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Hands Occupied

Colorful knitting, crochet, latch hook and macrame from craft book author & designer Heidi Gustad.

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Meet Balwen Woodworks

August 18, 2015 Leave a Comment

Meet Balwen Woodworks | Hands Occupied

I would be remiss if I didn’t mention something critical to the design process for my most recent pattern, the Delta Hat. The big difference between the Delta and other patterns I’ve released so far is that this one involves notions – buttons, to be precise. I wouldn’t be me, though, without finding some new and special way to put something unique into the design. In the Delta Hat’s case, it’s the button flap, designed with buttons from Balwen Woodworks. This company’s reclaimed tool handle buttons caught my eye immediately. They come in a lot of different shapes, colors and sizes, all due to the fact that they legitimately were the handle of a hammer or a trowel in a previous life. How cool is that?

As you continue to knit away on your Deltas at home, you should take a quick break to get to know the woman behind Balwen Woodworks, Lindy Sinclair.

Lindy from Balwen Woodworks

all images via Balwen Woodworks

An interview with Lindy from Balwen Woodworks

How long have you been making buttons?

I’ve been a woodworker off and on for most of my life, helping my dad even as a kid, but didn’t start making buttons until last year. I met a woodworker from Wisconsin who made small desktop coin holders and had a huge box of leftover bits of wood — many of them exotic species or with really lovely color — that I couldn’t stand to see go to waste. I started playing around with what I could make from such small bits, and needed some really small buttons for a cowl I’d just finished knitting. So, buttons!

What inspired you to start your business?

I’ve planned to start my own business for a long time; I’ve intentionally worked for several small companies over the years, trying to learn all I could about running one. I have a deep-seated need to *make* things, and it took me awhile to figure out how to put together a business that let me use both my hands and my brain in the balance that felt right to me. It definitely was a case of a tiny bit of inspiration plus a massive dose of perspiration, figuring that out. I’m really just as interested in the business side as I am in the creative side. But with Balwen I have so many ideas for expansion and new products, along with ways to actually set up and run the business itself, so it feels like the right fit.

You also knit, which came first, the buttons or knitting?

Knitting, by far. I’ve been knitting for almost 15 years, along with a few attempts by my grandmother to teach me crochet when I was little. (I apparently did all right at the time, but it didn’t stick.) I also spin a little bit, but have (so far) managed not to take up weaving. Although I confess that’s probably just a matter of time, as there seems to be lots of lovely wooden tools involved in weaving!

What sort of wood and/or reclaimed item makes a good button? A bad one?

There aren’t any hard and fast rules here. Of course harder woods will stand up to rough handling (not to mention washing) better than soft woods like pine. One of the nice things about working with salvaged items is that I can already see how they wear, or have worn, over time. They’re also less likely to dry out and crack like new wood, so I find fewer unpleasant surprises.

The only things I can think of offhand that might make a bad button or closure would be something very soft, where the wood is already starting to decay, so it will get crumbly. And there are a few wood species that are very oily or tend to bleed their color a bit, like cedar. But those woods are still usable, they just have to be well sealed.

What inspired you to work with reclaimed materials?

Put simply, I hate throwing stuff away, and I’m really bothered by how easy it is to just toss things we’re “done with.” Especially something like wood, which doesn’t exactly grow overnight and can’t be manufactured. Just because a piece of wood is done being one thing, doesn’t mean the wood itself isn’t good any more. In fact, wood tends to get more beautiful with time, as it develops color and patina that you can’t really fake. Not to mention, why pay $50 for a board of cherry wood when I can find a half of a solid cherry wood desk chair in the alley?

I have a box near my workbench full of bits and bobs I just can’t bring myself to put in a garbage can. A lot of my favorite pieces, like the denim jewel closure and the tool handle buttons, came from figuring out ways to use the stuff in that box. Right now there’s a broken leather belt and a bunch of old bass guitar strings in there that I’m working on incorporating into new items. I like the challenge of figuring out what things should be next.

Thanks, Lindy! 

Filed Under: Knit Along, Knitting, Knitting & Crochet Tagged With: balwen, balwen woodworks, buttons, delta hat, deltahatkal, handmade buttons, kal, reclaimed buttons

About Heidi

Heidi Gustad (she/her) is a craft book author & designer specializing in yarn crafts. Her work combines vintage and modern design elements, prioritizing color and graphic motifs. Her first book, Latch Hook: 12 Projects for the Modern Maker, is out now.

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Heidi Gustad from Hands Occupied / Craft Book Author and Knitting, Crochet, Latch Hook and Macrame Designer

Hi! I’m Heidi (she/her/hers), and I’ve been helping yarn crafters untangle various techniques on the internet since 2010. I got my start here, as a blogger, and since then I’ve shared more than a few tutorials here and on YouTube as I’ve grown as a pattern designer. 🧶 

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Heidi Gustad 🧶 knitting & yarn crafts

handsoccupied

Knitting & yarn crafts designer 🧶
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Stay up-to-date 💌 & shop new patterns ⤵️

