Bookcase

Feeling a little under the weather, this week.  Decided to stay home today to see if I can get a handle on this bug that is desperately trying to drag me into the gutter (get off me, you stoopid microbe).  Am currently sitting in bed with canine companions (they have commandeered all the space, by the way...I'm just squeezed in here, all pretense that I hold any authority over them has evaporated)(Maggie is trying to simultaneously flatten my kneecap and push my laptop to the floor with her head).  I figured I would take the opportunity presented to me by my viral hitch-hiker and clean out my computer's folders between naps.  Boring, I know, but my standards for distraction are low at the moment.

And hey, guess what?  While tidying my laptop up, I came across a goodie that I meant to post here and had forgotten all about!  Yay!

So without further ado, I present to you the following tutorial from the archive (this was originally published in Volume Two of Creative Humans):

The One-Sheet-of-Plywood Bookcase

Just after graduating from college, I got a job working for an architect from Europe who had just finished building his own home (our office was actually in the attic).  One of the things I learned from him was the knack of taking  simple, easy-to-source materials and turning them into functional and attractive objects. Their house was filled with ingenious little touches of innovation, most of which was DIY and all of which was affordable.

This “one-sheet-of-plywood” bookcase was his idea:

Materials:

*A note on plywood:

The quality of plywood can vary greatly, from supplier-to-supplier.  It can be very disappointing to spend hours on a project like this and then discover that there are gaps in the layers or imperfections in the veneer.  Do yourself a favor and take the time to source a nice, evenly-finished piece, with thick layers (a sheet should have no more than 7 smooth plies and the thicker the veneer, the better).

-       1 sheet (4’ x 8’) of birch or maple-veneered 3/4” plywood

-       1-1/2” long size 8 wood screws (min. 30 of them)

-       “finishing washers” for size 8 screws (min. 15 of them) – these are also sometimes called “cup washers”

-       1/2” long size 8 wood screws (min. 55 of them)

-       3/4” x 3/4” x 3/4” 90° metal braces (if you look in the assembly photos, you’ll see what these look like – they’re going to hold the shelves in place)

-       cabinet/furniture legs (check out the Besta legs, at Ikea – I don’t have access to Ikea, so I can’t confirm how they’re made…you’ll have to investigate your options carefully in order to be sure that they’ll work)

-       1 quart of clear, acrylic polyurethane, in satin finish

-       1 foam brush or other suitable applicator for the polyurethane

-       an electric drill

-       a size 8 screwdriver bit for the drill

-       a drill bit suitable for drilling pilot holes for the size 8 screws (a 3/32” drill bit should be fine)

-       sandpaper (220 grit)

-       a table saw, if your hardware store can not cut the plywood for you

-       a pencil

-       a ruler

-       a measuring tape

-       some masking tape or labels to identify your pieces

Preparation Instructions

Most hardware stores offer a cutting service (they may charge a small fee per cut, which is totally worth it) when you purchase lumber from them.  Have them carry the sheet of plywood over to the saw for you (remember: you break it, you buy it) and give them the following cutting diagrams:

Step one:

Cut the long pieces and label the first two, using the pencil and masking tape.  One will be the top and one will be the bottom.  The skinny little strip (colored in gray in the diagram) is waste  - you can discard it.

Step two:

Take the remaining two lengths of wood and cut them like so:

Label them, using the pencil and masking tape.  The little piece of waste wood may be discarded.

*Note:  Don’t cut your pieces in 24” increments, even though logic would tell you that it’s a good idea.  The saw blade “eats up” some wood, so if you stick with the dimensions shown, everything will be modular and therefore, will fit together.

Once everything is cut, you will have a nice collection of pieces, ready to pack into your car and take home.  You do not need to be driving a truck or an SUV in order to get them home – I’ve done this several times in my hatchback.  Just fold the passenger and back seats down and slide the pieces in.  Have a backup plan in case it doesn’t work, but don’t sweat it – there are many ways to get these puppies home.

The next step involves finishing your pieces individually, prior to assembling everything.  Follow the instructions on your polyurethane, which usually call for applying 2 to 3 coats, sanding before and between coats, and permitting the pieces to dry adequately.

