The Ups and Downs of Knitting

Good News

I've finished the rib, and the pattern is looking very pretty. Exciting!

Bad News

This sweater is enormous! Like a well-trained knitter I made a gauge swatch (2, in fact) before beginning. However my gauge obviously went wild once I started the project properly and on circular needles. In the comments for my last post about the sweater, redsilvia did kindly point out that it would be advisable to make another swatch for circular knitting, and while I noted this I totally neglected to check my gauge while knitting. All this could have been avoided if I'd checked it after a few rows.


More Bad News

This sweater is going to have to be ripped out and started again. For the third time. A week's worth of knitting. Despite this, and the fact that I hate knitting ribbing, I actually feel OK about this. I really want to make this sweater, and I really want to make it right from the beginning. Plus...

Good News

I don't need to cast on so many stitches! The fairisle pattern is in repeats of 24, so I reckon I can lose a massive 48 stitches from the front section and 48 from the back. While knitting I put stitch markers between the pattern repeats, so now it is easy to check that I can remove this many stitches.

It seems a little insane to be able to cut out so many stitches, but the other option is to go down to some crazily-tiny needle size. In my limited knowledge of stranded knitting, I am aware that the knitted fabric of the sweater will not be as stretchy as normal knitting, due to the strands at the back of the fabric. I think (hope) that the smaller size will still allow for enough stretch in the sweater while worn.

I have not yet ripped out the knitting but will do so this week. Any advice or general moral support gratefully received. How much knitting have you had to unravel in one go after discovering a mistake? I've ripped out a whole cardigan before, but it was knit in bulky, so not as heart breaking as it could be!

K x

Saturday Afternoon Skirt

In my selection of items to be made for the Fall Essentials Sewalong, an A-Line denim skirt was first on the list. Following a disappointing trip to the high street I had resolved to make my own denim skirt. As the title suggests I made this skirt in an afternoon this weekend, using the Sew What! Skirts book which shows how to draft basic skirt patterns using your own measurements.

When first modelling the skirt my husband commented ominously, "That pocket won't last", but it's not really intended as a weight-bearing pocket, but just enough to hold a tissue. I had originally planned to add some pockets at the side seams or maybe at the front, adapting the pattern from my Crescent skirt. In the end I decided against that and made the 'feature' heart-shaped patch pocket on the front of the skirt. I made this by drawing a heart shape on tracing paper then cutting one piece in denim and another in scrap fabric (coincidentally from my Crescent skirt) for the inside of the pocket.

One of the reasons behind this skirt was that I have a gap in my wardrobe for more casual pieces to wear at the weekend. It seems that while I can wear my handmade items easily to work during the week I always end up throwing on jeans at the weekend. This became quite obvious during Me Made June, when I felt like I was dressing more smartly than usual at the weekend in order to keep being Me Made! A denim skirt felt like a good way to begin to redress the balance. As I bought 2 metres of denim I'm hoping I can actually squeeze another Crescent skirt out of what I have left.

I'm fairly happy with how the skirt has turned out. Despite being drafted using my own measurements, it's still a little bigger at the waist than I intended. I think this is because I added an inch to the waistband for ease, and the fabric has a little stretch in it. The skirt fastens with an invisible zip at the back and a button at the waistband, and it doesn't sit as well at the back as it should. I always find it hard to finish the bottom of the zip as neatly as the top!

The costs for the project were minimal:

1 metre denim    £4.99

Zip                     £0.35 (bit of a bargain - bought new from Remnant Kings)

Black button       Stash
Black thread       Stash
Red fabric          Stash/scrap

Making a grand total of £5.34

Overall I think this was a pretty good make. The fit isn't perfect but it's as good as anything on the high street, plus the skirt was considerably cheaper and quick to make.

Not bad work for a Saturday afternoon I think

K x

Crafty Charity Shop Haul

Oooh I've had a good week of charity shopping! I managed to go to 15 charity shops this week - 6 in one town I work in, 4 in another and a further 5 near my home this morning. Gosh, 15 does sound like a lot considering I work full time, but I always strive to fit in some charity shopping during my lunch time if I can. Of those 15 shops, I bought items in 5 of them - a 1-in-3 hit rate is pretty good going, and I would say is higher than average.

I bought a rather elegant Monsoon dress on a bargain rail for £1 this morning, but the most exciting purchases were definitely the craft-related ones. On Monday I scored some excellent knitting patterns, and added to their number on Thursday:

In addition I got some great knitting chat with a couple of ladies who worked in the second charity shop, and got to show off my own hand knitted cardigan I was wearing. I absolutely love a bit of knitting talk, and I think they enjoyed telling me about things they used to knit too.

This morning I got my Monsoon dress and some 1.5" grosgrain ribbon:

This was followed by an exciting haul of sewing patterns - I spied a whole box full, neatly stored away under a shelf, and very easy to miss. I bought 12 (25p each!) in total, and hope that most of them have all the right pieces and instructions:

I'm very pleased with two patterns in particular:

After seeing Lisette's lovely pleated skirt I have been thinking I'd like to make one for myself - I didn't realise until I linked to the pattern while writing this that I had found exactly the same pattern! Scruffy Badger's beautiful fitted jacket was in my mind when I picked up the pattern on the left - it would definitely be a real test of my skills but I might tackle it in the spring time.

