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Completed: La Sylphide, Dude-Style

Ok, I actually finished this *before* the Coppélia, making this top the very last thing I sewed for 2012 (finishing up on 12/30, no less!). I hate posting stuff out of order because I’m weird like that, but it is what it is!

Anyway, here she is – the La Sylphide, another sweet gem that Katie from Papercut Patterns sent me. I’m not sorry if I’m coming off as a bit of obsessed – I think this pattern line may be my new fave for 2013! Yay!

As you can see, my version is quite a bit different from the pattern cover – I really dude’d this one up with the plaid and pearl snaps. Yeehaw!!

This is technically a wearable muslin – I wanted to test the fit before I made my ~real~ version, hence why it’s a top instead of a dress. And if you think I’m wack for making a muslin with plaid… I guess I am kind of wack. But the shirt turned out really awesome, so no complaints here!

Size-wise, I cut the XS. The ONLY alteration I made was to suck in the center back by 1″. Again, this is a pretty typical alteration for me as I have a small back (I wear a 32 or 30 bra band, fyi). Everything else fit perfectly! So happy!

The pattern calls for a floaty/drapey fabric, which is what the samples are sewn with. They are totally lovely – and totally what I want to make my future dress with – but I’m actually really happy with how this cotton/poly plaid ended up looking with the pattern. It doesn’t have as much body as say, quilting cotton, but you can see there’s not a lot of drape to my top. It has a nice structure that really makes the peplum stand out. And the bow! I love how crisp the bow is in this fabric!

Sorry this picture is blurry. You can see my center back seam here. Well, sort of.

I’m pleased to report that the plaids matched up pretty well here. I probably could have done a better job with the peplum at the center front – but I was running low on fabrics, and I guess this is acceptable for a wearable muslin. I also think this would look much better with the tie cut on the bias, but again, low fabrics means we make do with what we have.

I am going to change my name to the Plaid Boss. Because, FUCK, I love plaid.

Don’t worry – the stuff under the bow matches too 🙂

I decided to go with pearl snaps instead of buttons for this guy. I was eager to try out the buttonholer of my new machine, but I also really love using hammers on my sewing projects. Plus, pearl snaps just really fit with this style of shirt, you know? The original pattern calls for 4 buttons on the top, but I was getting too much gape so I added a few more. I am also fully aware that the snaps are on the wrong sides. I thought I was being sneaky and clever by checking Landon’s shirts and doing my snaps the opposite way, but I forgot that pearl snaps are the opposite of buttons, so I ended up with a double negative button situation. Oops.

I love the way the sleeves are sewn here – there is light interfacing at the bottom, which with the top stitching makes a little built-in cuff. The sleeves are attached to the bodice in the flat, and then the side seams are sewn up after. It makes easing everything in much quicker!

Also, I’m sorry for the weird wrinkles. I took these pictures after a full day of wear, so the peplum is a little squashed at the back.

Pearl snaps are awesome because at the end of the day you get to rip your shirt off and pretend like you are the Hulk.

As a side note, did you notice my cute little tights!? DID YOU??

Rain and lightning! Aren’t they the cutest!? I love that the lightning cloud looks like the TCB bolt hahaha.
My friend Victoria just opened a Galaxy Cauldron Tights and she sent me a couple of pairs to try out. These are the Stormy Skies. I was pleasantly surprised at how thick they are – not as thin as those cheap $5 ones from Target (which was what I was expecting, tbh). There’s a bit of heft to them, and the design is my favorite thing ever right now. I guess you could also wear the print at the back, like calf tattoos, but I like them on the front. They make me so happy! I thought y’all would like them too 🙂

I guess that’s it! I’m fully infatuated with Papercut Patterns at this point and I can’t wait to make the full dress of this (and maybe some more plaid peplum tops, because of reasons).

Tags: completed, La Sylphide, papercut patterns, peplum, plaid, top

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Categories completed projects - new

Completed: the Coppélia Cardy

2 Jan

Happy New Year, everyone! I hope the holidays left y’all with plenty of relaxation, time with friends, wonderful gifts, and of course… alcohol. Can’t forget the alcohol 😉 So sad, January 2nd is now upon us so I guess it’s time to revisit the Real World, take down my Christmas tree, and dive back into my nine to five job. Wah!

I’m going to kick this year off with the very first thing I made in 2013- the Coppélia from Papercut Patterns

YUM. That’s my short-list review of this cardy, if you must know.

Santa (or maybe Jesus?) must have been following my wishlist something fierce, because Katie generously sent me this pattern (along with the La Sylphide and DON’T YOU WORRY, because I have words for that one too!!). My experience with Papercut Patterns is brand-spankin’ new – I’ve long admired the sweet styles that are offered, and the delightful packaging that the patterns are wrapped up in. And you know what? I was NOT disappointed with the actual pattern – or the finished garment. I could wax poetic about this wrap all day, but I’m going to stop because I don’t want to make anyone sick. Just know that when it comes to Papercut Patterns, the answer should always be yes.