Assembly Instructions

 The first step in the assembly process is to make a box, using the top, bottom and 2 gable pieces.  The top piece will rest ON TOP OF the gables and the bottom piece will be attached UNDER the gables.  All the gables are the same height, so if you attach the gables to the ends of the top and bottom, you will have a problem – the intermediate gables won’t fit!

You need to carefully identify (in the top and bottom pieces), where the screws will go and drill pilot holes.  Use the ruler and pencil for marking the holes and don’t press hard.

Each gable gets 6 screws – 3 through the top piece (with finishing washers) and 3 through the bottom.  Use the 1-1/2” long screws for this.  Obviously, the bottom screws will be concealed, so there’s no need to use finishing washers with them.

Mark the placement for and install the three intermediate gables.  Here is your gable layout:

*Note: Because this here pattern is intended to use only one full sheet of plywood, you will notice that we are missing a shelf.  That is ok, we will leave one compartment smaller than the others and it will remain shelf-less.

This is what the top of the unit will look like (the bottom will look virtually the same – just without the finishing washers):

 The next step is to attach the shelves:

Using the 3/4” x 3/4” x 3/4” braces, screw the shelves into the bookcase (use the 1/2” long screws, here).  Make sure you also screw up into the bottom of each brace, or your shelves will be wobbly and likely shift around:

Once the shelves are in, your only remaining task is to find legs for the unit (or some other imaginative way to elevate the bookcase off the floor, like a plinth made of scrap lumber, bricks, etc).  Follow the leg manufacturer’s instructions, keeping in mind that you only have 3/4” of plywood to “bite” into and install at least 6 of them in order to get a good, stable base.  

Once you’ve made one of these, you’ll find that it becomes addictive.  Why not make the next one with sliding doors?  Or mount it to the wall, so it floats above the floor?  This first bookcase is really just a gateway bookcase…next thing you know, you’ll be whipping together coffee tables on casters, desks, TV stands, you name it! *

*Trust me on this; my house is filled to the gills with birch plywood furniture.

Alive and Kicking

Wow, so my last post was on May 17th, eh? 

Yikes.

Well, I'm not going to apologize or feel bad about that, 'cause you know what?  I started this blog for fun and I'll be damned if I'm going to start treating like a chore.

Having said that, I can still fill you in on what has been going on, right?

Work.  Work has been going on.

In October/November of last year, the company I work for (I run a small department that deals with drafting/facilities management of a 65-store retail company) decided to purchase and renovate a 100+ year-old building (former potato warehouse built in a post and beam style) as a new head office.  It is located in the oldest part of the city (on the harbour waterfront) and it is a heritage building.  Yours truly was in charge of the design and drafting, I managed the consultants, I wrote the specifications, I administered the contract, I managed the contractor, I tendered out the furniture contract and I also organized/managed the physical move itself (for 30+ employees).

Phew.  No wonder I wasn't blogging.

Some photos during the last weeks of construction (I don't have any before shots on this computer, but trust me when I say that it was AWFUL - picture cheap wood panelling and glass block and country blue walls with floral wallpaper borders...*shudder*):

So yeah, my spring and summer have been consumed with this massive (my first real honest-to-goodness, start-to-finish) interior design project and subsequent move.  And this is my office, now (fourth image from the top - the one with the birch doors).  It's pretty cool, but I gotta say: I'm so freaking relieved that it's over.

I'm finally starting to reclaim (my mind and) my life.  It's kind of scary to me how easy it is to get wrapped up in these projects - I hate that aspect of my work.  It feels like I gave birth to this stupid building and I really wish there was a way for me to do what I do without feeling so personal about it...  Oh well, that's a discussion for another time, perhaps.

So, what else happened?  Well, my awesome fantastic OMG cross-Canada road trip didn't.  It got cancelled.  Two days before I was scheduled to fly to Ottawa and meet my mom, she had to pull the plug.  It's a long, dramatic, epic tale of woe and I was totally heartbroken so I'm not going to get into it again.  I flew to Ottawa anyway, to visit with my mom (for Canada Day long weekend...*shudder*), and came back a few days later.  She eventually made her way to Winnipeg and just left there last week for Kamloops.  I think she's settled in there, now (note to self: call mother to verify survival of journey).

