Tag Archives: Art and Crafts

Encompasses not only attempts to make things, but also appreciation of beautiful things.

Too Big, Too Small, Just Right?–trying to sew a copy of my favorite fleece hat

Posted on by
Reply

I like hats.

In the summer, I usually choose a woven straw gardening hat. I like the fact that the weave doesn’t completely block my upward vision. I prefer a hat with a smallish brim–large enough to partially shade my face (and especially my nose), but not so large that it gets in the way.

In winter, I want a warm hat. I used to walk outside more in winter, so my favorite hat was the kind that is woolly or fleecy with earflaps. It looked all right and it kept my ears warm. But several years ago I found a fleece hat with a brim that I really liked, and I have been wearing that instead except when the weather is very cold.

Maroon fleece hat with upturned brim.
My favorite winter hat.

It has a matching fleece “flower” and can be worn with the brim tilted up or down. With the brim down, it rather resembles a cloche.

Maroon fleece hat with downturned brim
My favorite winter hat, cloche style.

I thought I would try to duplicate the hat in different colors of fleece. It is composed of two layers for the brim, two layers for the sides, and one layer for the top. I measured it carefully and found some yellow fleece left over from a previous project. As I tried to work out the size of the brim, it occurred to me that perhaps the makers of the hat tried to save on fabric by cutting one of the brim pieces right around the circular top piece. I decided to try making the curve of the brim not much different from the top. I didn’t have the sewing machine out right then, so I mostly basted it together by hand. After all, I didn’t know if it would actually fit.

Yellow fleece hat with brim that is mostly horizontal.
Too big.

It wasn’t quite what I was after. Clearly 1/2″ seam allowance was much too bulky, and I didn’t want the brim to be quite so horizontal after all. But it wasn’t bad. So I took my careful measurements, did a lot of calculations to figure out how I could get an interior curve of so many inches and an exterior curve of so many other inches. Solving equations with two variables came into play.

Not content with changing one part of the pattern (and the seam allowances), I tried to make the top a bit smaller in the hope of making it look rounder. I also tried using black satin as the inner side piece, with the thought that it would slide on and off nicely.

Yellow and black fleece hat with downturned brim.
Too small.
Yellow and black fleece hat with upturned brim.
Maybe better this worn this way, but still too small.

Nope. The crown looked (and felt!) noticeably too small, and the brim was almost vertical. There is a nice style of hat with such a turned-up brim, but it wasn’t the style I was after.

Also, I discovered that the second layer of fleece on the sides helps give the hat structure. If I ever use a thinner fabric for the inside, I should add some interfacing to give it a bit more stiffness.

So eventually, some weeks later, I decided to try again. The first hat was too big (and horizontal) and the second was too small (and vertical). Surely something in between would be just right!

I drew a different curve for the brim somewhere in between the first two and used the larger pieces for sides and top.

Pattern pieces for hat and pieces cut from pink fleece.
The pieces of the pattern.
Pink fleece hat with mostly horizontal brim.
The third try.

Was it just right?

Nope.

The brim was still much too horizontal, and, in part because of the narrower seam allowances, the sides were way too tall and the top too large.

What are the take-home messages here? First, it is hard to accurately measure a fleece hat. Second, seemingly small changes can have significant effects… and yet, other changes make surprisingly less difference than one might expect. (Fleece is very stretchy.) Third, a walking foot is a fantastic thing to have when sewing fleece by machine.

I have quite a lot of lime green fleece that my daughter was going to use for a project years ago. After I’ve had time to recover from my pink-hat disappointment, there will likely be a hat #4 in lime green. Who knows, maybe that one will be Just Right.

Till next post.

Interlacing, Transforming, and Curious Perspectives–wonderful tricks in art

Posted on by
Reply



I was trying the Zentangle ® step-out (step-by-step instructions for drawing a pattern) for the tangle “F2F” or “Fringe to Fringe”, and it occurred to me that someone who creates one tangle that appeals to me may have created others. So I tried looking up Tomas Padros to see what other tangles he might have created.  (Apologies for failing to get the accents over the first “a” and second “o” in his name.)

 
I found his instagram page, with all sorts of fascinating drawings on it. This brought to mind M. C. Escher and some of the things I like about his drawings: things that go under and over each other, transformation from one repeated shape to a different one, and curious perspectives.
 
What is it about these features that is so appealing? 
 
