The Fez

A few years back, I developed a Fez pattern for my Year 7 class. The "house" that I was in at school had the Fez as it's symbol. So each year we would get the Year 7's to make their own Fez and then they could wear it at all the "house" functions. It is quite a simple pattern.

Last Saturday night there was an occasion for my husband and I to use the Fez pattern again. My husband braved the hording crowds at Spotlight South Melbourne to grab some red velveteen and some tassels and on Friday night we proceeded to make the legendary Fez. Normally I would use black tassels, but there was none left ...


Photo's of our fez making in front of one of our favorite cook books, Saha by Greg Malouf. The event that we were off to was a Middle Eastern evening at a friends place and the food was absolutely divine!

So I thought that I would upload my Fez pattern to the interweb for all to enjoy!

• Free Fez Pattern Part 1
• Free Fez Pattern Part 2

The pattern is quite simple and can be made more sophisticated using different materials and construction methods. The pattern needs to be on A3 size paper and you can adjust it by changing the size of the pattern. It's not perfect, but enjoy anyway! And please, if you use it, post a picture for me to see!

Longitude Pencil Cases

A friend wanted me to make some longitude/latitude pencil cases, so I battled with my embroidery machine yesterday to get them done. I don't like to have numbers or letters embroidered with large stitch lengths. They catch in things and the embroidery gets wrecked. So I had to persist with the cheaper thread that kept on breaking .. grr... this afternoon while the family swanned around The Glen, I bought some expensive thread in the colours I was working with.

My "map material" stash is starting to run low, so I might have to go on the hunt for some more. There seems to be real interest in the pencil cases/pouches that I have created. But they really do hinge on the lining material to create the interest. I might have to create some interesting designs at Spoonflower. I hear through the grapevine that their material prints are of a high quality.
I have always had a facination with longitude and latitude and when I was teaching Year 7 Humanities mapping was always my favourite bit of the course. Unfortunately next year I am not teaching Year 7 Humanities, but rather Year 7 Religious Education. I might have to think about how I can bring maps into the course!

Another project that I finally finished was a knitting bag based on the tutorial at Dragoknit. The knitting bag was based around the Shannon Lamden fabric called Knit One that I bought at the Patchwork on Central sale in October (or was it November ..).

The lining fabric sat in my workroom for weeks until I decided what to do with it. Then I decided to use red velveteen as the outside fabric.

I am pleased with the result, but I am also aware that this is the "first prototype" of this type of bag that I have made. So there are undocumented enhancements (flaws) in it. I have a scrap left over, so I might make something small and cute from it.