On the home front, I've been visiting the farmer's market religiously this summer (we have been experiencing a drought, but the farmers are hanging in there) and have made a few new acquaintances that are pretty inspiring.  We are ruminating some ideas for a new project together, which we may execute this fall/winter, so that's exciting.

The Mill has been holding some classes, which I've managed to miss (I was unaware of the first, away on my mini-trip for the second and apparently totally confused for the third), but hope to make the last one - the one on lace knitting.  I already know how to knit lace, but hey, what kind of self-respecting knitter passes up the chance to learn more about knitting?  What kind, I ask you?

And of course, there has been lots of knitting.  I think I can safely say that I have officially evolved into one of THOSE knitters - you know, the ones who knit everyday and see no issue with knitting at parties and barbecues?  Yup, that's me now.

(Photo documentation of said knitting to follow.)

A Post For Helena

Don't mind me, I just need a place to post a diagram and notes I'm helping a (Portugese!) friend out with.  I'm too cheap to pay $5 so that I can upload photos to Ravelry's forums.  We're designing Seamless Hybrid Sweaters for ourselves and this is her first time, so this is for her:

Does this make sense, Helena (click on it to see it bigger)?  When you send me the other measurements I need (see my notes on Ravelry), I'll add them to this.

Sweater Progress

Yo, what up.

I have good news: my front darts turned out perfectly.

Onwards!

Progress has been made

This is going to be another long-winded knitting blog, so if you couldn't care less and would rather go and watch paint dry than hear me blather on for an age on this, know that I won't be offended if you bugger off for a while.  I'll let you know when it's safe to return.

I've been diligently working away on my Seamless Hybrid and have made a couple of important discoveries:

1. You are never ever so good at something that you stop making mistakes.
2. The mistakes just get more "interesting" (read: frustrating).
3. As I would have known, had I taken the time to figure it out, performing a short row doesn't add ONE row to your knitting, it adds TWO.

To demonstrate:

The blue lines represent the regular, in-the-round knitting that form the body of my sweater.  The orange lines represent the short rows.  So when you do a short row, you're adding two rows to the section you're working on.  Right.  Lesson learned.

Apparently, I am also not past the point of accidentally twisting my knitting when I join to knit in the round.   I wasn't in the mood to knit a Moebius sweater, so I ripped it all back (2" worth of sweater) and started over.  Grrrr.

But who cares about all that?  I have some progress to show you.  First, I should probably tell you that I decided to make this sweater in a funny way.  My main area of concern was the bust area, so I decided to start with that.  It's not a top-down sweater, though, so I had to get creative.  I have no idea if this was a good idea or not, but I started with a provisional cast on at the armpit mark and started working down from there.  When I'm done with the body of the sweater, I'll pick up the yoke stitches and work up to the collar.  Smart?  Maybe.  Maybe not.  I'm sort of channelling EZ on this one and have taken on a devil-may-care attitude.  We'll see if it works: you'll be the first to know (well, after me, of course).

Admittedly, I have a bit of an advantage with this whole design-as-you-go process: I have a custom body form/mannequin to use as a reference:

The top edge is the provisional cast-on.  The bottom edge contains my needle cable (with the nifty little end caps that come with KnitPicks interchangeable needles).  The markers are helping me keep track of the sides of the sweater and the location of the back darts:

No, it isn't perfect.  I think I need to add some darts below the bust on the front (I pinned it there for these photos) and that means ripping back 2" of work to put them in.  I'm not worried about that, though: it goes quickly.  I'm so used to knitting with fingering weight that this worsted feels like rope.

But the short rows did the trick!  I'm not sure why I'm surprised because I've heard it from enough knitters to know that it SHOULD work.  Still, I'm pleased.

You can just barely make the ends of the short rows out in this photo (sorry, but I am kind of addicted to my iPod's camera at the moment and didn't feel like dragging out my behemoth Canon 40D for one picture).

To recap:

1. This mannequin represents the best $200 I ever spent.
2. I am going to rip back to insert some darts in the front.
3. I adjusted my scheme for inserting short rows because I figured out that each one adds 2 rows of knitting, not just 1.  I knew I needed 9 extra rows (maximum) in the bust area.  I ended up putting in 10 (5 short rows), because the math worked out really well, but it was probably overkill.  I could have stopped at 8 (4 short rows).  Maybe when I rip back to put in the darts, I'll take out that last short row.
4. The back darts are beautiful.