 
 
The appeal of curious perspectives is perhaps the easiest to explain. Escher has his impossible waterfalls, his stairs that seem to defy gravity, which trigger a sense of “what the heck?” and an urge to look more closely. I’m not sure if Tomas Padros has any impossible drawings, but some of his designs give me a similar sensation of fascinated bewilderment.
 
 
 
The appeal of transformation seems the next easiest to explain. Escher is famous for art in which fish transform into birds, or dark birds in daytime become white birds at night. In other Escher works, simple repeated shapes gradually become detailed drawings of animals.
 
 
I think the fun is in seeing first the contrast between the two extremes, and then following, step by step, the changes that lead inexorably from one to the other. In Padros’ case, he combines and contrasts related tangles, and variations on them, in ways that suggest transformation.
 
 
Finally, what is it about patterns that interlace, entwine, and basically go over and under themselves? I love basket-weave patterns, Celtic knots, and the Hollibaugh tangle. Why?
 
 
It’s hard to say. These over-and-under patterns create an interesting sense of depth, for one. And perhaps by “hiding” parts of the design (those parts don’t actually exist, but it feels as though they do, somewhere out of sight) it appeals to the part of me that likes secrets and hidden connections between things. Clearly Padros likes patterns that interlace, too. And while I don’t think there is as much emphasis on interlacing and overlapping in Escher, there is certainly some.
 
 
In summary, it’s amazing what effects can be created with pen and paper (or printmaking.) Amazing and wonderful.
 
 
Till next post.
 

The Diva’s Challenge #373 and Diversifying One’s Hobbies

Posted on by
1


This week, the Diva challenged everyone to draw a tangle using their non-dominant hand. This was, admittedly, a bit frustrating. It’s so much easier to control a pen with my usual hand. The results are a lot better, too.
A Zentangle Diva's Challenge #373 done with non-dominant hand
The Diva’s Challenge #373
On the other hand, it reminded me of something that’s been on my mind off and on for several years. We don’t know what the future holds for us. More specifically, we don’t know what capacities we may lose as time goes by.
What if I lost the use of my right (dominant) hand? I would haveto use the other hand to draw. It’s good to know that I can manage some sort of drawing with my left, if I have to. But it would be very distressing, nonetheless, as so many of my hobbies involve work with my hands.
Most of my hobbies also involve my eyes. So I ask myself, if I couldn’t see very well, what would I do for entertainment? I like music, but it isn’t a big part of my life. I could still listen to books, thankfully, though I find listening to books slow and rather frustrating since I can’t flip back easily to check earlier details. (This is especially awkward for mysteries.) I could still go for walks and I could still enjoy gardening to some degree, since I’ve always been interested as much in the scents of plants as in their appearance.
Other people have different hobbies that require different capacities. For people who love to go hiking or rafting, being unable to use their arms or legs well would take away a source of joy. Other people would hate to lose music. And for people who love to cook, losing their sense of taste would also mean losing a favorite activity—how can you enjoy cooking a new recipe if you can’t taste it?
My point is that I would be wise to cultivate some hobbies that don’t use exactly the same capacities that most of my other hobbies do. Maybe I should cultivate more large-motor activities, in case my fine-motor skills deteriorate some day. Maybe I should take more of an interest in music, or in conversation, in case my eyes give me trouble.
There is also the possibility that some day my cognitive skills will deteriorate (may that day be FAR away.) I will still have time to fill. Perhaps, in that case, familiar, simple tasks would be soothing.
What might these be? Knitting an endless scarf in garter stitch? Doing simple jigsaw puzzles? Peeling potatoes, maybe, as I remember Grandpere doing when he was no longer capable of cooking on his own? It seemed to me that he felt better when he was contributing in some way. Perhaps I should find out what activities people can generally manage in this situation and cultivate some of them. You can’t peel potatoes automatically if you haven’t peeled a whole lot of potatoes beforehand with attention.
Someone whose name I can’t remember came up with a chart that categorized activities as high- or low-energy, and high or low in sociability. His point (I think it was a he) was that people should cultivate some activities that fall into each of these four groups. Sometimes people’s energy levels will be low, in which case reading (low sociability) and doing jigsaw puzzles with other people (high sociability) might be good options. Or their energy levels might be fine, but there aren’t a lot of people to do things with, so they need some activities they can do by themselves, like going for a walk.
The recommendation was aimed at older people, but when you think about it, it’s a good idea at any age. I’m suggesting here that it just doesn’t go far enough.
Till next post.