I know my fabric choice here is a little… different. Haha! Honestly, I’ve actually had a hard time lately pulling myself away from the looks that I see outlined on the pattern envelopes. For some reason, this isn’t too much of an issue with Colette Patterns, but something about the photography with these particular patterns just makes me want to wrap myself in pastel chiffons and roll around in a field of wildflowers. Except it’s winter here (ooh 40* brr! DON’T JUDGE ME) and I look like shit in pastels. Anyway, every time I thought about my future lover Coppélia, I envisioned her in white. Realizing that I need to make a wearable muslin for this top (since I’m unfamiliar with how these patterns are drafted), and then realizing that I had a very large yardage of this god-awful zigzaggy sheer polyester monstrosity that’s been sitting my stash for at least 3 years… Coppélia The Disco Queen was born. And OMFG I KIND OF LIKE HER.

The fabric is kind of uncomfortable, though. What can I say? It’s a very heavy, very cheap polyester that I bought from $1/yard table at Walmart. And it’s totally sheer. But it works, somehow.

The size XS fit me *almost* perfectly straight out of the envelope. I had to pull a good 1″ chunk out of the center back – which, I’d already cut my pieces, so the back now has a seam – but I have a fairly small back/ribcage, so this does not surprise me. I also tapered the sleeves down to an XXS as they were a bit baggier than I prefer. In the future, I will shorten the sleeves as well – they’re a bit long (I folded the cuffs back so it’s not noticeable on this top). All in all, the fit is pretty nice, though!
Also, I have no idea what I’m doing in the above picture. Sniffing my armpit, I guess?

I love how cozy and snuggly this top turned out! I can only imagine how much I’ll love it in a nicer fabric – especially something with a bit more drape. This is an actual wrap top – which means when I untie the ties, the whole thing opens up in the front like a cardigan (i.e., not a mock wrap!). Surprisingly, the gape factor here is pretty much nonexistent. I spent all day in this shirt and never once worried about exposing more than I intended. Yay!

If you’re wondering how I already made a top this year and we’re only 2 days in – it was a SUPER fast make! I used my serger to sew most everything (except a small bit of topstitching along the bottom hem for the band), and I think my total sewing time came in around 45 minutes. I didn’t stay out late on NYE – I’m an old lady when it comes to my bedtime, I was out by 10:30PM! – so I was up by 10AM, had a leisurely breakfast and quickie sewing sesh, then made it to Gallatin to eat black-eyed peas and collard greens with my parents by 1PM 🙂 Yay for New Years!

The pattern instructions are great – they are brief and to the point, without a lot of unnecessary hand-holding (although they are not so brief that a knit n00b would have no idea what is going on). Same with the pattern markings – there are notches to match the pieces, but not a metric shit-ton. This is perfectly fine and dandy with me. I don’t need a bunch of notches to match up a sleeve seam, you know? Just tell me how to get it on the bodice, I think I can figure it out from there!

I also really love the construction method for this top – it was very straightforward and intuitive, very very similar to how to like to sew my knits. So maybe I’m just a little biased haha 😉

Here’s a good look at the sheerness of the fabric – the zigzags are solid on top of a knit mesh (that’s my hand behind it). It’s not so noticeable on this top, especially since I am wearing a nude bra, but it would definitely show in something like a dress. Hence why I had so much yardage and never did anything with it – the fabric is heavy enough on it’s own, and adding an underlining just makes it even worse. So I’m glad I figured out a use for it 🙂

I definitely plan on making more of these – I actually skipped my lunch break today to take advantage of the semi-annual sale at Textile Fabrics (which, if you live in Nashville: GO. 40% off everything, yo!). I only let myself buy knits, but I got some awesome stuff – stripes, silky drapey rayon, and a lovely woolish sweater knit that is turning into Film Noir Coppélia STAT. Which I’m hoping will be easier to match with bottoms 🙂 Haha!

Hopefully a first successful sewing project means all of 2013 will be successful sewing projects too! HAHA ok, maybe that’s a little optimistic – but optimism is good, yeah?

Happy 2013, y’all!

Tags: completed, coppélia, knit fabric, muslin, papercut patterns, top

Comments 61 Comments
Categories completed projects - new

Completed: The Tiramisu!

13 Dec

WHOOOOOOOOOOO LOVES CAKE? I’m talking about the new pattern line, the brainchild of our beloved StephC (although the food is all kinds of delicious too, mmm). Tiramisu is her first offering – a knit dress with a mock-wrap front (in cup sizes A-D), short kimono sleeves, and pockets.

I was actually part of the crew of ladiez who were initially chosen to test the pattern before it went to print. There was a small snafu with the tester printing (so it goes), which is why you see my dress at the same time you are (hopefully!)holding your own copy of the pattern. I’m still treating this like a test pattern, which is why I actually paid attention to the instructions and made notes as I sewed. I also made a muslin. I never make a muslin for knits – are you proud of me? ARE YOU?

