More Yubinuki

So I posted about the thimble rings I made for Christmas last year, but I've made a few since then just because I love them. Here. Look.

Alright, so I made this one before all the others. This was my... second yubinuki. I don't know if I still have the first one, to be honest. It's very slim and has adjusted to fit my finger really well. Not the most elegant, but it does the job and I love it.

This one is based on a video game called Ark. Open-world, dinosaurs, survival. Tons of frustrating, creative fun. I saw the logo and then thought "I could make that a thimble!" It's a little puffier than my blue one so it spaces my fingers weird. As a result, it's mostly for looks.

The 2019 Pantone Color of the Year is Coral. As an avid scuba diver, I love real coral, but I HATE the color that everyone associates with it. Not sure why. I think it's just a little too close to orange. Anyway, this was my coral piece for the year so that I could say I played along. The pattern chosen reminds me of an actual living piece of coral, and so I chose dark blue to set it against. Since I don't like the color, though, I haven't used this one as an actual thimble. It sits in a box.

I call this one "Toxic." Why? Because the dark purple, light purple, and green in it remind me of a trio of plants in the video game Skyrim. These three plants are all used to make poisons. The scaled look of the pattern reminded me of overlapping petals. It was my first full-silk-thread ring and I love looking at it.

And finally we have "Princess." Yes, because it is pink and purple. This one is also full-silk on the threads and was my first "weaving" project. It wasn't as scary as I thought it would be. In fact, the checkers took less time than the purple border! I carry this one around to show off or fiddle with and am the most proud of it. The edges didn't roll as they did with "Toxic," the threads are all evenly spaced... Of all the thimbles I've made, this one is my favorite.

I have one in the works now that was an experiment. It is the same pattern as the Ark thimble, but the thread is variegated and pastel-y. It is... not turning out great. I may cut the threads and re-use the base, to be honest. If I do finish, it will be called "Unicorn Fart."

Do you want to make your own? Check out The Adventurous Silversmith Blog's series on making a Yubinuki. You can also visit this older website, Ma Mercerie, which is where I learned.

Costume Idea - Apothecary Embroidery

I've had an idea in my head for YEARS at this point and I just haven't gotten around to making it. I'd like to make an "apothecary" ensemble. All the plans are in my sewing room except for these.

Around the bottom hem and maybe the front-or-back-edges, I would like to embroider things from some of my fandoms.

Dark Tower - Wingdings d

Lord of the Rings - white tree

Skyrim - Thieves guild Protected

Hobby (Sewing) - Needle and thread

Batman - Batman symbol

Claymore – Clare

SAO - Yui's tear

Hobbit - Acorn

D&D - d4

Beauty and the Beast - Rose

Peter Pan - 2 stars

Star Wars - Empire emblem

Guard, Diving, PotC - Crossed Dive and Pirate flags

Hedgehog

Sherlock - Smiley

Harry Potter - Deathly Hallows

Fairy Tail – Emblem

Coffee Bean

Avatar TLA - Water Tribe

Log Horizon - ??

Hayao Miyazaki - Kodama

WoW - Warlock emblem

Black Butler - Sebby seal

Firefly - ??

The Sims – Plumbob

Supernatural – Angel Banish

Tron - ??

Violet Evergarden - ??
Stardew Valley - Junimo

Incense Recipes to Try

Incense Recipes that I have found but not yet made.

All ingredients as powder, all yield in 2/3 teaspoon cones. Instructions here: https://phwoosh-crafts.blogspot.com/2019/09/incense-tips-and-3-recipes.html

Garden Incense
Makes ~10
3 t. lemongrass
1 1/2 t. rosemary
1 1/2 t. lavender
1 t. makko

Forest Incense
Makes ~5
2 t. rosemary
1 t. juniper berry
1/2 t. makko

Warmth Incense
Makes ~4
1/4 t. frankincense
1/4 t. cinnamon
1/2 t. sandalwood
1 t. lavender
1 t. rosemary

