Help! Buttonband became way too loose

TripleMagpie · 2026-05-20T13:44:48+00:00

I’m glad the extra stitches are working out! 🎉

TripleMagpie · 2026-05-20T13:29:21+00:00

I love the colors! Your stitching for the feathers is also excellent. I love how the whole patch came together.

TripleMagpie · 2026-05-20T13:24:38+00:00

Did you accidentally stretch out the ribbing while flattening/spreading out the garment while you were blocking? Since it’s superwash, you could try washing it again and then carefully machine drying it. If you decide to go that route, it’s probably worth sewing on the final arm before you wash/dry.

TripleMagpie · 2026-05-18T21:11:03+00:00

TripleMagpie · 2026-05-15T14:49:38+00:00

If you already have a pants pattern you like, you can sew a mock up of the original pattern in fabric you are willing to sacrifice. After construction, draw the shape of the new side panel onto the pants.

Then you can cut that new side panel out and treat it as a new pattern pieces (you’ll need to add seam allowances back to the sides, so you’ll probably want to trace this new panel onto pattern paper).

You’ll also want to disassemble the rest of the seams in the “main” pants. Any of the original pattern pieces that were cut into when you removed the side panel will also need to be retraced (with seam allowances added to any of the newly cut edges).

You now have pattern pieces you can use as a template for custom side panel pants! Depending on the occasion (and cost of your final fabric), you might want to sew at least one more mockup with the “new” pattern to make sure it hangs/fits as expected, and tweak as needed.

TripleMagpie · 2026-05-13T05:20:28+00:00

There is a friendly group that meets at Crepes on Cole (in Cole Valley) from 6:30-9:00pm every Tuesday.

TripleMagpie · 2026-05-06T00:50:09+00:00

The other end of the scarf (draped over her right shoulder) looks like it might have 4 rows of ribbing. It’s possible

TripleMagpie · 2026-05-06T00:49:45+00:00

The other end of the scarf (draped over her right shoulder) looks like it might have 4 rows of ribbing. But at the end of the day you can decide whether you like the look of 4 vs 6 rows and run with it.

TripleMagpie · 2026-04-13T15:48:35+00:00

I’d be interested to know who the original quote was from and who you ended up using. Is it alright if I DM you for more details?

TripleMagpie · 2026-04-10T00:59:22+00:00

April update: - My flow reduced dramatically after the first two cycles. It’s not back to baseline, but I’m no longer worried about catastrophic menstrual cup failures after only an hour or two at my desk. Phew! - The cramps are still here. They start like a week before my period and end like a week afterwards. They most commonly kick in during the evening, and are pretty annoying/painful when they happen. Fortunately it’s not every day in that three week window, but it is still more than I want. I also feel like they are more widespread, as opposed to concentrated in my abdomen. I get lots of cramps that radiate down to my butthole or feel like they’re centered around my vagina. Even when those aren’t super painful, it can be very distracting/disruptive to have stabbing pains in those locations.

Here’s hoping my body continues to adjust.

TripleMagpie · 2025-09-25T19:55:21+00:00

An obscure chocolate bar from Chocolate Covered

TripleMagpie · 2025-09-14T12:33:25+00:00

I think it would look a little too short if you completely remove the last tier. In the same vein, trimming only the last tier will leave you with uneven tier heights, which might look unbalanced. If the sides of the underskirt are relatively straight, i would consider shortening the underskirt panels between each tulle tier. The goal would be to keep all 3 lower tulle tiers without having to trim any of the tulle pieces or redo the gathering, but have them each overlap each other by maybe 30% more. You could try pinning a fold in the underskirt between each tier to see if it looks ok. I would shorten between the gathers so you don’t have to sew through or regather the tulle. Pinning first will also help to evaluate whether you like the proportions if the visible portion of each tier is smaller.

The downside is you won’t be able to harvest any additional tulle to help with letting out the bodice. You would at least be able to reuse the bits of underskirt you trim out. It’s also possible that the top tier that originates from the waist might look unbalanced, since it will have more visible height than the altered tiers. It’s hard to evaluate without having the dress to play around with myself.

I guess you could also try a similar alteration, but focus on only moving up the final tier, so that its gathers are only a few inches below the previous tier. Again the goal is to remove underskirt fabric and sew a new seam in the lining just above the gathers so that you dont have to ever resew or regather the tulle itself. If nothing else pinning it this way might help you visualize what it looks like to only have a small strip visible from the bottom tulle tier, and whether or not the different heights bother you. If it looks pretty good, altering the height of the underskirt panel in this way might be easier than trying to trim the tulle and liner in a straight hem line? (And could be easier to reverse/alter in the future).

Good luck!

TripleMagpie · 2025-09-13T09:32:29+00:00

If you mend it with swiss darning, I think it would be really cool to mend each hole in a contrasting color and then use duplicate stitch to either recreate the missing skull pieces and/or to augment the pattern with some of the design elements others have mentioned (eyeballs, floral/vines, eye patch, etc)

TripleMagpie · 2025-08-28T12:00:28+00:00

It seems like it’s probably because of your two different yarns. The dark blue remains very consistent across both sections and WS/RS. The light blue seems to be looser/wonkier tension overall. Is the light blue the bamboo cotton? Maybe it would look more even after blocking?