Despite treating this like a test, I’m sorry to report that my pictures are still total shit. You know, winter, lack of light, I’m not getting up early, blah blah. Also, my hair looked REALLY good last night and I need to take advantage of that. Them’s the breaks!

Anyway, check out my new dress!

~So in love!

It looks totally different in a solid color, yes?

For this lil guy, I used a gorgeous purple bamboo knit that I bought at Vogue Fabrics while I was in Chicago. I actually bought it specifically to make this pattern; I’ve been holding it for a few months haha. I wish I had a big enough piece to send every single one of you a little swatch – it is the softest thing I have ever put on my body ahhhh!! And the color… none of these photos (mine or the ones from Vogue) do it justice. It is the most beautiful eggplant purple in the world.

Basically, I never want to buy another knit that isn’t bamboo again. Ever.

So let’s talk about the pattern! The sizing is pretty brilliant, and in fact my favorite part – you pick based on your high bust measurement, and then corresponding cup measurement (which is more of a measurement of proportion rather than the actual size bra that you would normally wear). The waist band is chosen based on your actual measurement (rather than the usual, “Well, if your bust is x, then your waist is y.”). It sounded confusing at first read, but once I actually got the pattern in my hands and looked over the sizing information, it was pretty easy to determine what size I should cut.

The size I ended up with was 30D, based on my measurements, and the waistband was cut for a 25″ measurement. I had to make a couple small changes to get my preferred fit, but even straight out of the envelope it was looking pretty good!

The changes I made were actually pretty mundane:
– I took about 1/2 off the bottom of the front bodice, as it stretched a little too low in the muslin (PROTIP: When making a muslin for this dress, you only mock-up the bodice & midriff. Since the skirt weighs down the whole top and thus affects the fit, it is pretty important to pull down the band to mimic this if your fabric is on the heavy side. Otherwise, you may end up with a longer bodice once you sew the skirt on!)
– I took at least 1″ off the side seams, for a much more snug fit
– I took 3.5″ off the hem, as below-the-knee doesn’t look so hot on me. The skirt is 20.5″ now.
Ok, looking back, I realize that those bust changes mean I actually ended up with a 30C. WHATEVA.

Things I love about this dress:

DAT SKIRT.

SOFT POCKETS.

NO GAPE.
Seriously, the bodice engineering on this thing is a thing of beauty and wonder.

One thing I did note with this particular dress is that the pockets do add a bit of bulk at the hips. I think this is unique to my particular fabric (it’s quite clingy due to the 4 way stretch), as it’s not apparent on Steph’s version (or the bonus version), but I think it bears mention if you are concerned about that kind of thing. I’m not, personally, so the pockets will stay.

Oh, here are some pictures without the belt, btw:

It’s still pretty! I just like to belt, well, everything 🙂

The only thing I would change next time I make this is to sew the sleeve binding on after the side seams are sewn. It’s a personal preference – I know why the pattern has you sew the binding on before (so you can test and tweak the fit – and yes, it comes in handy!), but I just like the way it looks as an, er, uninterrupted tube. It also may or may not have anything to do with the fact that I sewed the sleeve binding to the bottom of the midriff on my first go (and no, I’m not bitter or anything, why do you ask?).
Another thing I’ll mention is that the fabric estimates are generous. I only used 1.5 yards of my 60″ fabric. Even at $15 a yard, that’s a pretty cheap dress!

I know my threads look as white as I am, but I promise they are purple! Also, this picture is boring as hell.

Anyway, super happy with this one! I can see this in lots of different fabrics – it’s so comfortable, especially since you don’t have to worry about THE GAPE.

With that being said, if you haven’t already done so – you really need to pick up a copy! And OMG so excited about the upcoming Pavlova!!

Tags: cake patterns, completed, delicious cake, dress, knit fabric, pattern testing

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Categories completed projects - new

Completed: Velvet Thurlow Shorts

7 Dec

Hope y’all aren’t Thurlow’d out yet – because I need to unveil my new velvet shorts!

Ok, ok, so they’re actually more like a velour – the pile is very short. Regardless, aren’t they luscious? Just right for adding a little ~glam to my outfit, except in super comfy short-form.

For those of you who are staring at me right now and trying to figure out why anyone would wear shorts with tights in December, I just want to point out that today’s high in Nashville is 66*. That’s almost too warm for tights!

Not much to report on the construction of these – for construction deets, you can check out the whole tag for my Thurlow Sew-Along (albeit with pants instead of shorts – they go together the same way, though!). I did not make any changes to this pattern other than my initial fitting changes. As a result, they came together quite quickly!

I did have to futz around a LOT with the cutting layout, as this piece of velvet was super duper tiny – I think I might have had 3/4 yard, and it was irregularly shaped. I found it lurking in the bin at the Goodwill Outlet, so I have no idea where it originated from. I had to omit the cuff section on my original pattern pieces, as there simply wasn’t enough room for the whole thing. The front pocket facings are actually pieced together from several different scraps – luckily, you don’t see much pocket facing from the front, so you can’t really tell.

