T-Shirt Upcycling - The Knitter's Way

I started this project back in 2016, when I was quite into watching DIY videos on YouTube (especially sewing toturials). I had the idea of upcycling thrifted stuff, but with a certain knitting element :). I first tried the general idea on an old black T-Shirt I had, but the finished product had so many flaws so that it wasn't fit to be worn in public. But you learn from your mistakes, right?
So I started with a similar idea on a nice dotted t-shirt that I had bought at the thrift shop. However, it was a bit tight especially around the arms, so I decided to make it a bit wider by inserting a ribbon into the sideseams ... but this ribbon as well as a piece for the neckline are hand-knitted :)

This is NOT a tutorial, but just an explanation of the basic idea.

This work by Knitting and so on is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-ShareAlike 4.0 International License.




The Materials I Used

• an old T-shirt
• thin cotton yarn (fingering or sport weight)
• knitting needles the yarn calls for
• scissors and a seamripper
• sewing needle and thread 

How I Did It

• First I decided on the design. Since this piece had a low back that I didn't quite like, I decided to turn it around, but to include a knitted panel in front to make the neckline not quite as low.
• To get the measurements of the pieces to be knitted 
• I measured the distance from the bottom hem along the side seam to the end of the arm hem
• and with a piece of paper inserted into the front, I drew a semicircular shape that I'd need for the front piece - and cut that out (plus about 5mm seam allowance around the curve).
• Then I knitted the three pieces:
• two garter stitch ribbons (10 sts wide) that are as long as the measured distance from the bottom hem along the side seam to the end of the arm hem
• the semicircle (starting with a few stitches and increasing symmetrically)
• And I gently blocked my hand-knitted pieces.
• I seamripped the side seams of your T-shirt - including the underarm seam. 
• With a sewing needle and thread that matched my yarn I handstitched the knitted pieces to the T-Shirt (starting in 2016 ... and finishing just now :)

Even though I'm not completely happy with the result, I think the idea of combining T-shirts with hand-knitted elements has a certain potential. (T-shirts are also knitted, after all :). Plus, I think that upcycling (or reusing) old stuff is a good thing. But I guess before I achieve something that is wearable outside, I need to work on my sewing skills - e.g. learning to do this on a sewing machine ... and get over my "fear" of using a sewing machine on my hand-knitted pieces.
Have you ever combined hand-knitted (or hand-crocheted) pieces with cloth (jersey or woven)? If so, do you have any tips how to apply a sewing machine to hand-knitted pieces? I'd be grateful for anything helpful :)

Shaping Experiments

I always think that small projects - like potholders, washcloths and phone sleeves - are great for trying out new shapes and ideas. If they work they may lead to bigger design ideas. Last year for example, I had the idea to combine intarsia with short rows - I first tried this on a small piece (Citrus Fruit Potholders) but then also used it for a much bigger piece (Wedges Wrap). Also, the random lace idea started with a small e-book sleeve and led to two bigger scarfs (Random Lace Scarf and Random Bubbles Scarf)
Recently, I've started quite a few of these small projects. Unfortunately, I haven't finished any of them yet. Most (if not all) of them will be frogged, but for me at least they were experiments that I learned from. And I guess there are a couple of ideas that could be made to work.

This work by Knitting and so on is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-ShareAlike 4.0 International License.