Sleepy Time Incense
Makes ~7
3 t. sandalwood
1/2 t. lavender
1/2 t. marjoram
1/2 t. makko

Sweet and Savory Incense
Makes ~4
1 t. lavender
1 t. cinnamon
1/4 t. sage
1/2 t. makko

Fruits of the Garden Incense
Makes ~10
1 1/4 t. rosemary
1 t. basil
1 t. thyme
1 t. lemongrass
1 t. bay
1 3/4 t. makko

Dye Glossary

I like to dye fabric. A lot. It is a huge amount of fun. I've got a cart with all the chemicals and dye colors and a folder full of instructions and notes. But what if I lose the notes? What if I need them when I'm not at home? Well... here they are.

Glossary

Odd Terms Used in Dying

Calsolene Oil: Caustic, used in Fiber Reactive process. Breaks the surface tension of the water to allow for a more even dye.

Citric Acid: Used in Acid process. Helps acid dyes exhaust and fix to the fabric

Dye, Acid: Used on protein fibers such as silk and wool. Usually obtained in a powdered format.

Dye, Fiber Reactive: Used on natural fibers such as cotton and linen. Usually obtained in a powdered format.

Dye Vat: A container used for dying. Should allow enough room for fabric to flow freely during the dye process.

Exhaust: Acid dying event. The dye adheres to the fibers of the fabric during the dye process and the water becomes clear.

Paste: The first step to dissolving dye powder. Add a small amount of water to the powder to moisten all of it before adding enough water to dissolve. Prevents clumps of undissolved dye.

Pre-wash: Fabrics to be dyed should be washed in hot water with textile detergent to remove oils and residues that would prevent dye from adhering to the fibers.

Salt, dyer’s: Used in Fiber Reactive process. Ground to a powder for effortless dissolving. Salt in the dye bath reduces the electronegativity of the fabric and the dye and allows the dye to attach to the fibers more readily. Iodized, non-iodized, and pickling salt are all acceptable forms of salt for dying. Sea salt not recommended due to extra minerals.

Salt, Glauber’s: Used in Fiber Reactive process. For colors marked T (color mix includes turquoise) on the color chart, use Glauber’s salt in place of Dyer’s salt.

Scouring (wool): The removal of grease, oils, and dirt from wool fibers. Accomplished by soaking wool in warm, soapy water for several hours and then rinsing.

Shock/Felt (wool): The process of agitating and adjusting the temperature of wool too quickly, causing the wool fibers to react on a microscopic level to create a dense mat of fiber.

Soda Ash: Caustic, used in Fiber Reactive process. Fixes (makes permanent) the dye on the fabric.

Textile Detergent: Used in pre-wash to remove oils, fingerprints, and residues that would cause a splotchy dye job. Used after dying to wash out excess dye molecules that did not bind with the fibers of the fabric. Textile detergent does not contain added fragrances or softeners, which would interfere with the dye process.

Urea: A moisture drawing agent used to help fabric retain moisture during the curing process. Also used as a dissolving agent for pasting dye.

Vinegar: See Citric Acid

Dye Instructions - Acid Dye

I like to dye fabric. A lot. It is a huge amount of fun. I've got a cart with all the chemicals and dye colors and a folder full of instructions and notes. But what if I lose the notes? What if I need them when I'm not at home? Well... here they are.

Acid Dye Process

Silk, Wool*, and Nylon

1.      Pre-wash fabric in hot water with textile detergent.

™ ¼ cup detergent per load.

™ Some wools will require scouring.

2.      Fill the dye vat with warm water – 150 to 180 degrees Fahrenheit (F).

™ Silk chiffons do not take much space, and the “vat” can be a pot on the stove.

™ Do not dye more than 3.5 pounds of raw silk at once.

3.      Soak the fabric in water.

4.      Dissolve the dye in hot water.

™ Water should be at least 180 degrees F. May be boiling.

™ Use a small amount of water to wet the powder first, then add more water until dye is dissolved.

5.      Add the dissolved dye to the dye vat and stir.

6.      Add the fabric to the dye vat and stir frequently for 3-7 minutes.

7.      Raise the temperature.

™ 186 degrees F for silk.