To compensate for my lack of main fabric, I used a very fine wale corduroy (I couldn’t find a proper black velour, for some reason??) to make the cuffs and the waistband. I think it helps break up that crazy velvet pattern a bit, which is a good thing! Oh, and I omitted the belt loops. I was planning on adding them – even cut the piece out – but they just looked too busy. This velvet is a little bulky, so I was trying to keep things sleek 🙂

I did make welt pockets in the back, using the floral velvet. You can’t see them to well, though.

But I promise they are there!

I hemmed these a little longer than my previous shorts – I tried with my normal inseam (which is, like, nonexistent. I’m short!), and they just looked like velvet hot pants. So these are a little long, for me, anyway!

Told ya there was a pocket there 😛

Oh my god this picture is so bad HAHA

I decided to hold back on the crazy lining and let the velvet be the ~star of these shorts. Also, I had black broadcloth in my stash and everything I looked at in the fabric store just looked awkward and sad. So.

I’m sorry these pictures are so bad. I guess I could have gotten up early to take them, but, eh, it’s winter and you get nighttime pictures.
Here are some weird outtakes to make up for that. I have no idea what I’m doing in either of these, btw. Dancing, I guess? I was listening to Ace of Base.

lol, the things I do for you guys.

Oh, and my whole outfit is handmade! The top is my Mustard Renfrew and the sweater is my Central Park Hoodie (and I guess you all realize now that I still haven’t added any closures, aha).

How do you feel about wearing shorts in the winter? What if they are velvet shorts?

Tags: completed, shorts, Thurlow, velvet

Comments 40 Comments
Categories completed projects - new

Completed: McCall’s 5972, The Vintage Floral Sheath

4 Dec

I just realized the title of this post is a little misleading. This is a new dress, made from a new(ish) pattern. I’m fairly certain that even the fabric is somewhat new. I’m calling it vintage because of the colorway and the overall look of the finished piece 🙂 Just so we’re clear!!

ANYWAY, meet my new favorite dress, y’all!

This is McCall’s 5972, which is Laura Ashley pattern. Funny, I actually bought this dude a few years ago with the intention on making view C, with those ridiculous neck ruffles. Spoiler: I still haven’t managed view C. But I have made view B twice – once in a gorgeous purple lambswool (pre-blog, so no pictures – but I wear it frequently in the winter!), and then this piece you’re looking at right now.

The fabric is a bit special, only because it’s fucking GORGEOUS and I had the tiniest piece. I found it at the flea market over the summer, although I don’t think it’s vintage – it’s a Waverly print (says so right on the selvage) and it’s definitely upholstery fabric. I would not be surprised at all if this is a print that they are currently selling at Joann’s. However, that doesn’t make it any less amazing, amirite.

I’m really surprised that I was able to get this much dress out of the fabric. Like I said, my piece was pretty small – I think I had about a yard and a half, but it was only 35″ wide (I suspect it was 60″ at some point, as there was only one edge with a selvage. Also, holy shit I am abusing these parenthesis today). I initially wanted to make a wiggle dress, but I knew there was no way in hell I’d have enough fabric. I barely squeezed this one out as it was – I cut everything on a single layer. Almost all the pieces are cut on the fold, which meant I had to do a lot of flipping and tracing. It was worth it, though! I even had enough to cut the collar, although I did have to slice it on the center back seam since there wasn’t enough fabric to do it in once piece. I’m so pleased with my fabric stinginess!

I know the belt that I’m wearing here doesn’t really match. Shh! I plan on making a self-covered belt (I should have just enough fabric to pump one out), but I need to buy belt backing.

I made this dress entirely with stash stuff! The lining is china silk. I usually prefer to line with Bemberg Rayon – I think it feels so freaking luxurious, even better than silk! – but this stuff actually matched perfectly. And, surprisingly, it was easier to sew than the rayon. Imagine that.

I did have a bit of an issue with the fit. As I said before, this is the second time I’ve used this pattern. The first dress fits wonderfully, just the way I like it. For this reason, I did not make a muslin. I don’t know what happened between the pattern and the first finished dress, but there is definitely a size discrepancy – and I’m not really sure what I did to make it fit (other than, you know, NOT ALTERING THE PATTERN TISSUE), since it was finished so long ago and I didn’t leave my future self any notes. Thankfully, I’m a bit of a stickler when it comes to fit – I try on my stuff frequently as I go, just to be sure there aren’t any little surprises waiting at the end. I caught this right before I put the zipper in. I ended up taking in the zipper side seam by quite a bit – 1 3/4″ at the bodice, 1 1/2″ at the waist, tapering down to nothing by the hip. I may need to go back and deepen the darts on the front skirt; they bag out a bit because I guess I don’t quite fill it out. So weird!