• Lotus blossom (upper left-hand corner): I got the idea when I saw a stylized lotus blossom in an ad on the train and  thought that something knitted in that shape might be a lovely washcloth - perfect for a Mother's Day present. Unfortunately, it doesn't look quite the way I imagined it, so I will probably frog this piece and try it again. One of my knitting buddies even suggested that I might pursue the general idea further and make this into a shawl. 
• Red pepper/tomato (upper right hand corner): In the past, I've knitted quite a few food-themed potholders (e.g. egg or avocado- and pumpkin-shaped). So I wanted to add color to my potholder collection with something in red - and decided on a red pepper. My first attempt was a bit too narrow and the second one (in the photo above) a bit too wide and too irregular. (For naturally grown stuff small irregularities look good, but it's difficult to get it right :). This piece will definitely be frogged, but I will try this again soon.
• A slice of Emmental cheese (lower left-hand corner) - even though it's barely recognizable: When I asked on social media which other foodstuffs would be good themes for knitted potholders, one of my knitting buddies suggested cheese - including that this might include holes. The crumply yellow piece in the photo is my first attempt - and I'm not sure whether this is a worthwhile idea ...
• Spiral or snail shell (lower right hand corner): To get into the mood for summer, I wanted something with a certain "beachy" feeling, i.e. shaped as a conch that you might find on the each. So I tried to knit this spiral ... I do like how it works as a piece of knitting (and it could also be written as a lovely algorithm, but you need a nerdy kind of mind to appreciate that :). I hope that I manage to do this in two colors; it would complement my Seashell Coasters nicely.

Current WIPs

As usual, I have many works-in-progress (or WIPs for short) on my knitting needles. Most of them are my own ideas ... some of them will work and eventually been made into finished objects and patterns, some will be put in hibernation and maybe unearthed at a later date (usually slightly altered), and some will be frogged completely.
Here are the current ones that are most likely to be made into finished objects and maybe even patterns :)

1. Short row scarf with lace pattern inbetween - similar to the Mermaid's Garden Scarf, but not quite :) The yarn I used here is Schoppel Zauberball colorway Teezeremonie. Since the pattern is quite lacy it will look better after being blocked ...
2. The idea here, was to knit a hat completely without swatching, but with an interesting twist (or rather slant :) The finished shape was supposed to be similar  to a Pussy Hat. It took me five (yes, five!) attempts to get the closing vertical edge right(-ish) ... but it still is too roomy and slouchy to my liking. So at least the upper part will be frogged again and knitted differently - or maybe the complete hat ... (?) For this project I have used Lana Grossa Cool Wool Big Color.
3. Ever since I saw knitted pieces with square holes on the internet, I wanted to do something similar for myself - but of course without having to cut my yarn in the middle of a project. It took me quite a while to figure out how to knit them. Once you've grasped the idea this is great for mindless (TV, train etc.) knitting. When this piece is finished it will be a big wrap. The yarn I have used here is Wollmeise Lace.
4. After I had finished the Starburst Mitts in 2014, I thought it might be a good idea to do an opposite construction to them, i.e. to group the short rows around a point at your wrist or at the edge or your hand - instead of around the thumb. I gave up on the idea then, but at Christmas I tried them again. This time the shaping worked a bit better, but it still isn't quite right. But I guess I will finish these - if only just to see how they fit around my hands. It might just work once they are closed. Here I used some hand-dyed yarn from Frau Wo aus Po - leftovers of the yarn that I used for my Seitenstreifen Socks.

If you have any ideas for pattern names, please let me know. Choosing names is not my strong suit :)

Leftovers

When you knit a lot, you always have leftovers ... and it's usually difficult to find suitable projects for them. One idea is to use different leftovers (three at a time) and switching colors after each row. And once one skein is finished to replace it with the next one. This means that the colors are evenly distributed - and the unused yarn can be carried up easily after each row.
So I looked through my stash and picked all kinds of fingeringh weight yarns in different shades of blue. Than I started with a chevron pattern on a bias - with the plan of knitting a cowl (flat, starting with a provisional CO and finished by grafting).

I really liked it at the beginning, but I hadn't reckoned with the fact that my leftovers were a bit too long to achieve the sort of randomness that I had hoped for. So that nearly half of the piece is blue with turquoise, and the next half would be blue with another color inbetween - and I don't like the idea of two halves of my cowl being so different in color - mixed up would be OK but not with such a clear border. Also, I^ve started to think that the piece is not wide enough for my taste - even though I did a cast on of 100 stitches, only half of them make up the width.