™ 200 degrees F for wool – do not boil!

8.      Add vinegar OR dissolved citric acid to the dye bath.

™ Move the fabric to the side, pour in the vinegar/citric acid, stir the water, and then stir in the fabric.

9.      Maintain temperature and stir frequently for 30 minutes to 1 hour, or until the dye is exhausted.

™ The longer the fabric is in the vat, the deeper the colors.

™ If the dye is not exhausting, add more vinegar/citric acid, or a little salt.

10. Rinse in cool water until it runs almost clear.

11. Wash the fabric in cold or warm water with ¼ cup of textile detergent.

™ Never wash acid-dyed fabric in hot water as it will cause the colors to fade rapidly.

* Wool can shock and felt with abrupt temperature changes. If dying wool, gradually heat and cool the dye bath, and stir gently.

How Much Do I Use Per 1 pound of Dry Fabric?
Dye	1.5-2% of the weight of the fabric*
Citric Acid	1 TBSP
Vinegar	¼ cup

*Not an accurate method, but used by Dharma Trading Company. Less dye for lighter colors, more dye for darker colors. For Navy and Black, use 4% of the fabric weight.

Dye Instructions - Fiber Reactive

I like to dye fabric. A lot. It is a huge amount of fun. I've got a cart with all the chemicals and dye colors and a folder full of instructions and notes. But what if I lose the notes? What if I need them when I'm not at home? Well... here they are.

Fiber Reactive Dye Process

Cotton, Linen, and Rayon

1.      Pre-wash fabric in hot water with textile detergent.

™ ¼ cup detergent per load.

2.      Fill the dye vat with warm water.

™ I use a turkey fryer to warm the water while it is in the vat.

3.      Soak the fabric in water.

™ Combine with step 2 to get enough water and soak the fabric. Remove fabric from vat before step 4.

4.      Dissolve the dye in warm (not boiling) water.

™ Use a small amount of water to wet the powder first, then gradually add more water until dye is dissolved.

™ Some colors can be hard to dissolve (especially reds). Use warm water with 1 TBSP urea dissolved in it to paste these colors.

5.      Add the dissolved dye to the dye vat and stir.

6.      Add the required amount of salt to the vat and stir to dissolve.

7.      Add calsolene oil.

8.      Add wet fabric.

9.      Stir gently but frequently for 20 minutes.

10. Dissolve soda ash in warm water.

™ Best done gradually – a little soda ash, a little warm water, a little more ash, etc. The hotter the water the better.

11. Gradually add the soda ash water to the vat.

™ This should take about 15 minutes.

™ DO NOT POUR DIRECTLY ONTO FABRIC! Move the fabric to the side, pour in some of the ash-water, stir the water, and then stir in the fabric. Repeat as needed.

12. Stir frequently for 30 minutes to 1 hour.

™ The longer the fabric is in the vat, the deeper the colors.

13. Rinse fabric in cool water until it runs almost clear, or run through 2-3 rinse cycles in the washing machine.

14. Wash fabric in hot water with textile detergent.

™ For darker colors like black or red, a second wash may be necessary.

How Much Do I Use Per 1 pound of Dry Fabric?
Dye	See Dye Yields chart***
Salt	3 cups
Calsolene Oil	2 tsp
Soda Ash	1/3 cup

*** Chart on Dharma Trading Company website: https://www.dharmatrading.com/techniques/fiber-reactive-dye-yields-estimator-tool.html

Tailor's Ham and Sausage & Corner Clipping Guide

I'm getting a new iron (eventually) and having the right tools to use with it sounds nice. To that end, I'm going to make a tailor's ham and sausage for pressing odd seams. Eventually.