Seamless Hybrid Part I (Planning)

As I mentioned in my recent posts, I'm attempting a Seamless Hybrid sweater.  My Ravelry peeps are kind of following along, so I'm going to post my steps so that they can a) follow along or b) watch the train wreck as it unfolds.  If you're not here for the knitting, feel free to come back in a few days.

So here goes (please note: I have no idea what I'm doing - copy me at your own risk):

Planning Stage:

Using my yarn and a circular needle, I knit up some swatches until I got the right fabric density/softness/etc and blocked my swatch.  I got: 18.5 sts/4" and 28 rows/4".

(Helena, if you need metric, let me know... I'm horrible for flipping back and forth between metric and imperial.  The blame can be laid entirely at the feet of those pesky Americans - they refuse to switch over to SI and they're kind of the boss of us, so we have to learn both.)

(Americans: you're not pesky.  I'm just kidding.)(Also, you're not really the boss of us.  So don't get any ideas.)

Sorry, where was I?  Oh yes.  I took out my measuring tape and measured a few things:

• My upper bust circumference (at armpit height)
• My bust circumference (fullest part of the bust)
• My ribcage circumference just under my bust
• The vertical distances between all of these imaginary horizontal lines on my torso
• The circumference of my upper arms (at armpit height)
• The circumference of my arm at the elbow
• The circumference of my wrist
• The vertical distance between wrist and elbow and then from elbow to armpit

I drew myself a little diagram of my body, showing all of these things.  Note: these are called ACTUAL BODY DIMENSIONS.  If you need a starting point, you can borrow this image from my Magic Raglan pattern (don't worry about the raglan length or collarbone - they don't apply, here):

Then, I drew up a little sketch of how I want my sweater to look.  I know that I want to make a jacket-style sweater and that it needs to have positive ease (meaning: I want it to be loose so I can wear a couple of layers underneath). To do that, I added 2" to each of my actual circumference measurements and wrote them down on a sketch of my sweater.  Note: these are called FINISHED DIMENSIONS.  I also wrote down the vertical distances (in inches) between each of those important points on the sweater (armpit, bust, ribcage, etc).

Here's the key part of your design: shaping.  If you want a non-manly sweater, you need to look at a few things.  One of them is shaping.  It is not easy to figure out how shaping works, so don't expect a magic formula that will make it all just come together for you.  (Also, I'm not a fashion designer, so I'm just fumbling around in the dark here, myself.)  Here are some key areas where you can place shaping:

• Some increases/decreases along the side "seams" of the sweater body (because this is a seamless, there are no actual side seams, but you get the idea)
• Some short rows at the bust area
• Some increases/decreases to form darts at the back, under your shoulder blades
• Some increases/decreases in the sleeves, so that they fit more snugly.  Bell sleeves can also be very feminine...
• Some ribbing along the side seams to "snug" everything in
• Some ribbing just under the bust, so you get an empire waist effect
• Look through some of your favourite patterns to see where they have placed some shaping to see if you get any other ideas.

One of the problems I ALWAYS run across is that if I choose a sweater size based on my bust dimension, the sweater is too big.  My bust is 38" around, so I fall in the "Medium/Large" range.  Trouble is, my ribcage is only 32.5" around.  That's a big difference.  When I try shirts on in the store, I almost always end up buying a Small (Medium at the very biggest).  So I am going to try something with my sweater: I'm going to design it so it fits above and below the bust and the fullest part of my bust is going to get some extra fabric in the form of short rows.  I am going to ignore the measurement of my bust at its fullest point.

I'm going to try my best to explain this in writing:

I know what my upper bust measurement is and I know what the ribcage dimension is.  I've figured out that if I measure between those two lines perfectly vertically (I measure this by standing in front of a mirror and holding the tape up in my armpit so that it can hang down straight along my side), I get 6".  BUT, if I measure the distance between those SAME POINTS down the front of my *ahem* boobies, across the fullest part of my bust, that measurement becomes 7.5".   

