dirtyfiberartist

[dirtyfiberartist]

hi team sorry for not drawing for like. months. basically I got really into making a bead curtain. project info below the cut!

originally I was just going to follow this YouTube tutorial for a very basic cherry pattern curtain, but around the time I started gathering materials I saw this post of someone who had made their own design and I was like omg. I could also make my own design. So that’s what I did! It was really fun to do basically pixel art for the first time ever. Whole project took about a month of regular work and cost around $80 for all materials.

Pretty happy with how it turned out but feel like the enterprise got a little lost, probably wouldn’t do detail work that size in the future. Also here’s the design by itself!

[dirtyfiberartist]

I've been trying to distract myself from the horrors of modern life by knitting unnecessarily complex cable swatches. They are partly inspired by printer's ornaments and other typographic elements.

[dirtyfiberartist]

Blocked and seamed, this beautiful pattern is done!

Pattern: Dedale by Audrey Borrego

Yarns: Knitpicks Hawthorne in Eliot (green) & Dyehouse Yarns by Serial Knitters in Em&Em (speckled white)

Details and close-ups beneath the cut

This mystery knit was an absolute blast! We were given two charts each week (60ish rows total) starting Sept 1st for six weeks. I fell behind due to some trips but I had Decked Out 2 vids to watch while knitting so it never felt like a slog. The wrinkledness of my floats blocked out beautifully and it is SO SOFT!!

The maze does actually continue all the way through!!

Small pinglist for those who had extra thoughts on the WIP I posted <3 @joyousmistake @plantpretender (dear friend ilu and your excitement!!) @orangespicecake (I wish you luck friend!!! You deserve a cool maze cowl in your life!!) @littleyarngoblin

[dirtyfiberartist]

reminder that if you ever buy wool yarn secondhand you should put it in a plastic bag in the freezer for a week, let it thaw 24 hours, then refreeze another week. this makes sure that if there are any moths or pests they are killed by the first freeze, and the remaining eggs are lured to hatch by the thawing and then killed with the second freeze. until this process is complete you must keep the yarn isolated from your existing stash or you risk any infestation spreading. i buy a lot of wool yarn from thrift and antique shops and always do this and have never had a problem with moths or other bugs. if you buy wool sweaters or other wool things secondhand you should also do this just to be safe

[dirtyfiberartist]

truly from the bottom of my heart i hate the level of enshittification etsy has reached because it's still the best place to buy patterns for my hobby and every time i go scrolling through endless ai-generated bullshit to finally dig up a human-designed pattern i like, i'm hit with a deluge of 'popular!! 563 people are looking at this right now!! it's in 134632 baskets!! you must buy immediately!!!' it's a pdf file. it's a fucking pdf file. do you get off on trying to give people fomo over a fucking pdf file. fuck off. get diarrhea forever.

[dirtyfiberartist]

hello! No obligation to answer this one, but I was wondering if you had any suggestions for good sources to start with for someone who wanted to learn about clothing/ fashion history? I've never bothered much about it in the past and seeing your blog has really inspired me to want to learn.

Also, I wanted to say that I love your house decorating posts! As someone who can't personalize their space much due to renting (among other things), it's nice to see someone getting to do that and really leaning into it.

How to Read a Suit and How to Read a Dress are great entry points into the evolution of modern Western fashion.

Where you go from there largely depends on what niches appeal to you, be it era-based, profession/class-based, regional, etc.

[dirtyfiberartist]

tamara ralph | fall 2025

[dirtyfiberartist]

truly from the bottom of my heart i hate the level of enshittification etsy has reached because it's still the best place to buy patterns for my hobby and every time i go scrolling through endless ai-generated bullshit to finally dig up a human-designed pattern i like, i'm hit with a deluge of 'popular!! 563 people are looking at this right now!! it's in 134632 baskets!! you must buy immediately!!!' it's a pdf file. it's a fucking pdf file. do you get off on trying to give people fomo over a fucking pdf file. fuck off. get diarrhea forever.

[dirtyfiberartist]

(...I really don't want to hunt that up typo just now. I'll fix it when I fix it. The Tose Lace Kitting Book, indeed.)

Which is beyond the point. The point is, the patterns are live! Go forth and knit pretty laces!

[dirtyfiberartist]

I am embarking on an ambitious endeavor, by the end, I should have 12 whole bees!

[dirtyfiberartist]

why your sewing machine is acting up: - tension is wrong - wrong needle size - thread bit stuck somewhere - tension again - needs a deep clean and oiling - you said something and now its offended and refusing to cooperate until you realize your error and beg forgiveness

[dirtyfiberartist]

Squid knitting.

Hook, Line and Tinker pattern, DMC Thread

My chain stitches could be better 🤦‍♀️ but I tried. I use embroidery to relax but the chain stitch was not relaxing to me. I used to do lots of stitches and samplers but I’m rather rusty. I still insist on using all 6 strands of floss even though it’s thick. It’s just my style.

I think the last pattern I’m missing in this set is the crab knitting. I did try to trace it since she doesn’t have the printed fabric anymore but it didn’t turn out well so I will try again.

Not really proud of how this turned out but might as well show the good, bad and ugly.

I will be working on more Hook, Line and Ticker patterns since I do like the company and Poplush Embroidery is gone.

Sorry just kinda down on myself today.

[dirtyfiberartist]

Just finished. I based this sampler on a Sudoku puzzle, meaning the layout can be varied - each of the nine motifs is assigned a number, so that they can fit into any Sudoku solution.

Blackwork embroidery on 14-count Aida cloth.

Pattern here (my site) or here (Etsy).

[dirtyfiberartist]

The problem with sewing is that you quickly realise you have dumped lots of skill points into control thread and furthermore, there’s a lot of other hobbies that require control thread so you decide to pick up knitting, or crochet, or weaving, and then spinning happens to you, or rug making, or cord weaving, and then you turn the wrong corner on the internet and find out control thread also specs into basket weaving, and book binding, and then you’re thinking things like “I wonder if this also applies to lead climbing” and now you have A Problem

[dirtyfiberartist]

LIRIKA MATOSHI Bow Mini Dress 2025 if you want to support this blog consider donating to:ko-fi.com/fashionrunways