I haven't shown my finds in too much detail, as I am planning a couple of giveaways in the future and don't want to spoil the surprise.

Thanks also to everyone who voted in my knitting poll. I'm sure it's very unscientific, but of the people who answered How interested are you in knitting?

73% said I sew and knit
9% said I mostly knit
14% said I don't knit but I might learn
3% said Knitting? It's not for me!

I'm not sure where the other 1% has gone as this only adds up to 99% - maybe they spoiled their ballot papers?! In any case, stay tuned for some more knitting-related posts and of course, some giveaways....

K x

New Beginnings

A few weeks ago I posted about a couple of knitting patterns I had won on eBay, but which had been lost in the post. Well, luckily I was able to purchase a pdf of one of the patterns from elsewhere and so make the fairisle sweater I really wanted to knit. Hooray!

I actually began knitting this on the 9th of September, but after knitting the 3 inches of rib for the front and starting the colour work, I decided that not only was I unhappy with the colours I had chosen, but I also wanted to knit the sweater in the round. So, nothing else for it but rrrrrrrrrrrriiiiiiiiipppppppppp!!

Coloured-in Fairisle chart - it makes it easier to see the pattern!

The original suggested colour scheme was white with blue and red and a small amount of green. I had planned to use a pale blue with a mid blue, dark purple and a small amount of green as these were all yarns I already had in my stash. After starting to knit however I decided that this combination really didn't work together very well. I purchased a couple of balls of darker blue wool which I think complement the other blues. I am now using the pale blue and mid blue with a darker blue and I will amend the suggested colour layout to use only these colours.

 Sweater wool with new bamboo circular needle

I have never converted a flat pattern to knit in the round before but I think it will be easier for colour knitting and I'm not anticipating any major problems with the conversion. Once I get to the armholes I think I'll have to knit flat, but that's manageable. I did have to buy a new circular needle of the right size, and decided to try a bamboo circular as I prefer knitting with wooden needles BUT ALSO this is an interchangeable set of needles, meaning you can swap needles and different lengths of cable.

My set are made by Pony - you can buy a whole set, but I got mine individually from John Lewis. I'm not sure if the whole interchangeable needle thing is worthwhile, but I don't have any sets of circulars I particularly like using already as the cables are either a little rough in places or, horror of horrors, come loose from the needles whilst knitting. I'm a firm believer in buying good quality materials, so I think these will be a worthwhile purchase.

Although I'm looking forward to knitting this sweater I am aware that it will be time consuming and possibly difficult. I've worked in stranded knitting before to make these mittens:

Snowdrift Mittens - on Ravelry here

As well as these armwarmers:

 

Lyra Wristwarmers - on Ravelry here

Yet I have a sneaking suspicion that this project might push me to my knitting limits - I hope I'm up to the challenge!

K x

Please take my knitting poll!

Hi All!

I've started a wee poll about knitting on the sidebar. It's to gauge interest for a possible 'thing' I might do on the blog - I'm interested to find out about who reads, and where your interests lie.

Thanks for your input

K x

Madam! Your knees are on show!

 

I present - my Rooibos dress. And it's turned out a bit shorter than I would like. I don't think it's shockingly short, but it's certainly a little out of my normal comfort zone. Perhaps I'm getting prudish in my old age, but I would have preferred it to be a bit longer. I'm aware that this is my fault for not adding a bit to the length. As I'm tall I really should know to expect this.

Very creased Franken-muslin

The whole process did not start well. I thought I'd be smart and cut a smaller size than normal out of the paper pattern before making the bodice muslin, reasoning that I always have to make muslins smaller. And guess what? The muslin was FAR too small. After some humming and hawing, during which I considered giving up or buying a whole new pattern to cut the larger size (!), I managed to add in some extra pieces of fabric to end up with a muslin that I could make fit.

Putting the final dress together was fine overall, and it was helpful to have the sewalong posts. I put in an invisible zip, which I hadn't used since my sewing class, and it went surprisingly smoothly. I used the Colette post on this which was great. I think ironing the zip made all the difference, and I'm really delighted with the resulting zip. I don't even have an invisible zip foot, just a regular one-sided zip foot and was able to get a great result.

 

I opted not to add piping to the neckline, partly because I didn't have much polka dot fabric to spare. I added piping to the pockets which looks great (if I say so myself) and is a nice touch to mirror the collar fabric.

Once I attached the skirt to the bodice, I realise that the length was pretty short, and also that the shape wasn't as fitted as I hoped. I did take it in a bit at the sides - witness my big-fat-french-seams, which helped a little.

 

 Fat French seams

Here's my review of the pattern:

Pattern Used

Rooibos dress by Colette Patterns

Does it look like the photo/drawing on the pattern envelope? 