I only made a couple of construction changes to the pattern:
– The finishing calls for bias binding at the armholes. NOPE, SORRY. I pulled out my Rooibos pattern and followed the instructions for inserting the bodice lining – and it worked! No handstitching here, and it looks much cleaner 🙂
– The collar does not call for interfacing. I decided to underline mine with some of my precious silk organza. Ah. I love silk organza ♥
– I inserted a lapped, hand-picked zipper instead of the invisible dude. So pretty and sleek and yay!
– Due to aforementioned fabric shortages, the underside of the collar is china silk (same as the bodice lining), instead of self-fabric.

Ignore that belt and imagine this with something more, er, matching.

Here’s that handpicked zipper! See the stitches? NEITHER DO I.

Probably should have stuck a zipper guard in there. Oh well, no care!

I took a few extra steps to make this special – including binding the waist seam.

And this lace hem is super happy 🙂

You know what else this dress looks super good with?

Wait for it…

THAT DAMN AGATHA CARDIGAN, YEEEEAH!!

Seriously, tho, let’s talk about how this is a fucking match made in Heaven.

You probably noticed Amelia lurking on the serger table during all these pictures. That is basically what she does the entire time I’m in the sewing room (unless she’s napping on top of my pattern. Or fabric. Or scissors), and the reason why I moved my sewing machine to be away from the window. Her big butt was always in the way!

Notice her look of pure disgust. This cat hates me hahaha.

Shitty Cat is staring into your soul.

Tags: amazing fabric, completed, dress, mccalls, sheath

Comments 83 Comments
Categories completed projects - new

Completed: My Central Park Hoodie

30 Nov

A funny thing happened last weekend – I celebrated (ok, I’m using that term very loosely here) my 1 year knitting anniversary! Crazy how it’s only been one year – I feel like I’ve been knitting an entire lifetime. And hey – I made 4 sweaters in the meantime (Agatha, Miette, Blagatha, and Chuck. Whew!), amongst other things. And here it is – my 5th sweater!

This is the Central Park Hoodie, which is kind of Ravelry-famous. I was really excited to knit this pattern; it’s been sitting in my queue for months. I put it off for so long because I thought it was be ~sooo hard~ with all those cables.

Spoiler: this was the most boring pattern I have ever knitted.

To be frank, I hated this sweater pretty much the entire time I was knitting it up. Isn’t that dumb? I don’t even know why I finished it; I knew it would be a UFO forever if I put it aside, and anyway, I guess I wanted to give it a fighting chance. I’m glad I finished it because – surprise! – I do actually like it, but we were definitely livin’ on a prayer there for a while.

I hesitate to blame the pattern for my h8 – although the pattern is not without it’s faults. First of all, it’s very dull. Apart from a few cables (which are easy as FUCK, don’t ever let someone tell you that it’s hard!), it’s all stockinette, all day. And since this hoodie is knit in pieces rather than the round, that’s a hell of a lot of boring purling! Speaking of which, I have learned that I do not like knitting in pieces. Seaming is lame. From now on, I’ll probably knit everything top-down in one piece. But I am glad I learned how to seam.

My real hate here focuses on this yarn. I used Ella Rae Classic Superwash – it was on sale, so the total ended up at around $35 (for wool yarn! UH HUH!). Hey guess what THIS YARN SUCKS ASS YOU GUYS. Sure, it’s soft and springy and it was cheap as shit – but it’s got some kind of weird agenda where it likes to grow the second it gets wet. I don’t know if that’s a quality of just the Ella Rae superwash (I hope so, because I found a heathered, non-superwash Ella Rae last night that was amazingly beautiful and now I want to buy large quantities of it), or all superwashes. Knitters, what’s the deal?

ANYWAY, the growing was an issue here. Thank god I properly blocked my swatch, so I knew the width would sort out (as each panel I knit originally looked child-sized. No lie, the ladies at my knitting group kept asking me if I was sure I was I knitting the right size haha), but length was an entirely different issue that I forgot. The sleeves, for example, should have blocked at 24″. Mine are 31″. I knit them to the correct size, I just didn’t account for them growing like teenage boys once they got in contact with water. Ugh.

I solved the sleeve problem by rolling back the cuffs. And look – sleeve cables! Whee! Oh, I knit the sleeves at the same time; partially because I wanted to try something new, and partially because they were boring as hell and I knew the second one would never get knit.

My other mistake (apart from the growing conundrum) was that I did not bind off the ribbing loosely enough. I tend to bind off very tightly – even using a larger needle doesn’t help much – so this is no surprise. But, oops, see how much longer the back is from the front? Even coaxing the fibers open with a blocking didn’t solve this issue. I ended up tacking down the bottom corners of the binding, to make the hemline look circular and what I hope appears intentional. Ha!

I mean, it’s sorta cute I guess.

Due to the ulta-tight binding, the hood doesn’t exactly sit comfortably. As you can see, I am very unhappy about this. OH WELL.

