Knit Nut

Thu, 11 Oct 2007 08:46:10 GMT

The weather's just starting to heat up and now I decide to knit again. Duh, if you knit during winter, by the time you finish anything substantial, it's already summer. So I knit when it's hot and end up with plenty cool stuff for the winter. And I have the coldest, darkest room in the house, so I can wear it all while I'm happily being antisocial.

Well actually, what got me knitting again was a book I found called Punk Knits. It's full of fantastic patterns and guides on how to intentionally make holes without them unravelling. With a bit more black wool (and a lot more patience), I could make a whole new gothic wardrobe.

My first attempt was a glove, but the needles I had were too small, and so was the glove. I turned it into a cape for a teddy. Now I've been working on arm warmers for a friend. They use dropped stitches to make a spider web fan at the end. It worked okay with smaller needles, but I'm keeping the first one as a prototype. I'm wearing it in the photo below. It's pretty tight fitting, but very comfy. The one I'm working on as the final product will be much looser now that I have big needles. The yarn I'm using is called 'bamboozle', some mix of bamboo and cotton. Very soft.

Knitting is quite exciting. I've been going to bed late and waking up insanely early because of all the ideas drowning in my head. I can sit in my room in the dark all day, knitting with my music on. In fact, it's a good way to just listen to music and still come out with some achievement. And completely customised clothing? Brilliant!

I'm very much into the DIY philosophy at the moment. Fashion has turned clothing into cheap disposable crap that looks plain and unimaginative. Last time I tried to get a decent pair of jeans, I had to go to three big stores before I found one that properly covered my bum. I'm a skinny runt, those low cut things fall off someone like me. And look at Supre, all that bright shit they have now, in styles intended to make people clones so that when they go out of fashion, they can sell them the next big statement and keep making money. I feel like throwing up whenever I'm unfortunate enough to pass by. (I mean that quite literally.)

My current goal is to achieve a wardobe full of things I've either made or modified (apart from the 'professional' looking 'acceptable' clothes that have to stick around). So I'm knitting. But I've also been to Vinnies and picked up a whole heap of unwanted clothing which I intend to alter to suit me. It solves the problem of me chopping up the new clothes people give me. Mmm... Destruction is necessary to make way for creation.

The other thing about DIY is it's so much cheaper. For example, to buy chains to put on your pants you're expected to fork out $20 or even more. Today, I got 10 dog chains for $12. I could decorate them with safety pins or beads and come out with something so much cooler. Why pay someone else to be creative for me?

Which brings me to alternative clothing stores. They're full of fantastic things, expensive, but often you can tell that more effort has been put into their production. If people are gonna buy things, then alternative stores are better, especially for hard-to-make items like corsets. But the shirts and the modified pants...? Anyone who can hold a sewing needle can make something unique. Goths and other creative types like to look different, but why would you look the 'different' that some designer has dictated to you? It's a short road to stereotype.

Well I know I probably have more time than others, so it's easy for me to sit here and say MAKE YOUR OWN GOD DAMN CLOTHES, PEOPLE! But just using safety pins, anyone can make their clothes look at least a little bit different in 10 seconds. Safety pin a ribbon, a zipper, whatever's lying around just to get a start. And don't throw anything out. Unwanted clothes are good for ripping or as scrap material.

But hey, if you don't wanna listen, or you're uninspired, then go have some fashion guru brainwash you. The unsuspecting clone victim look is very in this season.

dragonlugia: Hobbies

Knit Nut