BOW HAIR CLIP

When I saw a tutorial on how to make a bow-tie on A Beautiful Mess, I instantly remembered the left-over fabric from my zippered pouch (which I haven't shared yet, must do soon!).  But since there is no man around me that would appreciate a bow-tie, I made a sweet little hair-clip for myself.

How to make a Bow Tie ~ A Beautiful Mess

As you can clearly see from the photos, the construction is quite easy. I only attached a barrete, instead of a bow-tie clip; and made the central piece a little wider. And then showed off with my new accessory all weekend, accepting quite a little compliments ;)

So, Yay! for the talented ladies over at A Beautiful Mess!...

CABLE KNIT HEADBAND

These cable knit headbands are my latest addiction. I have first seen them in a book and knitted one for myself. Then forgot all about it and gave the book back to the library without copying the diagram. Then my cousin and a couple of friends loved my headband and asked me to make one for them each. Only then I remembered I didn't have the diagram anymore.

So I took the prototype, checked it for hours (literally, I'm not much of a knitting guru) and came up with more or less a similar pattern, all by myself (cheers!). 

Cable knit may seem difficult at first glance but once you get a grip, it goes on smoothly and you don't even have to check the diagram anymore. But if you are a beginner level knitter, you may just want to practice with some left over yarn first and then move on to the real thing!

So, first cast on 28 stitches and rib stitch the first row (1 knit, 1 purl, .... and so on). Then, repeat the following diagram until the headband reaches the desired length (~50-52 cm). By the way, I almost always slip the first stitch of each row to have a neater edge. 

Cable knit headband diagram

Well, I'm sure experienced knitters will grasp it at a glance but for those inexperienced ones just like myself: Odd numbered rows (1 ,3 ,5 ,7) are on the front; and even numbered ones (2, 4, 6, 8) are on the back side. So, when you're knitting the front, you should go from right-to-left; and when knitting the back, from left-to-right.

Once you reach the desired length, cast off by knitting two stitches together and always transfering that knitted stitch to the left needle...

And sew the two ends together by using the tail with a yarn needle. You may finish your headband at this point; but if you want a fancier one, you can gather the seam to resemble a bow.

If you want even a fancier one, you can cast on another 15 stitches and make a rib stitched (1 knit-1 purl...) piece to cover the bow area and decorate it with a cute button. And wrap this piece around the headband.

So you have 3 alternatives for a headband from a very plain one (if you call cable knit plain!) to a very fancy one. You can finish it in front of the TV in a couple of nights and show off with it! But I must warn you: Be prepared for some requests from family and friends :o)

TIPS ON SEWİNG WITH FAUX LEATHER

Since I have a trial-and-error way in sewing generally, I thought it would be nice to share my experiences. So here are my tips on sewing with faux leather, that I used when I was sewing my fancy faux leather shorts I told about earlier.

- First thing first, before sewing anything, I lowered the tension (A: from 4 to 3); and increased the stitch length (B: from 2.5 to 3).
.

Settings for A: Tension and B: Stitch length (for Pfaff Hobby 1042)

- Then I started playing around with scraps of faux leather. And realized to my surprise that, when sewing from the back -since it was already interfaced- it was no more problematic/different than sewing with any other fabric.
.

Sewing from the wrong (C) and right (D) sides of the fabric

- The tricky part comes when trying to sew from the right side. Since the presser foot can not slide the fabric satisfactorily, stitches become sloppy (E).
.

Seam without (E) and with (F) a strip of pattern paper

- There were a number of solutions to prevent this and one was to apply machine oil to the seam line. But I am quite a clumsy girl and thought this was not my cup of tea. Another one was to shed some talc/baby powder; but I was afraid it could mess up my beloved sewing machine. So I opted on feeding a strip of pattern paper over the fabric and sewing them together (F). I can not express enough how easy and neat it was.
.

Sewing with a strip of pattern paper 

- And last but not least, since you can not pin/baste faux leather (because these would leave unwanted holes), I used bobby pins to temporarily attach the pieces together. Paper clips was another idea but I unfortunately did not have any at home.
.

Well, there were also recommendations about sewing with a thicker needle, but since my fabric was no more thicker than a regular one, I didn't change my needle (90/14). But if I would sew with a thicker faux leather or genuine leather (which I'm not sure my Hobby series machine would endure) I would for sure follow this advice.

So would you like to add something I didn't cover? Because now I'd like to sew a clutch to go with my shorts and could definitely use some more tips!