Barbie knits

Another way of making use for yarn leftovers is knitting dresses for Barbie. Here you have a great site for free patterns in Swedish, English, Dutch, French, Danish, Norwigan and Spanish!

On the wedding dress: silk shawl for maid of honour

I'm making another wedding shawl, this one is for K. She has found the perfect dress, a midnight blue with silver embroidery on front and back, so this shawl gets midnight blue beads. The model gets nicer with contrasting beads (my shawls has transparent beads), and since I know the pattern by heart now, perhaps I should ask if we can trade them... :)

I've recently finished two very different books:

The first is "Make your own dress patterns" by Adele Margolis. I thought is would be all about dresses, but she went through how to contruct patterns for all kinds of clothing. It's not "fun" reading but very helpful reading. The new knowledge it gave me will be of good help when I make the lace "cover" for my wedding dress!

The other book is "Opening Skinner's Box" by Lauren Slater which is an absolute amazing reading for everybody about big psychological experiments of the 20th century.

On the wedding dress: silk shawl

I finished one vital part for my weddin outfit, the shawl for church (the dress has bare shoulders plus the wedding is in April). I used a pattern from Vogue knitting vinter spring 2007/2008 with one strand raw silk and one strand silver thread. The beads (that are white chrystal and not really visible on the pics) are added to a thin crochet hook and then slided on the stich before it is knitted. Maybe I will make one for my maid of honour too, with blue beads in the squares. What to you think K? :)



And here I am, VERY comfy in my favorite corner where no one else can sit but me bc it so full with yarn and stuff. And just so that you now, Midsumer Murders is the best series to watch while making a wedding shawl. Or any shawl. ;)

On the wedding dress: dress pattern

I've been working on the pattern for the wedding dress making an evening dress with the same pattern, just to see how it works. Wearing the dress gave me ideas of changes I need to make on the pattern.













First I made a dress in sheets making adjustments to fit. Then I cut the sheet dress in the seams to use it as a pattern when I cut the fabric.

I finished the dress with an edge of blach velvet and a thin black ribbon belt. I used it for Christmas lunch at work and realized I had to fasten the lining in the fabric since it tended to drag the zipper top into my back. Not very comfy. After wearing it on my birthday a realized that I have to make the top edge a bit tighter to prevent the dress to slide down after a days wear and maybe shorten the waist section. Only a centimeter sliding down will otherwise make not so pretty folds around the waist.

Thanks to C for lending me her fitting doll!!!! It makes my work so much easier.

Christmas stuff

I've been a bad blogger during December being busy making Christmas stuff. Here are some of it:

A Christmas "plate" with flowers, candle holders, cinnamon pieces and decorations.





Christmas oranges with clove and red ribbons just like I used to make them when I was a kid.


Candle wired with beads on a wire


Christmas reef decorated with tinsel and a little santa. Tinsel is tricky to get in a picture...







Advent candelstick with different kinds of nuts, chrystals and small silver ornaments.