Not that the work itself has taken a lot of time, I've just been doing other stuff. I love that it came out kind of like a modern hippie thing, all colors at once and quite weird and wonky.
There was supposed to be a picture of the needles here but someone (Pippin the fluffball) decided to lie on them when I had the camera out so, no. (Or rather, you can't really see them...)
After that it's assembly time! This, if ever, is the perfect time to bring out that massive crochet hook... like the one I have neatly put away in some good spot last summer and can't find. But, no worries, it works perfectly fine to just tie them together by hand!
Here it is!
The blanket is made from all those jersey tops and t-shirts that had so much holes and wear that they had been downgraded beyond the "slopping around at home"-pile. And since I am one of those people that have a slight inclination towards... um, hoarding I guess... well, I had a lot of them.
23 to be exact. Some were strap tops, so very little fabric there, and some were tunics. These made a very heavy thick blanket of circa 120*120 cm, when not stretched.
A little bit of How to, for those interested:
First of all, find your "yarn" and from there, pick the size of your project and what knitting needles to use. You can buy very thick yarn resembling fabric scraps and avoid the boring bit that is cutting the fabric, but at least here in Sweden, those yarns are ridiculously expensive.
Another idea if you don't save your crappy old t-shirts like I do, is to buy some lightweight jersey fabric (these are often very cheap / on sale when next seasons colors come in) and use for making the yarn!
Some of the tops I could tear instead of cut but mostly they are either woven in a way or have been washed and worn so much that they do not tear in any straight-ish lines at all.
If you decide to cut up old tops, there is no right or wrong way to make the yarn. I both tried cutting back and forth in a zigzag-pattern and starting from the bottom and cutting in a spiral.
Since I had, well, loads and loads of fabric that I could use, I just ballparked how thick I wanted my blanket and went with size 15 needles and cut the fabric into roughly inch-wide ribbons. I did not care at all if the yarn varied in thickness.
I ended up casting on 40 stitches, mainly because the needle was getting awfully crowded, and that it seemed like a nice even number.
I decided to do a wide rib stich (this might be called something else when you do five knit, five purl instead of the common one or two..?).
To make a big blanket (for a cold winter day spent in the couch) I went for making four separate pieces and assemble into one. 40 stitches on size 15 needles made for a 60 cm wide piece, and roughly 45 rows for 60 cm lengthwise. However the measuring tape is your best friend during this...
After making the four parts it's time to decide how to put them together (not really an issue if you have gone for buying/making your yarn in just one or a couple of colors). I just laid them out on the floor and changed it around until it looked ok.
I went for "as simple as possible" and mimicked a hemming stitch by just threading the yarn through and over the knitted stitches.
This can of course be done using some sort of needle too.
Again, not exactly perfection, but it looks good for the overall style of this type of project!
I tried to get some great pictures of what it actually looks like, on me, in my favorite chair. This is as good as it got after, um, way too many takes. The blanket is cozy, Speedy the cat is looking chubby and majestic, and I am making a very weird face. But it's all good.
I hope you are all having a great week! Peace and love, folks!
Love it! And what a superb cat pose!
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