Tag: cotton

Cotton is heavy

On By CarynIn Craft

I have it in my mind to make a practical macrame hanging to store small musical instruments. I had the macrame cord and a quarter inch dowel already, so my start cost was zero. The twisted rope I knotted for the hanger went well, and I hung the dowel up in a small hallway on a utility rack. I then started adding long strands of cotton cord.

Photo description: wood dowel with many doubled strands of cotton cord tied on hanging on the wall from a wire rack, dowel arcs down from the weight of the cotton

As I neared the number of strands of cotton I wanted, I noticed that the dowel had a visible bend. Uh oh. The slim dowel could barely hold the weight of the cotton, and certainly wouldn’t take more weight. I have to get a bigger dowel. Hm.

Photo description: same pre-macrame set up, but with all the hanging cords tied in a large loose knot to reduce the cat risk

To keep the long dangling cords from becoming cat toys, I tied them up while I process my intentions.

Macrame helper

On By CarynIn Cats, Craft
Photo description: gray tabby with arms in ready-to-get-the-string position on a leather lounge chair that has a twisted macrame rope in progress draped over the back, with my nest of crafts and books on the floor next to the chair

My love triangle: I love yarn projects, and I love cats, and cats love yarn. Sigh.

Macrame: joining

On By CarynIn Craft

I wanted to make a macrame twisted rope with precut pieces. My center strands were long enough, but the decorative outside strands ran out after about a foot of knotting. I found that laying new strands into a knot in the same direction as the old strands then tightening the knot, trimming, and sealing with white glue made a near invisible join.

Photo description: half macrame knot shown open with new strands laid in, the ends pointed up are the new strands, the ends pointed down are the old strands
Photo description: knot tightened and several more half knots added, the four ends are shown sticking out
Photo description: same join area with the ends trimmed flush and secured with white glue (I used Elmer’s school glue). Calico cat in her favorite box on the table in the background.

Since the knots are decorative and the un-spliced center strands bear the weight applied to the rope, I’m not concerned about the ends unraveling.

Tatting experiment

On By CarynIn Craft

I tried a rectangular tatting experiment, connecting lines of opposite loops (there might be a name for it?) The picots line up well, but I need to work on my end turning techniques. I ran a solid edge around three sides, just for something to use up thread, and it helped me realize that tatting is a double edged craft. I need to be thinking of two sides as I knot. Knitting, crochet, and nålbinding in general work in single rows, making stitches that connect to previous stitches. Tatting “rows” are really connected motifs.

Photo description: rectangle experiment tatted with number 3 cotton, with many learning moments

I did block the piece, but it didn’t even out the wonkiness. It is an odd bit of lace, but I might find a use for it, and it certainly helped me understand tatting construction better.

P.S. This is actually a variation on a Josephine knot; it just puts a closed loop in place of a picot in the middle of the chain.

Knotted into a corner

On By CarynIn Craft

I’ve been carrying around tatting supplies in my purse and using them when I have a few minutes of waiting. Rather than bother with the bulk and hassle of a pattern, I’ve been exploring how the forms of tatting go together. Such experimentation is very useful to develop my skills and also results in some learning opportunities. In tatting, motifs are connected using picots, or loops in the work. This requires preplanning or an abundance of loops on a useable side of the work. I was attempting a triangular piece, and merrily made a line of knots with no loops. Oops.

Photo description: experimental bit of tatting, with the bottom edge solid without picots

Although the line of the piece shows promise, I can’t add onto the smooth edge with my current level of knowledge (there may be a technique out there that gets around this conundrum).

As an added learning bonus, it seems tatting also has some play with tension. How tight you pull the center thread determines the motif radius, so even when following a pattern, if the arcs and loops differ from the author’s, the piece might not lay flat. Irish crochet had a similar artistic feel.