Monday, December 29, 2014

Secret Santa/Secret Child

A change of heart
This was my present for my secret child! It took a grand total of 3 days and a bit to finish, so it's definitely a great present-knitting choice. No photos of my secret child wearing it, unfortunately, but she loved her present, so all's well!

The pattern is Change of Heart by Justyna Lorkowska (free Knitty pattern!), and I used completely different needles and yarn, since my secret child asked for a knitted chunky circle scarf (among other things). It's a lovely pattern: the lace is easy to memorize, the cable is very simple and complements the lace very well, and the i-cord edging on the one side of the garter stitch band is a nice detail that makes the entire thing come together neatly. The moment I finished, I wanted one for myself! A change of heart indeed!

Tuesday, December 16, 2014

White Linen Dress

It's winter right now.
I know I don't post my sewing stuff up here very often - at all - but I'm pretty happy with this one, and it's the first thing I've sewn in a while. In addition to that, it's the first time I've used the sewing machine to do all of it! All of the edges have been french-bound, so no more frayed edges (some of my previous garments have frayed edges that have started to fall apart a bit, so I am learning from the past). And of course, there are pockets. And it's kind of a wonder that I can pull it on and off due to the lack of closures - it was a real concern.

The fabric is a linen/rayon blend and the pattern was drafted by yours truly. The original plan was to do 2 layers and make it reversible, but when I tried that on the muslin, it felt a little too thick and stiff. That might have had to do with the fact that the fabric I used for the muslin was completely different from the real thing though. Now that the real thing has been sewn up, I kind of wish I had a white slip or another layer under it, since it is a bit sheer. A long knit tank top has been cut out of a jersey fabric in my stash, but I haven't gotten around to actually sewing it yet, since the bias binding straps are a pain to make (can't iron it down, so there's a million pins holding one in place at the moment).

The fit is lovely (as it should be, since it was drafted to my measurements), and I am thinking of this style of dress in various colours. Maybe make it into a circle skirt instead? Or add in that second layer, as was originally planned, next time? It has started to stretch a little because I put it onto a hanger for a couple of days (the armholes were much more fitted at first). Hopefully it'll shrink back in the washing machine?

Thursday, December 11, 2014

FO & WIP

Finally did that neckline after... how many months?
This shirt/sweater has been in the works since the summer, but to be honest, it's been about 99% done for the past couple of weeks (if not months) waiting for me to undo one gauge swatch so I'd have enough yarn to knit the neckline. It really took a whole lot longer than it should have, and the process of knitting the neckline wasn't half as bad as I had anticipated. I did run out of yarn, as expected, so I had to frog one of my swatches, but apart from that, it went swimmingly. And now I have one more top to wear for this winter! Why didn't I do this sooner?

I love the way it turned out! The neckline does need to be worn to be stretched out and not roll down (it's stockinette), but I think some blocking will fix that up. Not that I'm going to block it until after its first wash. And even then... the hanger will do nicely.

A touch a (mad) tosh
When I got all the measurements down and started on the math for this, I noticed something pretty interesting: 17" seems to be my magic number. My sleeves are 17" long from the underarm. The length of the body is 17". The width of the body is 17" (34" all around). 17" everywhere seems to be the perfect number for me!* Which makes my life a whole lot easier in terms of remembering it!

There is another finished project, but it's for my secret Santa recipient, so that will be posted after everyone has exchanged presents. It's actually already on my ravelry, but they don't know. Shhhhh...

Arabella in the works
And here is a WIP of my Arabella! I started this around the time this semester started, so I haven't touched it for a while, but hopefully I'll be able to get a few more inches done before I have to go back!


*Excepting sleeve circumference & neck circumference, of course. Actually, I totally winged the neck, so I don't know how large it is... maybe 17"? And of course, those are bracelet sleeves, so if I want anything more hold-sleeves-in-hands sweater-length sleeves, then I'd have to add a couple more inches to that.