Currently, I'm not sure whether I will continue this piece, frog it and start in the same color scheme but with 5 strands at the same time (and switching them after each row, but that's a yarn tangle waiting to happen), or whether I'll start something with different leftovers - chosen not only for their colors but also for their length :)

Unfinished Business

I haven't posted much lately ... this is partly due to the fact that I have started a new job (in real life and totally unrelated to knitting), but partly my own fault ... Even though I have knitted a lot in the last few weeks (see pictures below), I haven't felt up to the task to finish writing up a pattern.

Here's an overview of some of my current unfinished projects (roughly from left to right on the picture above):

• The huge purple thing in the upper left corner is supposed to be a poncho scarf combination (here's a picture of it on Instagram). It's made from bulky yarn which is something I don't usually knit with and I don't like how the lacy edging curls in. I guess it will be frogged - and I might pursue the general idea, but with a different edging and different (lighter weight) yarn.
• The orange-pink piece with holdes in the lower left hand corner is supposed to be a light summer scarf. It is constructed with short rows and BO/CO-holes and made with Wollmeise Pure yarn. If you want to see a close up (with a better view of the colors) it's here on my Instagram.
• The small half-moon shaped piece in pale mint (lying on top of the purple poncho) is a small swatch for a scarf/shrug combination. I will design a lower edging that does not curl in, but I guess it will work.
• The dark blue lacy piece is supposed to be a short row scarf, with lacy short rows. It somehow worked with the small swatches I knitted, but when kinitting a bigger piece the inner edge started to curl. That's why I added a garter stitch edge that is five stitches wide ... but I really don't like how it looks. Furthermore, the main idea (short rows in a lace pattern) is not visible at all. So I guess this piece will be frogged .
• The green trapezoid shaped piece is going to be another Waterfall Tunic, but with some fancy stitches at the side. The back piece is already finished. 
• Finally, the small crocheted piece in colors from pink to orange on the right is a crochet version of my Helix Mitts. Somebody on Ravelry asked whether I could do them in crochet and I am determined to finish them - including a written pattern - for autumn this year.

On the plus side, I have managed to finish some pieces - and quite a few of them will be made into patterns.

• On the upper part of the picture above there is a new knitted scarf. It is knitted from side to side with CO increases and decreases which gives it a staircase look. It is made from one skein of my new Wollmeise yarn, that I purchased a few weeks ago when I visited a friend in Bavaria. I have written a part of the pattern and (hopefully) I'll finish it over the weekend. I
• The black and white piece on the left hand side is going to be a cowl. It is knitted in intarsia technique with short rows. I've finished the written part of the pattern, but I still need to finish the chart (and maybe a helpful "shorthand" version). I also need to get some nice photos for it.
• The blue/white pair of fingerless gloves was finished earlier this year, and I really love the look and texture of them. I have started writing the pattern and some of the explanatory schematics have been drawn ... 
• The brown/beige pair is basically the same idea - only in crochet. And the pattern is half-written, half-illustrated, too.

If you know of any techniques that make me actually finish the things I started, please let me know. In real life deadlines work fine for me. But there aren't any deadlines for my blog and my knitting patterns ... (which is actually a good thing :)

Another Intarsia Experiment

After my last two intarsia knitting projects (Ice Maiden Cowl and Amplitude Cowl) I decided that it would be funny to take it up a notch, i.e. incorporating other design elements as well. And I decided to add some holes to the mix.

Here's what I came up with: A three-color design with a middle line that winds around small crescent shaped holes. I really like the effect around the middle line, but not the overall piece (yarn type, overall shape etc.). Therefore, the piece in the picture will be frogged, but the basic idea (i.e. wiggly line in the middle with the small holes) will be used in another project.

Attempt at Intarsia

Usually I'm not very good at knitting intarsia. I have two patterns on my blog that use this technique (Xmas Star Mitts and Cordillera Scarf), but it's not exactly my speciality.