Right.  So what? you ask.  Ok well, I know that I need to vertically add 1.5" of fabric in the front of my sweater, between my armpit line and my ribcage line.  The goal is that there will some extra fabric there to go around my boobs - this will look like a bulge when the sweater is laid flat. 

What was my row gauge again?  Right, it was 7 rows/1".   So that means that between those two points, I will have something like 42 rows of knitting I don't do any shaping.  And it means that I need to add 7 or 9 short rows in that area (for the sake of simplicity and in the spirit of not overdoing things, I'm going to stick with 7) in order to get some extra space for the girls.  One short row will go right at the fullest point of my bust.  There will be 3 above that, evenly spaced between my armpit line and my fullest bust line (one per inch)(in other words: one for every 7 regular rows). {ETA: I revised this later on, when I made a discovery about short rows: every time you perform a short row, you're actually adding TWO rows of knitting into your fabric...click here for more info.}  Make sense?  Short rows are basically partial rows - they do not go all the way around the sweater body.  You sneak them in wherever you want them.  In my case, I'm going to make them run from armpit to armpit, across my bust.

Are you even still with me?

Other shaping I'm contemplating:

• Two vertical darts in the back, starting under my shoulder blades.  I need to take it in a bit back there - all my sweaters always gape in that area.  I need to go from 176 stitches (armpit height) to 162 sts (ribcage height), so I'm going to try and take it out of the body in the back, as opposed to just on the sides.  (Kate Davies did something similar in this most amazing dress she made herself - only it is very fitted and she calls it an arse-accommodator.)  Mine is much less exaggerated - just a little taking in.
• Some increases in the body (along the side seams), below the ribcage line, so it forms a slight A-line.

Feel free to step in here, Chris, if you think I'm barking up the wrong tree.

Decorative Stitches:

Another way to inject a feminine touch in to your sweater is to use decorative stitches (lace, cables, twisted stitches, etc) in various areas.  There are entire books dedicated to this sort of thing, so I won't get into details here.  Suffice it to say that if you want something to look more girly, it's easy to find a nice simple lace pattern that you can slip into the side "seam" area or in a panel up the middle of the back.  My yarn is variegated and has a beautiful sheen, so I think I'm going to leave it alone and just use stockinette stitch.  If you have an idea and you aren't sure how to implement it, let me know and I'll help you out.

Knitting, Phase I: Sleeves

Sleeves are a major component of the design.  Do you want bell sleeves, fitted sleeves, 3/4 sleeves?  This is something you'll have to decide (along with how many stitches you want to start with.  The Seamless Hybrid is a hem-up sweater, so you start with the cuff measurement, but you'll want to figure out how big around that upper arm needs to be and how often/where you're going to increase to get there.  EZ gives some guidelines in the form of percentages, but I've learned that these have been modified over the years to suit evolving fashions and are really just meant as a guideline.  I'm kind of ignoring them, myself.

I want long sleeves for this jacket.  I am notorious for underestimating how cold it is outside and I want to be able to pull the cuffs down over my hands if the steering wheel is cold.  I don't want any special shaping, though - just simple and easy.  In my particular case, that means casting on 42 sts (I figured that out by doing some math with my gauge and sweater schematic) with my 4.0mm needles and knitting in 2x1 rib for 4" (ALWAYS GO DOWN A NEEDLE SIZE OR TWO WHEN RIBBING - otherwise your ribbing is going to be schlumpy).  Then, switching to 5.0mm needles and knitting in stockinette, increasing every 5 or 6 rows as EZ describes in the Seamless Hybrid pattern (except I'm so lazy, I didn't even count the rows) until I got to 66 sts (which is 14" - that's the measurement I wanted for the upper arm).  Then I stopped increasing and just knit straight until the sleeve measured 22.5" in length (total).  Easy peasy.  My sleeves aren't *exactly* the same (see reference to laziness above), but you can't tell.

And guess what?  I knit the sleeves first so that they act as insurance gauge swatches.  Turns out I got just a *little* tighter when I knit them up (it didn't affect the size of the sleeves, really) and I was able to adjust my gauge number as a result.  It means that I had to go back and adjust my numbers for the body of the sweater, but I'm fine with that.  Better safe than sorry.

