The first time I witnessed a roll up was at Urban Glass in Brooklyn. It was absolutely amazing to watch. The piece being made was a very large, and would become the globe for a lamp. I never saw the finished piece but the process was forever stuck in my mind. I used to think I really wanted to do roll ups. Then I had a dose of reality. I am not going to be a glass blower. My interests are in lampwork and kiln forming. Ah, kiln forming. That’s how a roll up starts. I’ve watched more and more roll ups and realized I could make a cool piece of glass and someone else can roll it up. So finally I got one done. It’s lovely and it was blown by Ryan Staub from Washington. He comes into town regularly to do roll ups over at Pacific Art Glass. In fact, he’s there right now. Doing roll ups. Check out this video from Eugene Glass School. Also you can check out an explanation of the process at Bullseye’s web site. And the picture is of the piece Ryan blew for me…
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Knit a Great Button Down Shirt
Just about anything you can make in fabric you can make in knitting, but there are some styles that you just don’t see that often translated into knitting.
For example, a button down collared shirt. This is a classic design, of course, and it looks great in a knit version, but it’s just not something you see much of.
Noma Ndlovu’s Guglethu shirt is the pattern to try if you want to knit your own button down shirt. This one is inspired by cashmere tops (though the sample was made out of yak yarn, not cashmere, and uses two strands of lace weight yarn held together) and includes lots of high-fashion details like double-knit cuffs, collar and shoulder seams.
It has a patch pocket on the front and 10 buttons including the button band and the cuffs.
The designer says you can also use a DK weight yarn held singly if you’d rather, and that the shirt looks good in a variety of yarns. There is another version on Ravelry that uses Berroco Remix Light, which is a mix of nylon, cotton, acrylic, silk and cellulose fibers. It has a more relaxed look but it still really pretty.
The pattern has 12 sizes, with a full bust measurement ranging from 32.35 to 72.25 inches, or 82 to 183.5 cm. The designer suggests 2 to 6 inches, or 5 to 15 cm, of positive ease when you pick your size. I could totally see knitting one that’s even bigger to wear more like a jacket, because I do that a lot with button down shirts I already own.
I love all the details on this shirt, which isn’t necessarily difficult to knit, but might introduce you to some things you’ve never knit before (like those cuffs with the plackets, or a shirt collar like this).
To learn more about this shirt and grab a copy of the pattern for yourself, head to Ravelry.
[Photo: Noma Ndlovu]