POV: Showing you how my new Bevelled Tank pattern POV: Showing you how my new Bevelled Tank pattern fits with no ease vs. 4” of positive ease. There’s a bit more length to the cotton (brighter color) sample, but both are cropped and feature shoulder seams designed to sit an inch back onto the shoulder instead of on top, giving it a little swing. Length is easily adjustable for folks looking for less of a crop. 
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Pattern: Bevelled Tank by @handsoccupied for @pompommag x @hobbii_yarn summer 2024. Available for free from Hobbii at the 🔗 in my profile.
Yarn pictured: @kelbournewoolens Skipper and Camper. 
Dress form is adjusted to a 36” chest and ~5’3”ish in height. 
Human has a 40” chest and is 5’5”.
Both skirts are vintage.
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#pompomxhobbiisummer2024 #handsoccupied #intarsia #handmade #knitting #colorwork
Let’s talk about fit and ease! . During the Beve Let’s talk about fit and ease!
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During the Bevelled Tank design process for @pompommag, I knit 2 samples using 2 different @KelbourneWoolens yarns. One was in Skipper (100% cotton, second photo) and the other was in Camper (100% 2 ply wool). The Skipper sample was knit for a 36” bust, which measures in at 40” with 4” of positive ease. And I knit the Camper Sample for my 40” bust with a 44” finished measurement. (BTW, I’m 5’5” for folks that find that measurement helpful in visualizing fit.)
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Based on the size chart for the Bevelled Tank, that means I knit one size 3 sample and one size 4. As designed, I conveniently fit a size 4 as intended with 4” of positive ease. When I wear the 3, there is no ease at all because the garment and my body are both 40” in size. Comparing the 2 garments, you can see how the fiber content (cotton vs. wool) and fit (no ease vs. 4” of positive ease) makes a difference in the look and feel of the finished garment. 
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These samples are a great way to compare what ease looks like on different bodies. While I can fit both a size 3 and 4, the garment with no ease feels more like pajamas or a bralette when I wear it. On the other hand, when I wear the one with 4” of positive ease, I feel comfortable enough to wear it to work, even as a crop top. Plus, it leaves me with enough room to layer it with a nice button down if I’m not feeling the cropped look one day. 
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I’m curious - how would you style this tank? Would you modify it with a few stockinette rows for added length? I’m so curious now that this pattern is finally out in the world. :) 
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#pompomxhobbiisummer2024 #bevelledtank #handsoccupied #knitting #intarisa #handmade #kelbournewoolens #croppedsweater #summerknits
After a 6 month hiatus, I am happy to say I’m ba After a 6 month hiatus, I am happy to say I’m back with a brand new pattern in 9 sizes, and it’s FREE as part of @pompommag x @hobbii_yarn’s summer design collection! (Link is in my bio.)
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In my December newsletter, I announced that I was soliciting test knitters for a pattern that had originally been selected for the summer ’24 issue of Pom Pom Quarterly magazine. However, the magazine ceased publication after its spring ’24 issue, leaving in-progress designs unpublished. (It happens.) As a result, I’d begun the long process of editing, testing, and photographing the pattern for independent release through the Hands Occupied pattern shop and Ravelry.
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Before I was done with that process, Pom Pom Quarterly’s former editors reached out with an exciting proposal for the pattern. Post-magazine, they’ve begun to partner with yarn companies to produce high quality pattern collections. They wanted to include designs from the would-be current issue of Pom Pom Quarterly in a new collection for Hobbii yarn, including my Bevelled Tank. I worked with the same technical editors I would have for the magazine on this one, and as you can see from the photos, Pom Pom’s team did an amazing job of styling the garment to the beautiful standards they’re known for.
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You can learn more about the pattern on my blog and get the free pattern from Hobbii yarn - links to both in my profile. I’ll post sizing info in the comments for quick reference too. 🧶
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#pompomxhobbiisummer2024 #knitting #intarsia #sponsored #colorworkknitting 
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Photos: @dianascarrunz 
Model: @angel.jade_
Here’s a nice throwback for you: my take on a vi Here’s a nice throwback for you: my take on a vintage knitting pattern from 1938 called the Fernlace Pullover. A pattern so nice, I knit it twice.
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Yellow version 💛: knit with Despondent Dyes’ Vintage Vixen Sport after attending a @squidneyknits vintage knitting retreat in 2019 & learning *so much*. Paired with a self-drafted circle skirt pattern. 
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Blue version 💙: knit with @eweeweyarns Ewe So Sporty in Sky Blue. Paired with the 1940s Boardwalk Duet sewing pattern from @decades_of_style 
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Head to my stories for 🔗🔗 to the handmade wardrobe blog posts I wrote about each take on the Fernlace Pullover, working with a vintage pattern, where to find vintage patterns (including the one I used), & some thoughts on sizing. 
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Image descriptions available in alt text. 
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#handsoccupied #handmadewardrobe #fernlacepullover #vintageknitting #vintageknittingpatterns #knitting_inspiration
Frogging is a word in the knitting world that mean Frogging is a word in the knitting world that means to rip out your knitting. It’s called frogging because frogs say “ribbit,” and when you’re tearing out your knitting, you will “rip it” out, and that sounds like ribbit. No really. 🐸 Did you know this fun fact? 
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P.S. I did like this design concept, but to make the pattern more knitter friendly as well as more wearable, I am making some tweaks to the construction. Excited to share when it’s ready! 🥰🧶
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Yarn: @blueskyfibers Woolstok North in Morning Frost & Highland Fleece 
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#handsoccupied #knitting #frogging #blueskyfibers #knittersofinstagram #blueskymakers #knittingvocabulary #bsfmakers #knitdesign
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