(to be continued...)

Eeek, it's a steek!

One of my unofficial New Year's resolutions was to refrain from buying more yarn until I work through half of my stash (my stash isn't very big: "half" constitutes 2 sweaters' worth).  I also had a couple of hibernating WIP's that I new needed to go.  I decided that the first contestant would be my poorly-conceived tunic (seen here).  The problem with the whole thing is that the yarn is so damn itchy.  It needs to be worn as outerwear and I can tell that the tunic is going to be too warm for me.  So I frogged it and started some sleeves for a Seamless Hybrid (women's version).  It's going to be a jacket with long and roomy sleeves and buttons.  Maybe some patch pockets?  I'm not sure.  All I know is it's going to be WARM.  Phew, this yarn is a workhorse (Lamb's Pride, by the by).  Last week, I showed you sleeve #1:

I experienced something with this yarn that I had not yet come across: there are dramatic variations within the different balls (all the same dye lot and batch).  This sleeve has nice dark low lights and a few strands of light beige high lights.  The other sleeve (a different ball of yarn) has much less contrast.  Oh well.  I'm not a perfectionist and besides, if I chuck that ball, I won't have enough yarn.  No-one will notice, right?  Right.

For the body of the sweater, I'm going to attempt, for the first time EVER, a steek.  I've been doing research all week and found Eunny Jang's tutorial series here, which is really well executed and full of crucial information, which I so appreciate.  I decided to do up a little steek swatch:

My knitted tube with one row of crochet stitches along the steek line (I didn't actually mark the steek line - it wasn't crucial).

The tube with both rows of crochet, ready for cutting.

Do you see the ladders I've circled in grey?  Those ladders are what I'm about to cut.  (Please forgive the deplorable state of my thumbnail and cuticle.  February is doing its best to kill me and I tend to take that kind of thing out on my nails.  My name is dw and I'm a nail biter.)

Steeking in progress.

 

Wrong side view of the steek in progress.

 

Isn't it strange how there are no little yarn ends?  The snipped threads almost seem to shrink back into the crochet stitches.

The steek edged (notice how short those snipped threads are?  I'm highlighting them with arrows...)

The wrong side view of the steeked edge.  So neat and tidy...

...and the right side view (with an arrow pointing at a little snipped end).

I took the opportunity to pick up and knit along the edge to practice making the button placket.

Result: nice, crisp and tidy.  The seam allowance on the wrong side was surprizingly not at all bulky.  And it lies flat against the fabric - no wrestling into place involved.

I tacked down the edge with some scrap yarn (in orange, so you could see it).

And this is the final product.  

So what do I think?  Ah yeah, me likey.  I have a feeling I'm about to embark on an adventure that will change my knitting forever.

Oh dear, I just read on Wikipedia that Eva Zeisel died yesterday.  Since design school, I have been in love with her work and find myself a little choked up at the news of her death.  Yes, she was 105 years old and yes, she lived a varied and (seemingly) exciting life, but still.  One of the world's stars went out yesterday.

Also, yes, I am still alive.  I'm *this* close to finishing the argyle vest and only news of this magnitude could tear me away from it.  Husband's birthday is imminent and I want to have something to offer as a gift.  I shall return with an update shortly.

Yup, still alive

I know, I'm the most horriblest blogger ever and you've given up on me.  Before you walk away for ever though, I ask for one parting favour: go and check out Miranda's bedroom.  Go, I swear it's worth it.

We've been going back and forth on it for months and she has decided that, though she isn't 100% done, it's internet-ready.  Way to go, girl!

PS: I will be back soon with a full accounting of what they heck I've been up to and why I've been ignoring you.  I'll also be begging Chris's forgiveness for not calling her when I was back in my hometown for an unexpected visit last week, though I said I would (I'm SO SORRY Chris, I just ran out of time, dangit!).

And So It Begins

Now that I'm finished The Epic Cardigan, it's time to think about the next one.

Only, this time, I'm doing some advance planning, armed with some freshly-obtained knowledge.

I referred to several sources for tips on design and fit.  I took a photo of myself and used it as a template to draw designs on.  I swatched.  I think I'm ready to cast on.

Just need some proper circular needles.  Oh, the anticipation!