I found this link with great patterns: https://www.tillyandthebuttons.com/2012/08/how-to-make-tailors-hams-and-sausages.html

Instructions from a myriad of sources boil down to this:

1. Cut:
- 1 of cotton or linen
- 1 of wool
- 2 of closely-woven fabric (i.e. muslin)
2. Sew darts in all pieces.
3. Layer:
- Face up 1 closely-woven
- Face up wool
- Face down cotton/linen
- Face down 1 closely-woven
4. Pin around edges.
5. Stitch around edges leaving a gap for turning.
6. Clip curves.
7. Turn.
8. Stuff extremely firmly with sawdust/wood shavings.
9. Ladder-stitch opening closed.

Cotton/linen is to be used for pressing, that's right, cotton and linen fabric. Wool is likewise used for pressing wool fabric. Something about not making wool "shiny." Muslin is layered inside that to keep the sawdust from pushing out through the outer fabric.

I have scraps of wool fabric and muslin in my stash from the Dharma scrap bag sales, and a bunch of cute quilting cotton prints for the "top" side. Now to find a source for sawdust and/or wood shavings. I can either bother my dad for dust from his shop, or others have suggested wood shavings from a pet store. I won't need the amount that the pet store is going to sell me, so hopefully my dad has some.

Here is a handy visual guide to clipping corners:

Taken from this .PDF document.

Costume Idea - Bombshell Ursula

Halloween is coming!

Idea: Bombshell/Pinup Ursula

Dress:
- McCall's 7507
-----Sweetheart Neckline
-----Yoke (purple silk chiffon)** Lavender poly-chiffon from stash
-----Add sleeves from "overbodice" to yoke - do not scallop (purple silk chiffon same fabric as yoke)

- Knee-length circle skirt

- https://www.fabric.com/buy/0337432/polyester-spandex-lame-jersey-knit-matte-black  out of stock
- https://www.fabric.com/buy/0660716/faux-leather-legging-black OR https://www.hobbylobby.com/Fabric-Sewing/Special-Occasion-Fabrics/Lame-Fabric/Black-Warp-Lame-Fabric/p/49053- 4 yards
- https://www.fabric.com/buy/0450609/foil-lame-knit-spandex-black - Hobby Lobby option ran like crazy when stretched. Found this stretch lame cheaper than the faux leather, which is great because shipping is outrageous. Ordered 4.5 yards.

**Dye fabric for yoke from silk scraps and dye stock.

Accessories:

- Petticoat - https://www.amazon.com/Shimaly-Vintage-Rockabilly-Petticoat-Underskirt/dp/B01L5U1E9O/ref=sr_1_7?keywords=purple%2Bpetticoat&qid=1567789760&s=gateway&sr=8-7&th=1&psc=1 Out of stock & no Prime shipping. This one instead: https://www.amazon.com/Babyonlinedress-Layers-Homecoming-Fomral-Purple/dp/B01M0HESG3/ref=sr_1_5?dchild=1&keywords=purple+petticoat&psc=1&qid=1571411340&refinements=p_85%3A2470955011&rnid=2470954011&rps=1&sr=8-5
- Purple tights ($6 @ local party supply store)

- Black heels

- White wig
-----Style help on Firekeeper wig from sister?
-----$10 wigs at Michael's craft stores
- Seashell necklace - Hobby Lobby? Purchased pendant or find a shell and paint it. - Found a shell!
- Blue eyeshadow, red lips, dark everything else on makeup.
- Press-on nails painted to match lips

Estimated total cost: $52.74

Later add-ons?
- Flesh-colored tulle panel for back of dress. Embroider shell with two eels wrapped around it in a bed of seaweed?

Incense Links

While looking for recipes for incense as a jumping-off point, I found the following:

Great for how to make incense, the different types, scent profiles, etc.: https://incensemaking.com/incense-recipes.htm

Two recipes that look fantastic: https://learningherbs.com/remedies-recipes/how-to-make-incense/

Collection of recipes: http://www.starfirescircle.com/incense

Collection of recipes with substitutes list. A personal incense journal with notes: http://www.angelfire.com/me4/sooth/recipes.html

Collection of recipes. Hard to read due to colors. Highlight page to read: http://www.angelfire.com/goth2/deathomen/witchcraft/incense_recipes.htm

Christmas Yubinuki 2018

In 2018, my spouse and I went to Colorado for Christmas to spend it with his family. His entire family. Because there were so  many people, it was impractical to try and buy for everyone let alone transport everything 1,000 miles, so I decided to make gifts for all the ladies.