That's why I was really surprised, when a photo of this attempt of an intarsia cowl got a huge amounts of likes on my Instagram account. To be honest, before it got this attention, I wasn't even sure whether I would go on knitting it or whether I would frog it ... But now, I guess I will finish it (and later publish the pattern). At least it's good practice for colorwork knitting and it's fun to knit :)

Trial and Error ... or the Right Yarn for the Right Pattern

I recently had a new idea for a knitting pattern - something modular again -  I'm really into modular knits these days. Since I had just bought three skeins of beautiful Bilum yarn (link to their Etsy shop) at SwissWulleFestival, I wanted to use it for this idea. However, after a few repeats it became clear, that the pattern wouldn't show up as I wanted it to do. So I frogged it. This pattern clearly needed something with a longer color gradient.

I intend to do a different kind of cowl with this lovely yarn - probably something with texture (bobbles or similar). But not now!

However, I really wanted a cowl in blue to match a new winter jacket I just bought. And since I am currently (far) away from my stash and from most of my scarfs and cowls, I went to a department store and searched for something appropriate.
I ended up buying variegated lace yarn (Merino Extrafine 285 by Schachenmayr, Ravelry link to the yarn) and tried again. I am happier with the look of it now, because the construction is more visible than before ... but I guess it could even be better with a Zauberball or something similar. But I guess I will finish it nonetheless - it feels lovely to the touch and I hope it will keep me warm.

Zauberball Tiling

Recently, when I thought again about what to do with my two skeins of Zauberball Fuchsienbeet. I had them lying around since I tried something with them last year which didn't exactly work out.

This time I wanted to try a (sort of) entrelac pattern, but with different sized patches. Even though the colors don't distribute as evenly as I would like them to, I really like how it looks. The pattern reminds me of parquetry or tiling. 

Sideways Top

Currently, instead of knitting small things like slippers or fingerless gloves, I like doing bigger projects, i.e. tops and sweaters. And since I don't like the finishing work on my knitting projects (i.e. assembling the pieces or weaving in ends) I have tried to design a sweater that can be knitted in one piece and that doesn't have to be sewn together in the end. I hope it will work.

Here's what it looks like so far.

Fishy or Birdy

Here's a picture of a little knitting experiment I started recently. It's a combination of modular knitting with a fringe of stacked stitches.

When I first posted pictures of this on my social media accounts people commented that it looked a bit like birds' wings. However, in my eyes it looks a bit too disheveled for a bird. It reminds me of something tentacular or maybe clinging seaweed - something from deep below the seas.

Anyway, the decision whether it looks "fishy" or "birdy" is only relevant for choosing an appropriate pattern name. So far, I haven't got a good idea, so I am grateful for suggestions.

Starry, Starry Mitts

I've never done anything with colorwork - and the attempt(s) I've made up to now are ...ehm ... well, let's say there is room for improvement. Basically, I couldn't knit colorwork to save my life ... :)

But I had this idea about a pair of fingerless gloves with a star around the thumb - knitted in the same direction as the Starburst Mitts. So I tried a few times and frogged a few times. However, the version I've got now seems to work, looks OK ... and the finished one even fits around may hand.

Studies in Topology 2

Not sure whether this can be used anywhere ... but I wanted to knit entwined rings (just not know if it can be done :)

I'm not quite satisfied with the result and there are a few things to figure out before I can use this idea within a pattern. However, it was fun to knit.

Horizontal Cables II

About a year ago, I experimented a bit with horizontal cables (see this blogpost) … at the time, this idea was prompted by a crochet pattern I saw on Ravelry: Comet by Tanja Oswald. However, I didn’t really like how my horizontal cables turned out and didn't have any idea on how to use it in a project.

