Posted on Leave a comment

Visit faerwear on Instagram or Facebook

faerwear on Instagram, faerwear leather earrings, leather feather earrings | Photo by Isabella Kramer on Unsplash | upcycled leather jewelry | faerwear

I’m taking a break here, but faerwear on Instagram and Facebook continues 🙂

Greetings! My online store here at faerwear.com is now closed for the time being. I’m a full-time student, single mom and a busy freelancer and I simply don’t have time to manage this website right now.

I’ll still be posting purchasable items to Instagram and Facebook, where new stockists and upcoming events are also listed.

Join the mailing list if you’d like announcements. Please contact me if you are interested in a trunk show or wholesale purchase. Also – I recently switched hosting, and unbeknownst to me, there was a glitch in my email setup – that has been remedied.

If you’re looking for my free knitting patterns, peep here.

 

Posted on Leave a comment

Easy and Gorgeous Alpaca Cowl instructions

Local, natural alpaca bliss in a brown like only the best chocolate

A photo posted by Faerwear (Dori) (@faerwear) on

This came from a local alpaca ranch – we actually have several of these within an hour’s radius, and we’ve mostly visited all of them (fun for kids, and alpaca poop is BOMB for your garden, and it doesn’t burn – so you can basically just sprinkle it around whenever you want and your plants and your soil will show almost-instant happiness).

Actually though, i found this one single skein in one of the local thrift shops. I couldn’t believe it, because a thirty dollar skein of yarn came home with me for $6.50, label and all, but so it did. One single skein, which hung out in my yarn stash until recently when I began busting for gifts.

I really only knit small things anymore – hats, small shawls and triangular scarves, fancy washcloths – and I whipped this up as a gift. I of course tried it on, and it’s pretty dang sexy.

SUPER simple instructions here:

You’ll need one 220-yard skein of something luxurious in a heavy fingering/sock weight, or double two laceweights (which is pretty much what this was, handspun two-ply) and some US10 needles (I use a 16″ circular because it’s easy transport for me). You really do need something with a propensity for drape – alpaca, silk blends, etc.

Cast on 84 stitches and join for knitting in the round. Purl a row, and then knit for 12-18 inches (if you want to be able to pull this up over your head and ears, knit at least 18-24 inches). You’ll have some curl (quite a bit at the beginning) because it’s straight stockinette but eventually the weight of the fabric will pull most of it out and the rest of it just looks and feels nice. Cast off in purl and block.

Posted on Leave a comment

A “hoop tutorial” to keep your earrings looking good

faerwear | hoop tutorial - how to open and close them properly to maintain their shape.

How to keep your hoops hoopin’:

faerwear | hoop tutorial - how to open and close them properly to maintain their shape.
If you’re rockin’ a pair of my leather feather hoop earrings, here’s how to open and close them properly.

I thought it might go without saying as I use the simplest, most primitive hoop design on my earrings (I copied a pair of antiques), but I’ve noticed that some folks don’t open and close them properly, which results in a misshapen hoop, quickly – so here’s a brief “hoop tutorial” to help you keep them nice and round.

If you’re the proud owner of a mandrel and a soft hammer or mallet, this isn’t so much of a problem, of course, but not everyone has those tools at their disposal. I fix peoples’ lumpy rings all the time!

I use what’s called “half-hard” wire when I make my Argentium silver hoops. This makes for quicker hoop-making, and a little hammering hardens them up. I am almost always in a pair of my own earrings, and I get stuck on the same pair for a while. I’ve worn my most current faves for three weeks and the hoops still look great!

It’s really, really simple: TWIST them open, insert them into your ear, and then latch them shut. You’ll get the feel quickly, and they’ll stay nice and round.