Pleased to announce that the digital pattern and instructions for making this easy fitted face mask are now available for instant download in my Etsy shop here: Easy Fitted Mask Sewing Pattern.
Like the fabric you see above? You can buy the fabric to make these face masks by the yard from my Spoonflower shop here: Guy Fawkes Masks Face Masks. Just cut along the lines and sew.
Blue Yarn Over-Dyed with Tea: Before and After
This week I have been doing some yarn dyeing, also called tea-staining, in my home kitchen. My favorite yarn for knitting socks is Elann yarn company’s Esprit. Using tea and salt, I over-dyed two balls in their French Navy colourway to give it more variation and subtlety.
You can use this recipe on cotton yarn or fabric and achieve a tea stain that will be moderately colourfast.
Yarn: I used two 50g balls of cotton/elastane Elann Esprit
4 cups boiling water
8 tea bags: I used PG Tips black tea because it brews up strong
1/4 cup salt (I use non-iodized salt for dyeing, but it’s not absolutely essential that it be iodine-free)
A heat-proof container to hold the boiling water and salt
A baking sheet with a 1” lip
Aluminum foil to cover the baking sheet
An oven or other long-term, consistent heat source
Dry Yarn Prepped into Skeins and Ready to Dye
Boil the water, add the tea bags, let steep until you have very dark tea, remove the tea bags and discard them.
Dissolve the salt in the tea.
Prepare the yarn for dyeing: I unwound the balls and made skeins. Like anything, you will be more likely to get more saturated color if you pre-wash the yarn to get any sizing or dye residue leftover from the manufacturing process. I did not pre-wash mine because I was over-dyeing yarn that was already dyed and not expecting a great deal of coloration from the tea (when using actual dyes and undyed yarn, I do recommend a pre-wash). If you want the tea stain on your yarn to be evenly distributed, at the very least wet your yarn with cold water (I wanted more variation, so I started with dry yarn).
Yarn Soaking in Tea and Salt Solution
4. Lay out your yarn in the baking sheet. Pour the tea and salt mixture over the yarn. Cover with the aluminum foil and let sit at room temperature for 24 hours.
Cover with Aluminum Foil and Let Sit for 24 Hours
Tea-Dyed Yarn, Ready to Hang Dry, Wash, and Repeat
5. Uncover the yarn and let it sit in the oven (or other relatively warm place) with the heat set on low and the oven door open (if you don’t want the oven to heat the room, turn it off and close it to keep the yarn warm). The application of heat is to help the fibers take up the color of the tea better, so the more slowly the yarn dries, the better. Mine was still quite damp after 4 1/2 hours. If you’re leaving the oven on, check the yarn every 45 minutes to make sure it’s not drying out—you don’t want to burn it, just keep it warm.
6. Next, let cool uncovered at room temperature. Hang to dry, then rinse thoroughly until the water runs clear. Hang to dry again, and your yarn will be ready for use.
Here are two different socks, knitted from the blue yarn as-is (below, left) and knitted from the tea-stained yarn (below, right):
Image: Sock knitted from commercially-dyed yarn (Before)
Image: Sock knitted from commercially-dyed yarn, over-dyed with tea (After)
When life gives you scraps, make a quilt.
How’s everyone doing with this quarantine thing? I know, it’s a mixed bag. Me, I’m off work at the moment. I would love to be able to say that I’m using all my newfound free time to conduct scholarly research and write papers for publication (just one of my many ideas of fun). However, writing is on hold while I wait for some ergonomic home office supplies to arrive and my hand and wrist to heal (I did myself a mischief trying to work without them—wrist rests are important). In the meantime, I’m repairing this vintage 1970s quilt:
The appliquéd sunbursts have been coming unstitched. A stitch in time saves nine. Lucky for me I have the time.
Do you want to learn how to sew or quilt by hand? Both are relatively simple and do not require much to get started. Watch my demonstration videos below.
Each video has a supply list underneath and the only audio is music, so they are not captioned or subtitled. If you need resources for learning to sew for the blind or visually impaired, check out this page on sewing and clothing care from the Texas School for the Blind and Visually Impaired.
Supplies needed: fabric, needle, thread, scissors, and a thimble. Push the eye of needle with the finger that wears the thimble. I happen to guide the needle most with my left hand, but you can use your right hand and copy this technique if you prefer.
How to make quilting stitches by hand. Supplies needed: Fabrics, thread, thimble, and a short needle called a "quilting between." Again, I happen to guide the needle most with my left hand, but this technique can be copied with the right hand, if preferred.