That changed recently, when I started to knit yoga socks again – and tried to knit them sideways. After the simple sideways version, I tried a cabled one. This time, I'm happier with the look of my horizontal cables.

 

 

I guess I will knit a second one - with the colors mirror-inverted and see what they look like on my feet. 

 

What's more, I even have an idea for a name (usually my weak point :) ... So I might publish the pattern soon.

 

Random Lace - E-Book Sleeve

When my Dad bought a new ebook reader, I promised to make a new sleeve for it and bought some foam sheets to knit around them. However, While I was deciding what to knit, I remembered the beautiful lace patterns at String Geekery Blog, Some of them look so nice and organic, and I wanted to do something similar.

But I'm very lazy ... too lazy in fact to decide upon a pattern, to print it out and to count stitches and rows. So I decided to knit a completely random pattern, with yarn-overs, k2togs, double yarn-overs, p2togs, ssks etc.. I just had to make sure, that the number of stitches stayed the same.
Here's how it looked after a few centimeters. But even "real" lace patterns look a bit crumpled before blocking, so I persevered :)

After I blocked it and glued it around the foam sheet, it looked much better.

I started a second one that I even like better.

Moreover, I really think the random approach has potential and I like the organic look. Plus, it's really fun to knit. I'm trying to do a scarf or stole next.

I later googled at bit and found some resources on random lace knitting - a tutorial (also linked on Ravelry) and a book (that I haven't read, but according to the description at amazon it seems to pursue a similar approach).

New Construction Idea

Many of the mitts I designed over the last year or so, were constructed in a way that I didn't have to cut my yarn in the process. For me this is quite important, because

1. I don't especially like weaving in ends :)
2. I frog my stuff so often that it would be a waste to cut the yarn before I was sure that the knitted piece would stay in the shape it's currently in

However, when knitting with variegated yarn there are other considerations, too. I think it looks nicer when there is no "jump" in the color gradient, e.g. when you put the thumb stitches to a stitch holder and finish the mitt - and then when you attach the yarn to the thumb stitches the color just won't fit.
This is not exactly tragic, but when I got some new (variegated) sock yarn, I was determined to construct new mitts in a way that I wouldn't have to cut the yarn - which means either to start with the thumb or end with it.
I've already published a few patterns that match this description (e.g. Circle Mitts, Pieces of Eight Mitts, Zoom Out Fingerless Gloves), but it's more fun to construct something new. So, voilà, here's the new construction. A bit on the lines of the Zoom Out gloves, but with a different start.

 

So, all I need to do now is finish them, write up the pattern, get some nice photos and find a good name for them. Any name suggestions are welcome.

How to Use Yarn Leftovers

A while ago I had the idea to construct fingerless gloves from leftovers. I got a selection of fingering weight yarns in reddish colours - plus some grey and white to show off the red.

These mitts are constructed from stripes that are joined in the round contrasted with parts that are knitted in the round. I like the idea of knitting in different directions :)
I guess there will be five or four parts to make up one mitt, i.e. currently they aren't even half done ... but the idea is worth pursuing ... and I will probably write a tutorial.

Bandages ...

... or rather fingerless gloves that are knitted in a narrow strip that winds itself around the hands. I'm not sure whether the shape is perfect, but at least it works in principle.

Wrong Season

I know that it's the wrong season for mitts - or even fingerless gloves - at least on my hemisphere. But I had this idea for quite a while and really, really wanted to try it: Gloves that are knitted perpendicular to the thumb and all in one piece - the shaping is done with short rows. 

As with all prototypes, there is room for improvement, especially regarding the fit around the palm, but that will be sorted out ... eventually.

Studies in Topology

There are a lot of patterns available to crochet a spiral - for example this at Engineered Crochet. As with many other patterns, I'm always interested in doing something similar in knitting ... so I'm quite proud that I finally managed it. The trick is to only knit one side of the square at a time and to knit three rows per side.

 

Now I only (!) need an idea how to best include it into a pattern :)