I would like to add (haha I just typed ass accidentally there, wtf) some closures to the button band. As much as I like the slouchy open look, I’m not an open cardigan kinda gal. I don’t know what to add, though! I think buttons are a no-go, since I can’t add buttonholes at this point (the stitching is very loose and open). I considered a zipper but I don’t think it will look right with the wide band. Snaps? Frogs? Toggles? What would you do?

I pinned it closed for the pictures. I do like the way it looks when it’s closed!

Overall, it’s a pretty cardigan. Not exactly what I had in mind, but I’m pleasantly surprised!

I’m just glad that it’s finally DONE and I can move on with my knitting life!

See how open the stitching is? Thank you, Ella Rae, for your shitty superwash yarn.

And here you can see my first attempts at seaming, to the right. It’s not perfect, but it’s not terribly bad either!

My whole outfit is handmade, btw! That’s my Plaid Clusterfuck top (see, it does look ace with a high-waisted skirt and a cardigan!) and my Denim Ginger (which is hands-down the me-made piece I wear the most – at least once a week!).

Ok, a couple more questions to wrap up an OBNOXIOUSLY long post!
My grandma asked me to knit her a scarf. Yay! She said she wanted something very simple, not too long and of an average width. And she wants it to be an actual scarf, not a cowl or anything like that.
Knitters: What stitch pattern would you suggest? Stockinette is sooo boring, and anyway, the yarn is acrylic (at her request), so I can’t block it into laying flat. I was thinking of a simple lace pattern or something with a lot of texture, like a seed stitch. Any suggestions? I know she said “simple,” but I’m also mostly certain that she said that because she thought anything more would be too much of a hassle. Which, as a knitter, I would rather be engaged and a little challenged!
Non-Knitters: If you asked for a simple scarf and were handed something with a little more design to it (like lace, ribbing, or texturized) – would you be totally butthurt that the person did not take your request into consideration? Or would you pleased to get something fancy and really only requested something simple because you didn’t want to be a bother?

Tags: Central Park Hoodie, completed, knitting

Comments 90 Comments
Categories completed projects - new, crafty things that are not sewing

Completed: The Plaid Clusterf-

29 Nov

The real name for this shirt is actually The Plaid Clusterfuck. I wanted to put it in the title of this post, but I realize that a lot of people have my blog linked so that the titles show on their blog and I don’t want to make anyone mad soooo YOU’RE WELCOME. Also, meet the Plaid Clusterfuck, as well as my unstyled hair. I like to call it my Brentwood Soccer Mom hair.

Princess seams, bias side panels, and a front ruffle? DON’T MIND IF I DO.

Oh, do you like my little sewing corner? I did some freshening up in the ol’ sewing room over Thanksgiving weekend. I got a second desk from Lauren Winter, painted it a really obnoxious shade of teal green (and I will never do that again. SOO many coats, even with a primer, and it’s STILL not solid! BOO), and also touched up the mint desk as it was filthy with dirty kitty paw prints. Next order of business is to deal with the other side, where my fabric is stored. Mama needs more shelves, wah!

This is McCall’s 5803, which is so out of print, it’s not even in the out of print section of the McCall’s website. Also, it is a Hilary Duff pattern. Remember when she tried to do that?! HAHA. Anyway, I picked this pattern up for free99 during the free out-of-print pattern sale at my local fabric store (actually, it was on the same day that I got that Butterick knit dress pattern. I love free shit, gah.). I thought the shirt was really sweet, in a kind of over-the-top way.

I tried a new FBA on this pattern, adding 1.5″ to the side front. I still don’t really get princess seams; I can never really figure out exactly where that seam is supposed to hit. But I think this one worked out ok.

The original pattern is cut in a size 4, with the aforementioned 1.5″ of bust room added. I also shaved the front seams down by about 5/8″, the back seams by 3/8″, and the side seams just under the arm by 1/4″. I still think the armscyes are a bit too high, but at least they aren’t stupid droopy like The Dress Who Shall Not Be Named. Oh, and I also lengthened the button placket by about 1/2″ and shortened the collar band by a LOT – it was way too long for the neck opening. I’m not sure if that’s because of a pattern error or because I cut that piece of the bias and it stretched when I was fusing the interfacing to it. Either way, it fits now, so whatev.

I had a devil of a time trying to match the plaid up at the princess seams. I futzed around with that shit for-fucking-ever – I’m the kind of plaid cutter who cuts everything on one layer, one painstaking piece at a time – and the lines STILL didn’t match up. UGH. So I ended up cutting the side front and side back panels on the bias, with the front and back on the straight grain. The neck band and button placket were also cut on the bias, as was the front ruffle. Hence why I am calling this shirt a Clusterfuck – it’s going in all kinds of directions! I’m actually surprised at how well it works, to be honest.

