Tag Archives: crafts

Cooking, Crafts, DIY, Knit & Crochet, Knitting, recipes, Sewing

Alaska Knit Nat’s top 6 posts

November 26, 2016 alaskaknitnat Leave a comment

Today my Facebook page reached 1,000 likes!

As Alaska Knit Nat enters its seventh year, I thought it would be fun to dig into the archives and pull up some of my favorite posts from years past.

I started Knit Nat AK in November 2010 with the intention of cataloging my craftiness.

“It’s mainly for my own benefit,” I wrote in my first-ever post. “I make so much stuff I can’t keep track of it all. In addition to knitting (hence the Knit Nat title), I cook, sew and repurpose things. This blog is a catalog of all things Craft.”

So here’s my top 6 posts since 2010. Enjoy!

Continue reading Alaska Knit Nat’s top 6 posts →

Crafts, DIY, Patterns, Sewing, Tutorials

Dress to Apron Refashion – A free tutorial

November 22, 2015 alaskaknitnat Leave a comment

Sewing is by no means my greatest talent. My mom taught me to sew at a young age, but that doesn’t mean I like it. It’s time consuming to cut out a pattern, cut out the fabric and take out the sewing machine. If I’m going to sew something it’s got to be a two-hour-or-less project.

I love the concept of refashioning clothes; i.e., taking an article of clothing and turning into a different article of clothing. Refashionista is pretty much my sewing/thrifting idol and she’s incredibly cute.

Lately I’ve been noticing gigantic church-lady linen dresses at the thrift shops. My mother loves linen dish towels because they are lightweight and absorbent. I thought about purchasing a linen dress and cutting it into dish-towel rectangles, but the concept didn’t really excite me much.

Last week I saw a lovely linen apron at Anthropologie. I had an “I can make that” moment. I figured an apron was a great way to refashion an old dress.

Years ago I made an apron for my sister and managed to write down the pattern measurements. I have included that pattern in this tutorial. Keep in mind my sewing skills are far from elegant so I’m sure some of you could come up with a prettier apron, but I’m satisfied with what I ended up with and it only took two hours from start to finish.

Be sure to check out the bottom of this post for more clothing refashion tutorials I’ve done over the years.

Continue reading Dress to Apron Refashion – A free tutorial →

appetizers, baking, Cooking, Crafts, DIY, halloween, Holiday

An East Coast Halloween: 3 tricks and treats

October 28, 2015 alaskaknitnat 2 Comments

Soon after becoming friends with Kasandra in college I discovered we had one big difference: she celebrated holidays.

Kasandra is from Connecticut where they have four seasons, a long history, darkness in the summer and tolerable cold in the winter. These reasons are why East Coasters celebrate holidays differently from Alaskans.

“I love that the East Coast celebrates every holiday to the fullest,” Kasandra said. “It makes me look forward to the seasons.”

I visited Kasandra and her husband, Gary, in their hometown seven years ago in May. As she was giving us a driving tour of a road used to deliver mail during the Revolution, I was seeing house after house ridiculously adorned with flags and patriotic banners. I asked, “What the hell is going on here?” and she said “It’s Memorial Day weekend.”

Feel free to contradict me, but Alaskans just don’t celebrate this way. Sure, I’ll carve a pumpkin in October and string up some lights at Christmas, but there isn’t a single house on my block right now with Halloween decorations outside.

So today I wanted to show off a little of what Kasandra has going on in her neck of the woods to hopefully inspire Alaskans this Halloween.

Kasandra maintains that frugal collegiate spirit but includes East Coast charm and sophistication. All of her crafts are easy, quick and affordable. Here are three that she shared with me.

1. Bedazzled Pumpkin

Paint a pumpkin. Stick craft store jewels all over it. No glue necessary if the paint is still wet.

2. Mummy cookies

Melt some white chocolate. Dip Milano cookies halfway into chocolate. Drizzle chocolate over the cookie to make it look like a mummy. Stick on sugar eyes.

