Eco-Friendly

This eco-friendly jacket is constructed of recycled mop heads.
...Ok, not really, but it sort of looks like it is...

Dramatic Statements, Day Three

You can't fail to see the high drama brought out in our first (top) model by that stunning yellow sweater!  This time, the designer has upped the ante by adding beads to the fringe.  (Such spunk!)  Wear this with a pair of black gloves (the better to accentuate your dramatic hand posing), and people will be staring from two football fields away. 

For a more understated but still eye-riveting effect, try our second sweater of the day.  An attention-getter when layered over a simple black top, just imagine the effect when you do away with the first layer!  (Comes with matching rope-fringe hair ornament.)

Dramatic Statements, Day Two

First, we have a reworking of the ropey fringe, this time in combination with triangles and kite-shaped appliques of futuristic, metallic fabric.  You can tell from the young model's pose alone that she knows she's making a dramatic statement.

Then we have a charming mother-and-daughter team of dramatic sweaters.  They share similar dynamic designs of circular appliques and dots, but the mother's sweater also sports shoulder pads of a thickness and heft that the daughter does not yet have the years or aplomb to carry off with success.  Don't worry, dear.  Your time will come!

Fringe Necklace

Here's another of those great gift idea projects that you can whip out in no time flat when a birthday or other special occasion sneaks up on you:

Such a creative way to use up those partial skeins that have a way of accumulating.

Wear Something... On Top?

Today's photo illustrates how, if you simply must wear holey fabric but can't bring yourself to wear something (or much of something) underneath, you can still give a nod to decency with a little strategically placed fringe:

(I'm not sure why the fringe starts higher on one side of the shirt than the other, though... Ran out of yarn, maybe?)

Don't Tread On Me

It's probably just me, but the pattern on this scarf and hat remind me of tire treads... with the result that it feels like this poor lady has tire tracks running up her body and over the top of her head...

Or, if you're part of the 99.9% of the population who looks at the photo and thinks, "Tire treads?  I don't see it...", then how about this?:

Wow.  Look at all that fringe on the sides of her scarf.  And the hat, with the fringe on just the sides.  It looks weird.  Also: Why are there holes in scarf?  Doesn't that kind of... I don't know, defeat the purpose?  (Don't bring up the fact that many scarves are meant as fashion statements more than for warmth, please.)

Faceoff

I don't know what bothers me most...

The fringe along almost every edge of the scarf...
The hair made of fringe...
The fact that the model is doing her best to look like the face on her scarf (sunglasses, etc.)...
Or the fact that her scarf face is situated right at the crotch. 

Just count me as displeased on multiple levels, ok?

Fluff & Fringe

Between the fluff and the fringe, one hardly knows where to look...

But two things:
First, this unflattering dress somehow manages to make a beautiful model look a little "thick" in the middle, which doesn't bode well for the rest of us. 

Second, would it have been so hard to edit out the ends of her hair that show right below her armpit?

A Little Nutty

Ariadne's mummy (whom you may remember from this post) finished crocheting her little darling's outfit just in time for the Giant Acorn Festival.

...True, she'd had to bluff her way through much of the skirt (yarn loops are such faster work than actual stitches), but there were plenty of giant acorns-- and that was what really mattered.

Bwock!

When you dress children, you can push the envelope a little.  Something that would look odd (if not "woo, that lady's cuckoo") on an adult can be acceptable (possibly even "cute as a button") on a child.

...But if you don't set some type of parameters, you might end up pushing that envelope right off the side of a cliff. 

Allow me to present the Chicken Dress as a case in point:

Now, before you squeal with delight and run off in search of the pattern, ask yourself-- how many occasions in a child's life really call for a Chicken Dress?  (See?  I just saved you a lot of time and trouble.  You're welcome.)

Rags to Riches-- Er, or Maybe Not...

If you're like a lot of knitters and crocheters who've been "at it" for a while, you've probably accumulated a supply of leftover bits and bobs of yarn-- a scrap stash, if you will.  A project rarely requires exactly the amount of yarn in that last ball or skein.  We can't bear to waste the leftover yarn, so we keep it, even though it's usually not enough on its own to supply a whole new project and it's often impossible to buy more of that color or dye lot.  

So what's a knitter/crocheter to do?

Well, I'll tell you one thing-- it's not a valid excuse to make something like this:

Ugh.  It's made of loop fringe.
It looks like some ill-conceived rag rug... from a 1970s kitchen... that has been on the floor getting heavy use since the 1970s... and never once washed during that entire period.  (I.e. probably not the sort of thing you want to wear as a coat.)

Please, my fellow scrap hoarders.  There are better options available to us.  Keep looking!  Don't despair!  Don't cave in and make a rag rug coat!

She's Stylin'.

You can tell by the way a woman carries herself that she knows she's lookin' good:

Oh, yeah, girl.  Get down with your bad self! 

All that loopy fringe trim!  No wonder she's strutting.

Bikers Luv Fringe

Well, maybe not, but it's the only possible explanation I could come up with for this:

VROOM-VROOM, baby!

Scroungy, Mangy Poncho-Dress

Today, a feast of fringe, both loopy and clipped!

It's perfect for those days when nothing will suit you but to look like you're draped in a scroungy, mangy wolf pelt!

Also:  What is that thing?  It looks like a poncho... but then it continues down past her hands.  Is that a skirt beneath the poncho?  Or is it dress?  Is... is she even wearing anything (up top) under that poncho??  ...I don't want to imagine what that poncho-thing would feel like on bare skin... ~shudder~

Piñata Bolero

It's the gold knotted fringe that really defines this as the Piñata Bolero.

So... Anyone got a stick?

Fringe Gone Mad

At what point does a designer cross over from "amateur fringe fancier"...

...right into "frenzied fringe fanatic" territory?

Huh?

I'm probably just not sophisticated enough to appreciate the subject of this entry.

Maybe it's like so much modern art.  Critics love it-- museums proudly display it-- collectors shell out the big bucks for the privilege of owning it-- and I just look at it, shake my head, and think, "I could've done that.  Heck, I could've done that when I was five years old-- but I wouldn't have.  I had better taste."

Yeah, just not sophisticated enough, I guess.  That's why I look at this piece and tilt my head to one side, then the other (like a dog trying to puzzle out the meaning of something not quite within its grasp)...

"Huh?  What's that all about?"

All She Needs Is a Red Rubber Nose

Take a look at this little number!

It's what all the most fashionable lady clowns are wearing, this year. 

Fringe Theory

I have a theory.  It goes a little something like this:

A crocheter's or a knitter's level of skill is inversely proportional to the likelihood of his/her knitting or crocheting a garment composed almost entirely of fringe.

Fringe has the benefit of hiding any number of flaws, which can be alluring to a beginner.  But then there's the downside of fringe-based clothing-- namely, that you usually end up looking something like this:

Fringe.  In its place, it's a thoroughly acceptable way to add a little pizazz to your knitting or crochet project.  You could even say that it's a time-honored tradition.  However, if you don't exercise a little restraint, your hard work might end up resembling the shaggy pelt of an abominable snowman.

A Fringe Too Far

It takes a brave woman to wear a vest that looks like it might have been made from her own hair:

Yes, Virginia, there is such a thing as too much fringe, and I think we're looking at it right. now. . .

(Well, at least she had the decency to wear something underneath it.)