Here is my shame, though – THE SIDE SEAMS DON’T MATCH. ARGH!! I guess I forgot to flip the pieces so they were opposing (instead of mirroring). BLECH. And, of course, I didn’t have enough fabric to recut. Not that I would have anyway; by the time I discovered this little issue, I had already serged everything together. It’s not the worst thing ever, but it still drives me nuts. Oh well, I guess we can’t always have perfectly matched plaids 😥

Let’s keep this our Sacred Secret, k?

I just love these front ruffles! FESTIVE.

I don’t know why there are basically two of the same picture. Sorry.

Here’s a better picture of those mismatched plaids. FUCK.

This shirt ending up costing VERY little to put together. The fabric was part of a big lot I picked up from a fellow blogger, the buttons came from the flea market last week (2 cards for $1!), and even the pattern was free. Not bad!

I topstitched the placket and collar band because I think it makes the shirt look more profesh. Also, I totally love these buttons.

This was not intentional, but look at how nicely the plaid matches up at the button plackets.

The ruffles are finished with a rolled hem edge (done on my serger), instead of the suggested turning under and stitching.

As a side note, I’ve been watching my stats for the past few days and I’m like 50 hits away from reaching half a million! HALF A MIL, Y’ALL. OHMEGERD.

Tags: clusterfuck, completed, mccalls, plaid, shirt

Comments 42 Comments
Categories completed projects - new

Completed: Butterick 5078

13 Nov

Whenever I finish up a big project, I like to ease myself back in with something short and sweet (also, I had a really bad muslin disaster with another pattern and I don’t want to talk about it, except to say that woven kimono sleeves are clearly my Kryptonite). Knit fabrics are especially good for this, since most of the fitting works itself out in the form of stretch fabric.

I’ve had Butterick 5078 lurking in my stash for a couple of years now – it’s out of print; I picked it up during my local fabric store’s annual “Buy $10 Worth Of Fabric, Get A Free Out of Print Pattern!” sale (yes, that is a real thing. It is hell on my bank account, if you want to know the truth.). I liked the line art as I reminded me of a dress I used to own – until it went the way of the Tragically Cheap Buffalo and died in the wash one day – but I never got around to making it because it sucks up a surprising amount of knit fabric, which I never seem to find significant yardages of at the thrift store.

But hey, this fabric is pretty cool, yeah? It was given to me by an awesome blog reader, Heather (yo girl, if you got a blog PLZ LINK ME UP), who hit the motherload of vintage fabric at an estate sale and sold a big wad of it to me for stupid cheap. This stuff is perfect for this dress – fairly stable with a slight stretch, a nice thick warm fabric for winter. The print has flowers and butterflies, which isn’t exactly my thing, but the grey on black kind of cancels out the extra girly girly. I had about 1/4 yard less than I actually needed, but I was able to get everything cut out on grain with some clever cutting layouts and a lot of screaming and cursing.

Speaking of the cutting layouts… this shit is weird. The bodice front & waistband drape (the runching around the waist) are actually cut on the bias, not the straight grain. For some reason, cutting my knit fabric this way caused the pieces to lose most of their stretch! I KNOW. I’m still having trouble wrapping my head around that one. Obviously I can still pull the dress on, but it’s a tight fit.

The runching on this dress is so weird. I initially thought it might look better with a lighter, more fluid knit – but I scoped out a few on pattern review, and I actually think my stable knit looks a little better, even if it is bulky. There is a whole ‘nother waistband underneath the runched one, so the drape could easily be omitted for a smooth waist.

I sewed this up in a straight size 8, with no alterations other than shortening the hem about 3″. For future makes, the front bodice definitely needs to be lengthened – it cuts straight across my boobs. Not really a good look! And I think the runching could stand to start a little lower than it does right now. The bulk is kind of making me look thicker than I am.

I like the skirt, though!!

I tried to take a ~twirly picture and instead, I got this. This is the second most awkward picture I’ve ever posted on my blog (first awkward obviously being the teeny peeny I neglected to mention I had… haha, forreal, though, I am so delighted to see so many people have their mind in the same gutter as meeee!). It also made me laugh really hard when I saw it, and I thought it would be cruel to NOT share it with the rest of the world. God, I’m so generous, you guys.

Here you can see that unfortunate bodice-meets-midriff-right-over-my-boobs seam. Also, this dress needs some bra snap holder things.

Who am I kidding, I’d never be arsed to sew that kind of shit on a KNIT DRESS.

I sewed the entire thing on my serger, minus the hems – which I sewed on my machine with a double-needle. Overall, I think this dress took about 2 hours to sew.

To be honest, I didn’t like this dress after I pulled it on. The bias cut made it really difficult to pull over my head, the runching covered what I feel like is one of my better assets, and the horrible bust seam placement made me feel like I had these super weird high and flat boobs. UHM.

However, it is comfortable. Like, the kind of sneaky comfortable that makes you feel like you’re getting away with wearing pajamas. And Landon likes it – his words, “That looks like you bought it at a store. That’s supposed to be a compliment!” And it’s polyester knit, which means I don’t ever have to iron it. I would like to make this again, provided I can find the right knit.