3. Monster mouth snacks

Peel some apples and slice them into wedges. Spread peanut butter on one wedge. Add some yogurt-covered raisins to look like teeth. Top with another apple.

So, get out there, Alaskans, and show some last-minute Halloween spirit!

Crafts, Tutorials

DIY mini greenhouse: A quick kids craft

April 19, 2015 alaskaknitnat 1 Comment

Last week was our son’s third birthday party. He requested it be Lorax themed, which is fitting because his birthday is on Earth Day. Although I consider myself of the crafty variety, birthdays are overwhelming to me and going all out is too exhausting. So I choose activities and decorations with minimal prep work.

One of the save-the-trees crafts I put together was a miniature greenhouse where the kids could plant a seed, create the greenhouse, take it home and watch it grow. It was a hit among two partygoers and that’s a success in my book for a 3-year-old birthday.

DIY mini greenhouses

Materials:

Clear plastic cups
Potting soil
Dry beans
Painter’s tape
Knife

Directions:

Fill a plastic cup halfway with potting soil. Wet the soil so it’s moist, but not sopping.

With a knife, poke three holes in the bottom of another cup. Set aside.

Let your little one plant two or three beans in the soil. There’s no wrong way to do it. Jack barely put them beneath the soil and they still sprouted.

Place the other cup on top and affix a few pieces of painter’s tape to hold the cups in place.

Set in a sunny window. No need to water it. About three or four days later your beans should sprout. You can transfer your sprout to a small pot if you like. Be sure there is a drainage hole.

Knit & Crochet, Knitting, Patterns, Uncategorized

The Aspen Ascot – a free knitting pattern

April 5, 2015 alaskaknitnat 4 Comments

Happy Easter! It’s currently snowing here in Anchorage, which makes today’s pattern just perfect.

I was scrolling through some old knitting patterns on my blog and I came across my Chunky Ascot Pattern, which included a terrible Hipstamatic photo (before Instagram existed). I decided it was worth making a new ascot just to update the photo.

This pattern uses chunky yarn or you can knit two strands of worsted weight yarn together. It takes very little yarn, so it’s a great way to use up any leftover high quality fibers. I used Malabrigo and Manos de Uruguay worsted alpaca.

The Aspen Ascot is just right for a chilly spring morning when you don’t need a bulky scarf. The two spade-shaped ends create a lovely bow look.

The pattern isn’t difficult, but it does require thinking outside the box. You’ll use three double-pointed needles for the part where you create the loop. The instructions sound sort of whack, but trust the way it’s written and it should make sense in the end.

The Aspen Ascot – a free knitting pattern from Alaska Knit Nat

Materials:

One ball of chunky alpaca, or two strands of worsted knitted together

3 size US 10 double-pointed needles

darning needle

Abbreviations:
M1FB — make 1 stitch in the front and 1 stitch in the back of the same stitch, thus increasing the piece by 1 stitch

k2tog— knit two stitches together

Directions:
Cast on 2 stitches. M1FB of the first stitch, K the next stitch.
Continue to M1FB of the first stitch of every row till you have 16 stitches.
K 12 rows in garter stitch. I slip the first stitch of every row to keep the rows neat and even.
Next row: *Knit the first stitch, transfer the second stitch to the third double point needle.* Repeat * to end of row. You should have 8 stitches on each needle.
Starting with the needle that has the working yarn, K1, P1 for 9 rows. Cut yarn, leaving a 6-inch tail.

With the other needle holding 8 stitches, leave a 6-inch tail and K1, P1 for 9 rows, but don’t cut the yarn when done.

Next row: *Knit the first stitch from both the front and back needles together, then knit one from the front and one from the back.* Repeat * till there is 1 stitch on each needle. Knit these two stitches together. You should now have 12 stitches on one needle.

Knit in garter stitch till the work is long enough to go around your neck and touch the loop you just created, about 12 inches.

Next row: *K1, K2tog* Repeat * to end of row. You should now have 8 stitches again. K1, P1 for 9 rows.

Next row: M1FB in each stitch. You should now have 16 stitches.

