Blog Archives

Permission

8/29/2014

We, Shibaguyz Designz (Designer), do solemnly grant you (Maker), permission in perpetuity (that means for forever) to make any and all projects from any and all of our patterns past, present, and future (again, forever) in any color you deem necessary to please your personal tastes or those tastes of the person you are making said project for. This permission applies without regard to the color of the project pictured in the pattern since that color is, mostly, the choice of the Designer (us) based on Designer's (us again) personal preferences or is based on the color preferences of our editor ("them").

Further, these same permissions shall apply for all time (FOR-EH-VAR!) to personal choices of yarn content, yarn brand, type of hook or needles used, whether or not you think the model is attractive, or any other variant of choices possible.

Permission: An Important Message Full of Legalese From Shibaguyz Designz

These permissions shall apply forever and ever and ever and always and anyone who says otherwise is a doo-doo head (that's official legal jargon there, folks) and we will send a herd of demented wombats after them for saying so (hey… it could happen).

With these permissions, go forth and create, experiment, and make with joy and wild abandon according to your personal preferences and tastes because that's what makes YOU a FAB person and you should strut your FAB stuff (more technical legal stuff there) as often as possible.

Sincerely,
S&J
Shibaguyz Designz

In The Classroom with Shibaguyz Designz - Knit Fit 2014

8/28/2014

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Class Details and Registration Information for Shibaguyz Designz Classes at Knit Fit 2014

NOTE: This post was updated on October 22, 2014 to reflect the new date for the Motif Madness class. All information in this post is correct as of October 22, 2014. - S&J

It's that time again… Back to School! Okay… not exactly THAT kind of school but it is time to head back into the classroom and build those stitching skills!

As a designer, I spend most of my time in the studio, sketching, writing, and… well… doing designy things (yes… I made up another word…). When Jason isn't in his studio, he is always running off to shoot photos of some event or someone marking a momentous occasion with a photo session.

As teachers, we get to interact with crocheters and knitters who look to us to help them build their skills. Whether they are hobby stitchers or looking to become designers, it is always a thrill for us to take a classroom full of students on a journey during a class session.

Fortunately, we have the opportunity to teach at some great events and Knit Fit right here in Seattle is one of our favorites. This year we are honored to be teaching for the third year at Knit Fit and we have two FAB classes to share with y'all.

This year, we are proud to be offering a student favorite: Fashion, Fit, Form, & Function; as well as a new-to-Knit-Fit class: Motif Madness. Here is a little about each class and the links to register.

Motif Madness! (Crochet)
Teachers: Shannon & Jason Mullett-Bowlsby (Saturday AM)

From hexes to circles to granny squares… motifs make us happy with all of their colors and textures and versatility. They can be anything from couture garments to a cozy afghan to a funky vest or skirt or a car cover for your sedan, or rugs or hats or jackets or sweaters or… There’s hardly anything the enduring and endearing motif can’t do.

We will start with a basic chain circle and work our way outward to granny glory, beginning with basic color changes then get a little funky with in-line color changes and maybe even delve into the mysterious spiral! We will also learn three ways of starting your motifs for ultimate versatility, and three ways to join your motifs together.

Skill level: All
Homework: None
Materials Fee: None
Student-supplied materials:
• Crochet kit with various hook sizes
• Light-colored, non-variegated, smooth, worsted weight yarn (no kitchen cottons or similar types of cotton yarns)

Motif Madness Class by Shibaguyz Designz at Knit Fit 2015

Fashion, Fit, Form, and Function Class by Shibaguyz Designz at Knit Fit 2015

Fashion, Fit, Form & Function: Designing Garments for Everyone (Crochet & Knitting)
Teachers: Shannon & Jason Mullett-Bowlsby (Sunday PM)

There are a million patterns in the naked city… and wouldn’t it be nice if just ONE of them fit?!

We will teach you the basics of fit, form and function that we use daily as fashion designers so you can see a garment and make it for yourself or someone else. You will create a template that you will be able to use for every garment you ever want to make… EVER. No matter whom you are making for, no matter what the body type, you will be able to create a garment that anyone would be thrilled to wear.

We will start with measurements and form – what measurements do I take from where and how do I apply them to my template? Then we’ll talk about fit – how do I make a garment that fits a certain style or body type? Then we’ll move to function – whom am I making this for and where will they wear it? Finally… fabrics – how to take your swatch and convert that into a pattern.