I decided on Yubinuki and matching cases.

You may not have seen one of my test-pages at the start of the blog, but it was about this craft. Here. Check it out.

Moving on now that you know a little about it... There were nine ladies there, so that means nine rings (wait, are these Nazgul?!) and nine cases. Here are the rings.

They were secured inside their cases with a necklace cord (because not everyone needs a thimble, and these make adorable little beads)

Now, what's this about cases? These little things have been called all sorts of things. I refer to them as "pips" or "cases."

Have fun matching up which one went with which thimble!

I also wanted to make one for my mom. Hers didn't match because she loves pumpkins and the color pink too much to decide between either.

Do you want to make your own? Check out The Adventurous Silversmith Blog's series on making a Yubinuki. You can also visit this older website, Ma Mercerie, which is where I learned.

Incense Tips and 3 Recipes

Incense is a ton of fun to make. You get to get your hands messy and smell all sorts of good things. I've pulled sage and rosemary and lemongrass and mint from the garden to dry and use, but you can order materials online with no problem.

Grinding materials down into powder can be tedious or therapeutic, so keep an herb grinder on hand (i.e. a cheap coffee grinder from Amazon) for those days you just aren't feeling it.

How to make incense:
1. Measure all your powders into a glass bowl.
2. Mix powders.
3. Add just enough purified water that the powders form a dough. Think Play-Doh.
4. Pinch off 2/3 teaspoon of incense dough and shape into a cone.
5. Dry 5-10 days, turning occasionally.
6. Burn incense cones 1-at-a-time in heat-safe bowl of sand.

Recipe 1 - Sandalwood
Makes ~4 cones
2 t. sandalwood powder
1 t. makko powder

Recipe 2 - Sweet Summer
Makes ~7 cones
2 t. lavender powder
1 t. rose petal powder
1 t. sandalwood powder
1 t. makko powder

Recipe 3 - Spring Woods
Makes ~13 cones
1 t. lavender powder
1 t. rosemary powder
1/2 t rose petal powder
5 t. sandalwood powder
1 1/3 t. makko powder
(currently waiting for this one to dry)

Recipe 4 - Four Thieves
Makes ~10 cones
1 t. lavender powder
1 t. rosemary powder
1 t. thyme powder
1 t. sage powder
1 t. mint powder
1 t. sandalwood powder
1 t. makko powder
(have not made - want to keep recipe handy)

Notes:
- Sandalwood is an endangered plant. Find alternatives if possible.
- Rose petals are a pain to powder by hand. Buzz in a grinder or order from reputable source.
- To calculate yield: add amount of all ingredients then divide by 2/3 (or .66 if you like decimals more). Example: Recipe 1 -- (2+1) / .66 = 4.55

Image Test

And now we will see what images look like on this blog. Here. Look at this checkered Yubinuki that I made.

A Yubinuki, or Japanese Thimble Ring.

A Yubinuki is a thimble that is worn on the middle finger on or just after the first knuckle. The finger is crooked and used to push the needle through the sewing medium. When pushing, the eye of the needle rests between the threads and does not slip around.

Yubinuki are traditionally made from bias-cut fabric, paper, silk wadding, and silk thread. I have made several with cotton embroidery floss and padded with a strip of felt and plastic "guts." The thimble pictured, however, is made with all the traditional ingredients.

For more information, visit The Adventurous Silversmith Blog's series on making a Yubinuki. You can also visit this older website, Ma Mercerie.

Testing

When Summer warms the hanging fruit and burns the berry brown;
When straw is gold, and ear is white, and harvest comes to town;
When honey spills, and apple swells, though wind be in the West,
I'll linger here beneath the Sun, because my land is best!

Excerpt from The Ent and the Ent-Wife
J.R.R. Tolkien