Knit in garter stitch for 12 rows.

Next row: K1, K2tog, K to end of row. Repeat the last row till there are 3 stitches remaining.

Bind off. Weave in tails. Sew on decorative button to one side of the loop if you desire.

Crafts, Paper, Tutorials

DIY mini hang tags

December 23, 2014 alaskaknitnat Leave a comment

Recently I was commissioned to sew 10 coin purses out of vintage kimono silk remnants. Part of providing the service of craft is the presentation. Sure, I could have delivered the purses in a plastic grocery bag, but the buyer is more impressed when she receives them as though they are a gift. It’s remarkable how much a tiny hang tag on your product gives it a professional finish.

I have yet to order Alaska Knit Nat hang tags. I just don’t feel like ordering large quantities and I worry they might not turn out right and I’d have spent money on something I won’t use.

Here’s a way to create your own hang tags in small quantities that is super inexpensive.

DIY mini hang tags | Give your products a professional finish with affordable homemade hang tags. Tutorial from Alaska Knit Nat

First, log in to Canva.com. If you aren’t familiar with it, it’s a fantastic, free site where you can create pretty graphic elements from Facebook posts to business cards. It’s like graphic design for dummies.

Continue reading DIY mini hang tags →

Crafts, Holiday

I’ll have a glue, glue Christmas — #10: Pompom ornaments

December 16, 2014 alaskaknitnat 2 Comments

I recently assessed my yarn stash and quickly came to the conclusion that I have way too much. I’m running out of time to knit and crochet presents for my loved ones and I need to taper down my yarn inventory. Enter the pompom. This perky accessory harkens to my younger years when my clothes were adorned with rick rack and I coveted Tinkerbell peel-off nail polish.

Pompoms are making a comeback in a big way. Plus, they eat through yarn stashes quickly. This was a great way to decorate my tree and it requires barely any skills. I highly recommend using fabric scissors for this project; otherwise you might find yourself getting callouses in the crotch of your thumbs.

You’ll love the trick to making these ornaments. Look no further than your kitchen utensil drawer.

Pompom ornaments — No. 10 in Alaska Knit Nat’s DIY Holiday Craft Guide

What you’ll need:

Yarn
Large serving fork
Sharp scissors

Directions:

Cut a piece of yarn about 16 inches long and fold it in half. Run it in between the middle prong of the fork and hold it securely against the handle. Take up to four strands of yarn at a time and loosely start wrapping around the fork. Do this till you’ve got a whole lotta yarn on there. The more strands you use at a time the faster this will go. Cut the yarn when you think it’s enough. This may take some tinkering.

Use the yarn you originally placed between the prongs to tie around all the wrapped yarn. Another person’s finger comes in handy, but it’s possible to do this alone. Tie a double knot and slip your uncut pompom off the fork.

Cut apart all of the loops, being sure not to cut the original strand of yarn as this will be what you’ll hang the ornament from.

Pompom ornaments | #10 on Alaska Knit Nat's DIY Holiday Craft Guide

Trim your pompom as you deem fit. Repeat till you’ve run out of yarn or have worked up an appetite for some microwave nachos.

Crafts, Holiday, Paper

I’ll have a glue, glue Christmas — #9: Paint chip gift tags

December 14, 2014 alaskaknitnat Leave a comment

The older I get the less I despise big box hardware stores. Every time I get dragged into one by my husband I treat it as a mission to think of cool ways to reuse hardware supplies. This craft is perfect for the holidays, and free too.

Paint chip gift tags — No. 9 on Alaska Knit Nat’s DIY Holiday Craft Guide

What you’ll need:

Paint samples from the hardware store (you can usually get about 3 tags per paint chip)
Scissors or a gift tag-shaped paper punch
Tiny hole punch or large needle
String

Directions:

Cut out the paint samples in the shape of gift tags. Poke a hole in one end and run a six-inch piece of string through the hole. Tie the ends of the string together. Elaborately wrap a gift and add the tag as a finishing touch.

