Amigurumi hækleworkshop i Sønderborg

I forbindelse med husflidsudstillingen på Sønderborg slot den 19-20 Oktober vil Hanne Caspersen aka The Knitbitch holde en amigurumi hækleworkshop, søndag 20 Oktober 12-16 i Drabantsalen.  Amigurumi er Japansk for lille udstoppet dyr eller anthropomorphic væsen. Ordet er en kombination af ami som betyder hækle eller strikke og huigurumi so betyder udstoppet. I denne workshop skal vi hækle en kanin.







I workshoppen vil du have brug for hæklegarn, fx bomulds eller acryl garn (ikke uld, det er for blødt), du kan bruge nogle rester eller små nøgler, der er op til dig selv om du vil arbejde med en eller flere farver. Tag også nogle rester brodergarn, hæklepinde (4 og 1,5mm) knapper(til øjne) eller rigtige bamseøjne, fyldemateriale, stoppenåle, sikkerhedslåse eller noget andet til at markere omgange og knappenåle med. Når man hækler amigurumi hækler man meget stramt, så du dine hæklenåle skal nok være et halvt eller helt nummer mindre end du er vant til.

Du skal kende basis teknikkerne for at kunne være med i hækleworkshoppen. Der arbejdes mest med kædemasker og fastmasker, der er også et par enkle stangmasker. Vi hækler i cirkler/spiraler, og tager ind og ud. I workshoppen vil der være et hæklemønster, en tegning på rigtig Japansk vis. Der vil også være nogle donerede garn-rester som du evt kan bruge noget af. Workshoppen er gratis (der betales entre til Sønderborg slot for husflids udstillingen), men det værdsættes at du enten giver et financielt bidrag til at dække omkostninger eller en donation i form af garn-rester eller gamle hækle-, eller strikke-bøger eller blade. Til information, et print koster ca 2,5-3 kr for en A4. der vil også være noget fylde-materiale.

Tid og sted: Søndag 20 Oktober 12-16, Drabantsalen, Sønderborg Slot
Antallet af deltagere er begrænset til 12 personer, pga begrænset plads og for at kunne give passende opmærksomhed og hjælp. Ved ualmindelig stor interesse kan workshoppen evt også holdes lørdag eftermiddag.
tilmelding til hannepanne@theknitbitch.com

links:
http://www.husflid.dk/arrangementer-og-udstillinger/details/408-udstilling-pa-sonderborg-slot
http://www.flickr.com/people/knitbitch/
Twitter: @theknitbitch

update fra 11 Oct omkring deltagere; indtil videre har jeg hørt fra
søndag:
Kirsten Bonde Sørensen
hendes veninde
hendes datter
Kis Christensen
og en veninde
Charlotte Braes
annette Brammann

evt loerdag
Jens Buch kone Helle og datter Tilde 
saa der er stadig plads til flere!

Crochet Queensday Ring

I'm ready for queensday! If the weather allows I will have a little booth where I will be selling these crochet queensday rings. Planning to publish the pattern next weekend, so stay tuned if you also want to crochet queensday rings.

Make a plarn shopper bag

A great way to give a second and enduring life to all those used (disposable) plastic bags that tend to pile up in the cupboard.

I used appx. 30 plastic bags for this bag, crochet needle 6mm. The size of needle that works will depend on how wide you cut the strips. I have figured out a way of cutting the plastic bags into one long uninterrupted strip.

STEP 1
collect enough plastic bags to make a bag, I used around 30, just regular shopping bags. If you want a nice fluent design you need to pay attention to the colors. Lay them out on a table or on the floor. Look at how you want your gradient / stripes to work, one bag makes between 2 and 3 stripes. Most of the bags are white from the inside, so that will wash the colors out. Put your bags in chronological order, which bag first etcetc. I.e. I decided to use my black bags first, so that the bottom of my bag wouldn't show dirt immediately.

STEP 2
check that all the bags are clean. If they are not wipe them off with a cloth, or maybe even wash them (by hand) and dry them. also check if all bags are in good condition. Some bags may be a bit decomposing, that won't work so nicely anymore, as the strip will then break all the time.

STEP 3
making the plarn. Now cut the strip, this is the most difficult part! First lay the plastic bag down flat on the table. Check the bottom of the bag, there is a sort of fold in the bag, cut that ply open up around the side is probably necessary, so that you really have the bag flat on the table. Then fold it double, and  again from the middle fold over one more time, it should not go all the way to the side leave around 3 cm free. do this twice if necessary.

Now cut the "roll". I used a scissor, the knife in the picture is just there to add weight. cut slits through the roll, but leave the side-space untouched (the 3 cm) I cut my slits with appx 2 cm in-between. If the plastic is thinner or softer you can make it wider, if you are working a thicker very solid bag, make it less.

Now roll-out the bag and cut loose and trash the handle-bit as well as the bottom-bit. Now we need to make the slits into one long strip. On one side of the bag, continue the slit all the way through, then the bag will look like this:

And now here follows the trick. Take hold of the side of the bag where the slits have not been cut through. Study it carefully, place an imaginary diagonal line between the end of one slit and the beginning of the next. You now need to cut from slit to slit, every time along this imaginary diagonal line. Be careful to not cut through some of the other strip by accident. Finish the strip by cutting a little diagonal cut out the border. Now you have turned one plastic bag into one long uninterrupted strip!

STEP 4
crocheting the bag. Crochet the bag like you would do with any other crochet work.

Bottom
Mine is simply a chain of 25 stitches,
2nd round; 3 hf cr stch into first loop, then half cr.stch into each loop, 3 hf cr.stch into last loop, back again by half cr.stch into each loop.
3rd round; 2 hf cr stch into first loop, 1 hf cr stch, 2 hf cr stch, countinue to the other end and make the corner in the same way you did the first, and crochet all along the side.
4rd round; 2 hf cr stch into first loop, 3 hf. cr stch, 2 hf cr stch, continue to the other end and make the courner in the same way and finish the other side.
from here just continue in rounds.

Handle.
Leave a space open of 9 stitches, crochet back and forwards 3 rows, cut the strip and start on the second half. upon finishing the second bit, re-establish the lost bit of the handle by looping 9 stitches in both holes. Continue in rounds again.

STEP5
make a knob by crocheting a little roset, use a piece of elastic band to fasten to the knob.


Featured on Instructables on 24th of January 2012

bigger-than-life-size doudou

If you can't have a real pet, why not make a life-size doudou and put in your living-room? Making and having a full size doudou sort of makes it ok for adults, doesn't it. It would also add an air of mystery and fairy-tale to your living-room.

Little deer photographed in Causeway Bay

These ones here are perhaps a little more advanced. They are made to be art-objects, but when I saw them, I wanted to take them right home. Look so real. It's the artist Cosima von Bonin, she incorporates a lot of animals like dogs and mushroom (also bigger-than-life-size) in her work. I guess she wants to tickle our affection for pets and maybe ask if other humans could really be replaced by animals?

Cosima von Bonin @ Documenta

Cosima von Bonin @ Documenta

Cosima von Bonin @ Documenta

Cosima von Bonin @ Documenta

And how about these, actual interior objects, made to put in your living-room.
Different technique; mosaique. such a pity you don't find dogs like this in the DIY, they seem to only be doing dwarfs.

Milan Designweek 2008

Milan Designweek 2008

And here's the pattern to make one yourself, just blow up the size!

Libelle Magazine 1951

Have fun!