Tags: butterick, completed, dress, knit fabric

Comments 46 Comments
Categories completed projects - new

Thurlow Sew-Along: My Completed Thurlows!

12 Nov

Also known as “The Brown Old Man Pants I’ve Been Pining Over For The Past 10 Years” – here they are! The end result of the Thurlow Sew-Along 🙂

I probably could have done a better job of getting those creases down the front leg centered better, but… nope. Idgaf right now.

Shit, I forgot to tell you guys that I cut my hair!

Well… I did. I should have whipped out my measuring tape & gotten a proper inch length, but we ended up cutting off something in the realm of 8″. 8″! That’s like a perfect… Jimmy John’s sub.

Anyway, I’m pretty thrilled with how these fit. Just the way I like it!

A good rear-view is always important.

Bonus: They go perfectly with my Mustard sweater! Like a match made in Heaven or some shit.

For those of you who sewed along and have pants or almost-pants – link share, please! We all want to see (but especially me, because I am nosy as hell).

For those of you who hate pants and sew-alongs (and fun, I guess) – sorry for not being sorry! I’m back to regularly not-scheduled posting this week, though 🙂

For those of you lurking on the sidelines – just do it! Take the plunge!
Muslin Fitting
Choosing a Fabric
Adjusting the Back Pockets
Sewing the Front Pockets
Welt Pockets
Sewing the Fly Zipper
Attaching the Waistband
Belt Loops and Finishing

See? Even Amelia approves.

FUCK IT ALL, I LOVE THESE PANTS.

BYE.

Tags: Big Reveal, completed, Thurlow, Thurlow Sewalong, trousers

Comments 72 Comments
Categories completed projects - new, sewalong

Completed: The Chuck Sweater

18 Oct

I may not have been sewing much lately, but I *have* been knitting up a storm! Allow me to introduce Chuck, my fourth sweater.

Ok, this picture is actually kind of useless – I just like the way the light is shining all over my face like I’m some kind of Heavenly Being or something lol

But seriously:

PRETTY FREAKIN STOKED ABOUT THIS LIL’ GUY

This is Chuck, by Andi Satterlund. Also, holy shit I need to stop knitting Andi patterns, or else she is going to think I’m some weird creepy pattern stalker. For real, though, I love her stuff – the shaping is perfect for my body, and I love how everything is knit in one piece. I actually don’t know how to seam up a sweater at this point!

Oh, the skirt is also me-made! It’s pretty old (like, pre-blog days), so I don’t remember what pattern I used. Maybe Vogue 8603? IDEK.

This was knit with absolutely no alterations – although I did need to go down a couple of needle sizes, to a 6. The yarn is good ol’ Cascade 220 (another thing I need to branch away from), it’s a really lovely heathered red with bits of gold & bright blue floating around. I actually bought this yarn in Chicago; Tasha helped me pick it out. I love it, it’s such a nice shade of red!

The pattern itself was super easy to follow, and it knit up SO FAST. Seriously – I started this on 9/20, and ended on Monday. Less than a month! It didn’t hurt that the pattern is almost entirely stockinette, except for the cables in the front. And since it’s knit in the round, that’s just row after row of knit stitches. Really mindless, the perfect kind of project to talk through 🙂

I’ve had people ask me about how I get so much knitting done – I knit in little pieces every day 🙂 Mostly on my lunch break at work (I get an hour!), and then I also meet up twice a week with other knitters for an hour or so. Which, by the way – if you’re a Nashville knitter (or crochet-er, I don’t judge) and want to join our meet-ups, shoot me an email & I’ll pass on the deets. I love meeting other knitters and talking about YARN. God, I’m such an old lady. Ha.

This is the best picture you get of the back. Sorry, but backs are boring.

I did have a bit of a misstep with the cables – I turned a couple the wrong way and didn’t realize it under several rows later. Ugh!! I knew the messed-up cables would bother me to no end, so I took a deep breath and googled a solution…

… which involved ripping WAY THE FUCK DOWN and then knitting everything back up. I’m not going to lie, it was pretty terrifying. I was able to fix everything, as you can see, but the end result had some weird loose yarn pulling in the back, and giant gaps in the front. This is pretty common when fixing cables, the only thing you can really do is pull the yarn around and hope it blocks out. Spoiler: most of it did. I did end up stitching a couple of holes closed with yarn – and the inside has a spot where there is still loose yarn – but it looks ok from the outside. You can hardly tell that any cable surgery happened!

The finished sweater is pretty short (at least an inch above my belly button), but it looks great over dresses & high-waisted pants 🙂

This picture shows the color best. It has so much depth, love it!

So what’s next? I like to always have a project on my needles (it gives me something to look forward to in the middle of the day :D), so I’ve already cast on my next sweater – this will be the Central Park Hoodie.

This yarn is Ella Rae superwash. You should be proud of me, for breaking free of the chains that bind.