Crafts

I’ll have a glue, glue Christmas — #6: Felt tree garland

December 11, 2014 alaskaknitnat 4 Comments

There are vastly different ways to trim a Christmas tree. Some prefer the all-white glitter tree, while I love bright colors and a homey hodgepodge of ornaments and garlands.

As I was preparing to trim our tree last week I opened our ornament box and was delighted to find a felt garland I’d constructed last year. I had forgotten about it and it kind of made my day to place it on our tree this year. I love popcorn garlands, but they get pretty messy and i have a toddler who is fascinated with the tree and eating things, so I imagine it wouldn’t last long.

This craft is cheery, colorful and easy. It does require the use of a sewing machine and some monotonous cutting. I recommend putting on “A Christmas Story” or some other holiday film you have memorized and cut out your felt while watching it. Mulled wine could be included, if desired.

Easy felt tree garland: No. 6 on Alaska Knit Nat’s DIY Holiday Craft Guide

Craft felt in many different colors (about $5 at Walmart)
Fabric scissors (optional but extremely helpful)
Sewing machine

Directions:

Fold a piece of felt in fourths and cut out 1-inch circle-ish shapes. Repeat with other felt colors until you have about 300 hundred (I really didn’t count. I just cut out circles until I was sick of it.)

Place all your circles in a bowl and set next to your sewing machine. Start sewing across the diameter of a circle with a straight stitch. When you get to the end of the circle, start sewing through another circle. Repeat this until you’ve run out of circles. You’re basically just lining up the circles side by side and sewing a seam through them to keep them together. I didn’t follow a color pattern, I just sewed them randomly. It doesn’t matter what thread color you use, but I imagine gold thread would look neat. I used white. It’s ok if there are gaps between the circles. If you run out of thread mid-garland, just rethread your machine and sew across the most recently sewn circle.

Wrap your garland around your tree. If it’s too short, make more circles and take your garland back to your sewing machine.

Crafts

I’ll have a glue, glue Christmas — #5: DIY Kitschy desk caddies

December 10, 2014 alaskaknitnat 2 Comments

Number 4 on my holiday craft guide was all about recycling. Today’s cheap craft is about upcycling. Instead of making planters, we’re going to make planters into something else.

Last week at the thrift store I found a couple of vintage ceramic baby planters. I’m sure you’ve seen them collecting dust somewhere. They are usually hideous with a thick layer of dirt crust inside.

DIY Kitschy Desk Caddies | #5 on Alaska Knit Nat's DIY Holiday Craft Guide

Metallic desk stuff is all the rage right now. I’m jumping on the golden bandwagon. This craft took very little time and even I was impressed with how well they turned out.

You need no artistic ability, just minute index finger strength. Use them to hold pencils, cell phones or place them in a kitchen to hold rubber spatulas. The world is your kitschy oyster!

A great place in Anchorage to find a vintage ceramic planter is The Packrat on Fireweed or Lazy Dog Antiques on Karluk. They are usually reasonably priced (about $10) but I lucked out at the Bishop’s Attic and found two for $2 apiece. But really, you could take soup cans and spray paint them gold and you’d probably mildly impress your significant other on Christmas Day.

DIY Kitschy Desk Caddy: No. 5 on Alaska Knit Nat’s DIY Holiday Craft Guide

What you’ll need:

A ceramic planter/figurine from the thrift store
Metallic Spray paint
Glossy finish spray (optional)

Directions:

Wash your planter with hot water and soap and scrub away as much dirt as you can. This isn’t a huge deal because you’ll be spray painting it anyway so any super crust will be hidden.

Once the planter is dry, set on newspapers in your garage and apply a thin coat of spray paint. Spray the inside of the planter too. Let dry and apply another thin coat, being sure to spray any missed areas from the first coat. Once dry apply an optional glossy finish spray. Props to my graffiti artist friend, who shall remain anonymous, for lending me some of his stash.

DIY Kitschy Desk Caddies | #5 on Alaska Knit Nat's DIY Holiday Craft Guide