Hitting A Snag

I’m still working on the Bike Chain Car Coat and have hit a bit of a snag.  As I finished the body of the coat and began on the sleeves, it became obvious that I will probably not have enough yarn to make the collar and bottom band.  I had 18 skeins of Naturally Caron Country  and have already used 12 for the body of the coat.  My rules of thumb is that one side front equals one sleeve and I’m just barely there.

To give you some idea of what I had planned, I made a very amateur drawing of my design.  I ordered a 25″ red separating zipper for the center front and thought that I would put two tabs with buttons–one at the collar and one at the bottom band.  I found some nice buttons at JoAnns.

Now it appears as if I have two choices.  I can either turn the whole project into a sleeveless jacket or choose another way to make the collar and bottom band.  I’ve decided to try something I have always wanted to do–marry crochet fabric with woven fabric.  I think I’ll look for fabric that matches the color of my yarn and use this to make the collar and bottom band.  I have some beautiful red sateen on hand that matches exactly but I think that it is too dressy for this application.  Perhaps some micro-suede or corduroy? 

I’m still working on the sleeves and this whole project is taking a while because of my sore wrist and the small hook that I am using but I promise that I will produce a free pattern for this once I am finished.  I will give directions for the crocheted collar and bottom band as well as for the sewn version.  Stay tuned…

 

Easter Napkins

It’s hard to find pretty spring napkins.  I decided to make my own and since I needed 8 of them, I thought I’d save some money in the process.  I was looking for a contemporary floral design that would match the peach colored raffia placemats I had purchased at Wal-Mart.  After an hour of intense searching at JoAnn Fabrics I finally settled on a fabric I liked.  But, oh my, how prices have changed since the last time I bought fabric by the yard!  At the risk of sounding like an old fogey, I was completely floored.  My chosen fabric was $9 a yard on sale!  At that price, 2 yards was all I wanted to buy.  Two yards would make 8 napkins measuring 18″ x 18″.  I know that’s a bit small for dinner but I keep my entertaining informal.  Of course when I began to measure and cut out the napkins, I found that the salesperson had cut my fabric an inch short.  Instead of driving the 15 miles back to the store, I just made the napkins slightly smaller.  I’m hoping to use these  often throughout the summer.