Skill level: All
Homework: None
Materials Fee: $5 for Master Pattern template, sizing chart, and calculation formulas.
Student-supplied materials:
• Soft (non-metal) measuring tape
• Notebook
• Pencil
• Calculator

Registration is open NOW and classrooms do fill up from time to time so be sure to get your registration in early to reserve your space. You can register for our classes by clicking on the photos above and then clicking on the "REGISTER NOW" link. Or, go to http://knitfit.info and register from there.

We do love teaching and we always have a lot of fun in class. We hope you can come be a part of the learning process with us!

See you at Knit Fit!

Stitch On!
S&J

We hope you enjoy our articles and posts here on Shibaguyz Designz and hope you will share them with other stitchers. Take a minute to look around and check out our other posts as well as our patterns and books in our online shop. Here are a few suggestions for you we thought you might like. Just click on one of the photos below to open the link! Enjoy!

We'd love to hear from you! Leave a comment to this post and catch up with us on Ravelry, Facebook, Twitter, and Pinterest by clicking on one of these icons.

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Technique Tuesday - Locking Mattress Stitch

8/26/2014

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How To Make the Locking Mattress Stitch for Crochet Fabric

TECHNIQUE
Locking Mattress Stitch (for Crochet Fabric)

NOTE: Although the Locking Mattress Stitch works FAB with both crochet and knitted fabrics, today's Technique Tuesday article will be addressing the use of this seaming technique with crochet fabrics. Look for a future article for seaming knit fabrics using the Locking Mattress Stitch.

What Is It?

The Locking Mattress Stitch is a method for sewing seams in crochet or knit fabrics.

The Locking Mattress Stitch varies from the traditional mattress stitch in that it the needle is brought back through previously worked stitches in order to "lock" the sewn seam into place. You'll see what we mean in a minute…

Locking Mattress Stitch Tutorial by Shibaguyz Designz on ShibaguyzDesignz.com

Why use the Locking Mattress Stitch?

The Locking Mattress Stitch leaves a nearly invisible seam in crochet and knitted fabrics. It's really that simple.

The seam is sewn using minimally invasive needle work and the stitches snug together in a neat and tidy way that leaves a seam on the inside of the fabric with no noticeable bulk and leaves the outside of the fabric looking… well… seamless! (Pun intended… thanks.)

Click "Read More" link below for the full post.

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Inspirations Past and Present - part 1

8/22/2014

This post started out as a story about inspirations full of pretty photos of the quilts and afghans we have collected over our lifetimes from our mothers, great-aunts, grandmothers and great-grandmothers.

These masterpieces hold a lot of personal meaning for us and they serve as a daily inspiration anchoring us to the past and reminding us of the heritage skills passed on to us by these makers.

As I was looking over Jason's beautiful photos and started to type the words, I was shocked to find I was completely overwhelmed with feelings and emotions that reconnected me to the women whose hands created these pieces and the skills and values they passed on to me and that I now incorporate into my own work.

This post ended up as part 1 in an emotional journey documenting their work and paying our respects to the women, both past and present, whose hands created these functional pieces of home decor that ended up being venerated as artwork in our home today. More than that, they have become reminders to us of the values of the craftspeople who have come before us and have created a standard by which we now create our work in our design studios.

Technique Tuesday - First Double Crochet

8/19/2014

9 Comments

How To Make the First Double Crochet Stitch

TECHNIQUE
First Double Crochet (First-dc)

WHAT IS IT?
The First Double Crochet is used as an alternative to the "chain 3" instruction given at the beginning of a row where the chain 3 is meant to be a Double Crochet stitch. Use the First-dc whenever the first stitch of a row is a Double Crochet.

Technique Tuesday - First Double Crochet Stitch Tutorial by Shibaguyz Designz

We've all seen the instructions at the beginning of a row of double crochet stitches that says: Ch 3, dc in next st.

For me, this left a lot of questions in my mind.

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Tag You're It!

8/14/2014

Articles and Posts from Shibaguyz Designz

It only takes a quick glance back through our posts here on our blog or on our Facebook or Ravelry pages to know that I swatch… a lot!

The first thing I do when I receive a new skein of yarn is grab my hooks and needles and dive in. I swatch the HECK out of that yarn! In fact, I will use most of a skein of new yarn just swatching seeing what types of stitches and what size of hooks and needles the yarn works well with.

When we start a new design, I pretty much know what kind of fabric I want to create but, again… I swatch… different types of yarn with different sized hooks and needles, different stitches patterns. Swatches for days!