Yes - well, I think the skirt looks more flare-y than on the pattern drawing. This may be partly due to my choice of fabric which was quite stiff, without too much drape, and perhaps a little heavy for the pattern so the hem sits out a little more than it otherwise would.

Were the instructions easy to follow? 

Yes, as always Colette Patterns' instructions are great. That being said, I would have struggled for longer to get my head round the instructions for sewing the armholes, without the excellent explanation in the sewalong post. This was very useful!

Inside pocket view 

What did you particularly like or dislike about the pattern? 

I love the little contrast collar, the pockets with piping (I'm very proud of those) and the invisible zip. I dislike the back darts, which give a 'back boob' effect. I think the back would look better with those left out completely.

 

 

 

Back view with darts

Fabric & Notions 

Green cotton drill, raspberry polka dot cotton, 2 spools of thread (green and red), interfacing, invisible zip. I considered adding polka dot covered buttons or suitable buttons from my stash but in the end have left it plain for the meantime. What do you think?

Pattern alterations or any design changes you made

I had to take it in at the sides and I elongated the back darts in an attempt to make them look less 'boob-y'.

Would you sew it again? Would you recommend it to others?  
I might sew it again in the future.I would like one in suiting fabric, for work.

Cost

Fabric    £14.23

Pattern   £13.00

Zip         £2.50

Thread   £3.10

Total = £32.83

Conclusion

I'm not completely happy with the length and the overall skirt shape. I do like the pattern but I don't absolutely love the result - time will tell how often I actually wear this. Ask me in a few months when I've worn it and I might reassess!

Knees!

Grrrrrr Blogger!

 Image from here

I really don't understand Blogger sometimes! How come the post I posted yesterday doesn't show up on Google Reader, even when I copied and pasted the whole thing again today and re-posted? It makes no sense!

K x

Seasonal Sewing Plans!

Hi everyone!

First of all, thank you for all your considered comments on my last post about high street shopping. I loved reading what you all thought and can see I'm definitely not alone in the way I feel. Our shopping culture across all areas, not just high street clothing, is really quite depressing. Moreover, by being encouraged to buy more and more and being able to get hold of poor quality, disposable fashion at cheap prices, is it any wonder that the charity shops many of us love are so full of total rubbish? Anyway, as Scruffy Badger commented, we are lucky to be developing skills to be able to take control over the way we shop and what we wear, and learn to really value our clothing. Nothing makes you appreciate an item when you know how long you've sweated over making it just right!

Moving on to my own sewing plans, I've joined the Fall Essentials Sew Along (FESA), hosted by Rhinestones & Telephones in order to structure my sewing for the next few months. You can find out more about this on Sarah's blog. The FESA is structured around several categories, and I am not making something for all the categories but have posted below with what I am planning to make over the next few months. I am also planning to use the sewalong to tackle some of my stash of fabric and wool. This isn't really too big, as I don't have a huge amount of storage space, but I'm keen to use materials I already have as far as possible. I will be making:

Fashionable Foundations for Frosty Weather (3 items)

• A -Line Denim skirt - using a pattern from the Sew What? Skirts book, denim to be purchased.

• Pencil skirt using this vintage Simplicity pattern, as inspired by Debi. I bought some GORGEOUS houndstooth lambswool in turquoise and black, but will make a wearable muslin first, to prepare myself for cutting into the beautiful wool. The lamsbwool was a recent vintage shop purchase but I will need to buy some decent fabric to make the muslin, probably in a plain colour.

Chic Chemises for Cool Climates (3 items)

• 2 Blouses/Tops - one to be black and the other using some green material, both from my stash. One will use the blouse pattern above.

• A sweater from a vintage pattern, also using stash yarn. Pattern to be decided but it will be some kind of vintage fairisle (Ooooh, I'm very excited about this one).
  

Fabulous Frocks (2 items)

 Rooibos fabric choice - green cotton drill and raspberry polka dot cotton

• Rooibos dress (delayed from Colette Patterns sewalong!). This is already underway
  
  
  

•   A dress to wear at Christmas/New Year. Possibly using the above vintage pattern or maybe the new Peony dress from Colette Patterns
  

Underneath It All (1/2 items)

• Slip, using Gertie's simple pattern. Materials to be purchased. I may make more than one.

Baby It's Cold Outside (1/2 items)

• Hat, probably a beret, made from green Rowan Cocoon wool, and perhaps a matching scarf/cowl. Wool is from my stash

In total this makes up to 12 items. All of this while fitting in various knitting projects for babies, sewing for friends and probably some Christmas crafting too. Easy, eh? Perhaps a tad ambitious, but we'll see how I get on.

As many of my projects use fabric, yarn and patterns I already have, this should mean that I won't need to buy much over the next few months. HA! As if! I'm sure I'll still be tempted by patterns, not least the 3 new beautiful offerings from Colette Patterns. I love all three of them, so can foresee a Colette purchase in the not too distant future, not to mention the ever-present lure of eBay. And vintage sewing and knitting patterns. And of course charity shops....


Well, at least I'm highly unlikely to be tempted back to my old haunts of Top Shop and New Look in the meantime!


K x