ragamuffin

I need help ASAP. I have a small afghan like 20" x 30" and want to make a long elf hat for my 26 yr old GD. She also wants one for her BBF which I got a long plaid skirt to make his. The off-white afghan is hand made in a cable stitch of some kind and I am not sure how to cut it, straight grain like or on the bias. She wants it to curl like.
The plaid skirt I want to add a black or wine double fleece or stretch some to set it off. I wanted to quilt the head bands a little to make it nice. But I am not sure how to cut it either. The plaid is printed on the bias. I am hoping I get the head band pieces tight enough for them to stay on their heads. I may have to use velcro. I will patiently wait for your replies!

illinois

You have no replies here so I will attempt on one issue. If I'm understanding what you want to do, NO is the answer to cutting a handmade afghan! A knitted or crocheted afghan is one string worked into a design and once you cut into that, I think the whole thing is going to fall into many short pieces. You need a woven piece of fabric instead or a piece created especially for the project you intend. The other issues--I'm not sure what you are saying you want to do

GingerK

Well, I think you could cut the afghan but only after using a large zigzag (and possibly multiple rows of) next to the cutting lines. That should keep the stitches from unraveling . If you are sure you want to go thru with this, try a sample first. I would be more inclined to purchase some fleece in an appropriate design. I think it would be much easier to work with. Sometimes using what you have is not the best option.

lindaschipper

Heavens....don't cut a homemade afghan!! Go to thrift stores and find a man's XXL sweater in red or green for the elf's hat...maybe you can even find a Christmas sweater to use! As for the twist in it...when you get to sewing it, zigzag across a very thin wire that will stabilize it enough to be able to put a twist in it.

KalamaQuilts

she might get the curl from the unraveling yarn. You could get fleece and cut the low ends in strips, I think they would curl up.
It is a pretty specific request, I'd ask for pictures of examples to avoid a good amount of work turning out in disappointment.

I wonder if you could use a knit hat and add a lot of curled curling ribbon?

Quilter 53

Although cutting up an afghan is not the easiest, I think it can be done if you use a serger.
This coat I made for my daughter was all made out of thrift store sweaters, washed in HOT water and dried until it shrunk a lot, not sure if that would work with your afghan.
But then everything was cut while serging, so I could be sure that all the loose ends were dealt with immediately.[ATTACH=CONFIG]605312[/ATTACH]
The top is more like a hood not a cap, so sizing wasn't an issue for me, believe me there were plenty of other issues![ATTACH=CONFIG]605313[/ATTACH]
Dont know if this will help, but good luck!

Quilter 53

Forgot to add, if you want a curl, maybe you can add thin wire to the seam to get it to twist.
There's directions in my serger manual, tho' I've never tried it.

illinois

My opinion is that a handmade afghan is going to "cut" differently than something that has been made on a machine such as a store-bought sweater. The one on the machine will be more tightly constructed and not as apt to ravel out when cut into but even that is going to need securing.