And a book project… that's a Swatch Extravaganza! Imagine how many test swatches we produce for 30 or more projects for a book. Our last book produced an entire plastic storage tub of swatches that we DID NOT use and a of a tub of swatches that we DID use.

That top photo there on the left are the swatches that made the final cut for our book of knitwear patterns: Moonstruck.

The bottom left photo are swatches that made the final cut for our book of crochet patterns: Urban Edge.

I've said it before and I'll say it again. Swatching isn't just about testing your gauge (although that is a HUGELY important reason to swatch), it is also about testing the fabric you are about to make. If I haven't worked in THAT stitch pattern using THAT yarn with THAT size hook or needle… there's gonna be a swatch.

Technique Tuesday - Foundation Half Double Crochet

8/12/2014

TECHNIQUE
Foundation Half Double Crochet (Fhdc)

WHAT IS IT?
The Foundation Half Double Crochet stitch technique (abbreviated Fhdc) is an alternative to the instructions at the beginning of a crochet pattern that tell you to chain a certain number of stitches.

This technique simultaneously creates a row of "chain" stitches AND a row of half double crochet stitches (abbreviated hdc) without making two passes. Basically, it takes the place of two rows of stitches: the "chain" row that makes up the beginning base and the next row of half double crochet that is worked into that row of chains.

You might well be wondering why we keep using " " around the word chain… good question! It's because this isn't REALLY a chain stitch… not really… but it LOOKS like a chain stitch so that's what's important. In a previous Technique Tuesday article about the Foundation Single Crocht, we decided this was best called a Faux Chain (abbreviated FxCh). It's taking a little while to catch on but we're going to keep on with it because it makes us happy.

Foundation Half Double Crochet Tutorial by Shibaguyz Designz

Once you've practiced a bit with this stitch and create it comfortably, take a close look at the "chain" part of the stitch as you are making it. You will see how the "chain" is not, in fact, a chain at all but a clever doppelganger of the chain. It serves the purpose of looking like a base row of chain stitches but it is made in such a way that it is more elastic.

Which brings us to our next point…

A Tangential Post About Swatching

8/7/2014

Tangent:
tan·gent
/ˈtanjənt/

2. a completely different line of thought or action.
"he quickly went off on a tangent about swatching"

A Tangential Post About Swatching by Shibaguyz Designz

I started off writing this post as the next section in our Blocking University series. What happened was the following tangent about swatching.

The first blocking we encounter in a project is blocking the swatch. That, of course, means you must first make a swatch. Yes… make a swatch…

(This is where things started to go… in another direction…)

Don't think I can't hear you rolling your eyes at me!

Since this subject of swatching is tangential (if only slightly so) to our main course topic of blocking, we thought we should just get the issue out of the way first thing.

(Mind you, at this point, I still thought I'd write a paragraph or two about swatching then get on with blocking.)

Technique Tuesday - Duplicate Stitch

8/5/2014

Technique
Duplicate Stitch

What is it?

The Duplicate Stitch technique is used to join the last stitch of a round to the first stitch of a round by creating a "duplicate" top on the skipped stitch it is worked over. The tail of the yarn is woven over the first stitch of the round in such a way that the front and back loops of that first stitch are duplicated. This creates a clean finish for the final stitch of a round and makes a nearly invisible join.

Why use the Duplicate Stitch?

Duplicate Stitch is a FAB method for finishing or binding off circular crochet and knitting projects.

Who amongst us has not gotten to the end of a crochet motif and been a little stumped by what to do to finish off that last stitch? How to make it look neat and clean without looking like we just reached the end of our project and tied a big ol' knot in it?

And who in our ranks has lovingly hand stitched a pair of toe-up socks and gotten to the bind off at the cuff just to sit there and stare at it hoping some divine messenger from the knitting ultraverse will magically grant us the ability to fuse our stitches with the power of our mind? What… just me? Fine… just me…

For the photos of this tutorial, we used a circular crochet motif to demonstrate. But don't stop there, with a little practice this technique makes invisible finishes for the cuffs of circular crochet or knit socks and sleeves, as well as the edges of top down hats and pullover sweaters.

Duplicate Stitch Tutorial by Shibaguyz Designz

The bottom line is, anywhere we work in the round or in a spiral and end with an open tube of some sort (hats, sock and sleeve cuffs, hems), we need to fasten off or bind off in such a way that the edge of our finished project doesn't look like it was gnawed on by a demented badger.