me to move around. I first needed it following kids around the house and playground, later I found it worked well for walks, and travel, and waiting rooms. I make mine reversible, and have added small pockets in later versions.
I went into my photo app and searched New Year’s Day for my throwback today. I found a quirky little project I did back in 2016, where I was experimenting with small alternating blocks of Tunisian crochet.
Photo description: four squares of Tunisian crochet connected as stitched, sometimes called “sew as you go”, made with red, green, and white variegated cotton yarnPhoto description: nine square swatch with a crochet borderPhoto description: same nine square swatch, but labeled with the order number and if the rows were done from the right or left
I think the variegated yarn and Tunisian crochet made some interesting pooling variations. When I washed this swatch, though, it puckered and buckled aggressively, so I did not pursue the technique farther.
Happy New Year, may your year be filled with successful experiments!
I designed a couple variations of minimal wallets by starting with paper mock ups.
Photo description: paper mock ups for two wallet designs, the bottom left has an angle access and a traditional quarter fold insert, the bottom right has a scoop access and an accordion fold insert, top middle is a credit card mock up
After getting my dimensions figured out with paper, I designed the leather cut out in Adobe Illustrator, and used a blue diode laser cutter to cut and emboss vegetable tanned tooling leather.
Photo description: leather with embossed design after cutting with a laser and rinsing with water, the folding
I stained the leather and let it dry, then applied a coat of resolene, which will make it water resistant.
I wanted the insert to have RFID blocking capabilities, so I used spray glue to adhere cotton quilting fabric to faraday fabric.
Photo description: cut cotton fabric glued to faraday fabric using spray glue on the back of the cotton
My favorite part of this project was learning a new-to-me edge stitch: triple loop lacing. It took a few tries on scrap leather to get the hang of it, but it was worth it. I love the braided edge look with the heavy waxed thread.
Photo description: using an awl to poke through the fabric using the precut leather holes as guides, the leather is secured in a book clampPhoto description: close up of the edge stitching on two leather and cloth minimalist walletsPhoto description: finished wallets with gift cards in the center pocket. Each wallet has three pockets: front, middle, back
Critters and Craft 