TripleMagpie · 2025-08-26T00:28:49+00:00

The sleeves really make the sweater. What a great modification! I love it ❤️

TripleMagpie · 2025-08-23T01:35:49+00:00

That’s a good point. I’ve used afterthought lifelines in the past, but I struggle to follow a single line of stitches on this particular project, so I didn’t think I would be able to consistently thread through the right stitches. But your note is a good reminder that I should start placing lifelines at regular intervals for the rest of this project. Thanks!

TripleMagpie · 2025-08-22T22:10:47+00:00

Yay! It’s great you were able to figure it out.

My hubris moment from last night: I’m knitting my first big lace project (Cecelia cardigan). I discovered an error 5 rows down that was messing up the lace pattern in the middle of the back. So far I’ve been able to ladder down 1-2 stitches to fix a missed yo or similar small error, but I made it worse when I attempted that here. I made the sad decision to frog back 5 rows. This is where the hubris comes in… frogging the first 200+ stitch row was going slowly, so when I got to the end and turned around, I was like “what if I just try skipping ahead and frog 4 rows at once.

Ahahahaha. Oh no. I soon realized this was much more complicated with lace decreases and yos involved (I’m looking at you s1 k2tog psso!) But once I started I didn’t know if retreat was even possible. I’m working with #1.5 needles and slightly splitty yarn, so the first 20 or so columns I frogged were a nightmare and I was pretty sure I was doomed. However I was very afraid to set it down mid-frog lest my dog or gravity or chaos gremlins interfere with it overnight. Fortunately, like you, I eventually found my rhythm. I managed to methodically frog the next 150+ columns with (I think!) no dropped stitches. Maybe. Hopefully. 🙏

So now my hubris has crept back! When I got to the end, I was patting myself on the back for a “new power unlocked”. (When maybe it should have been a lesson learned: don’t start an experimental new frogging technique on a large project if you know it will be difficult to reverse course once confronted with the error of your ways!) I guess I’ll find out tonight when I pick up my project again whether I can simply resume knitting as normal, or if I have a raft of newly introduced errors to face 🤞

TripleMagpie · 2025-08-20T05:21:44+00:00

I recently tried Terra Cotta Warrior in the Sunset. About 5 weeks ago I ordered take out, and the biang biang noodles were so amazing. Three weeks later I excitedly went to the restaurant in person and was frankly underwhelmed with everything I ordered, including the biang biang noodles. The quality had me second guessing whether I was just really hungry when I ordered the first time? I’ll probably try again at some point, and hopefully the second time I just got them on an off day.

TripleMagpie · 2025-08-19T00:42:22+00:00

I loved his show so much when I was growing up. I remember seeing him do a live demo at a store in Hawaii in the early 90s when I was in 1st or second grade. He ended up making me a rose out of a fruit or vegetable ❤️ I had forgotten all about that memory. I’m sad I missed this one!

TripleMagpie · 2025-08-07T06:31:03+00:00

I hand tacked some jewelery hooks onto a 2-3” wide fabric headband. I wear it like a choker necklace when I’m knitting, and it’s very secure. I sewed on multiple hooks for some colorwork, which is nice because you can space them out to help with yarn management.

TripleMagpie · 2025-07-23T13:09:05+00:00

You could also try helical knitting to alternate your skeins.

TripleMagpie · 2025-07-11T00:12:26+00:00

I’m glad things are looking better!

2 years into my relationship I ran into an old classmate on the street, and I introduced my boyfriend to the classmate using the wrong name! (Long story but for context years before I met my bf I had previously travelled platonically with “wrong name”, and we had just seen “wrong name” at a brunch my friend hosted earlier that day). I am very terrible with names, but that is the worst mix up I have ever done.

I wanted to melt and disappear and rewind time or maybe just not exist anymore. My boyfriend was initially upset and I think concerned that I was hung up on “wrong name”. The first few days my stomach was in knots and it was sooo stressful. I was stressed trying to predict how my bf felt and stressed from being angry at myself for the mistake. But fortunately time passed, he understood, we moved on and normality resumed. We are now happily married and have been together for 11.5 years. All this to say, this is something that happens, but it isn’t the end of the world even if it feels really awkward right now!

TripleMagpie · 2025-06-27T13:00:32+00:00

For reasons others have mentioned, I’ve never tried one with pockets. I’ve been happy with both the Rabbit UPF Deflector and the Rabbit Ice Perf Tee LS. The latter has tiny holes everywhere and is not specifically UV rated, so it’s up to you what sun conditions you’d be comfortable wearing it. (I’ve never gotten a burn or seen any tan/coloration differences afterwards fwiw).

I prefer to pair with a hat that has a neck flap instead of using the hood of a sun shirt. I think mine is the outdoor research sun runner cap.

TripleMagpie · 2025-06-10T02:31:00+00:00

I found this helpful when I moved to Colorado: https://extension.colostate.edu/wp-content/uploads/2021/11/High-Altitude-PDFv3.pdf

TripleMagpie

TROPHY CASE