Fun with knits and knitting

Hi there! I made a few things.

This is another Colette Moneta, with a whole story to go with it. I bought a very nice heavyweight mustard ponte at Fabricland, tried on my previous Moneta to make sure it still fit properly, cut fabric, and sewed up the top. And it was way too small! And too small everywhere - I almost couldn't get my arms in the sleeves. Turns out this fabric had almost no stretch, and apparently that matters. :) So, re-bought the fabric, re-cut the next size up, and sewed the whole thing up. And then it was far too big. Because the fabric I'd bought the second time around wasn't exactly the same as the first fabric and had far more stretch. 

So I unpicked the skirt and took in the side seams. It's a little misfitted, but it's just fine. Nice to wear, too. (My camera is slowly dying, and won't show the screen with the timer anymore, so it's mirror photos for me. I'll never be a real blogger.)

   

                            

I finished my cardigan, too.

It was really fun to knit. I think I enjoy the knitting more when it's something more than just the same stitch all the way through. I taught myself all sorts of things too - seaming, cables, creating a button band. I also learned that sizing is just as important with knitting as it is with sewing, alas.

I picked the size based on my bust measurement, but it's too big in the shoulders, so I need to pick my upper bust size and learn to do the knitting equivalent of a FBA. It's also a little long, as I should have anticipated. But I'm pretty pleased.

I also knit a scarf and a hat as gifts, but forgot to take photos. Of course.

Bonus photo: the dress I'm wearing in the photos above (not made by me!)

September sewing

Why hello there! Yes, I am still sewing, and no, you haven't missed a post. Since January, I have:

1) Sewed a shirt for my dad, which I forgot to take pictures of. The same Hawaiian-style shirt, in a nice olive green striped fabric he picked out. My first time sewing with stripes! I forgot to pay attention to the stripes for the most part, but I did perfectly match the pocket.

2) Tried once again to fit the dress that I've being trying to fit for a couple of years now. That's what took up most of the year (that, and abandoning sewing for a bit after that). I have finally given up. I'm not going to try again. I'm not even convinced the dress would have looked any good on me, I just wanted to sew everything in the Colette Sewing Handbook. But not that, apparently.

3) Sewed seasonally-inappropriate flannel pjs for my friend K.

She didn't say they were terrible, so I'm going to assume they fit. I have a sneaking suspicion they might be too short, but that's what fuzzy socks are for, right?

Elephants!

This is the Sewaholic Tofino pattern. I used flat piping, because I couldn't really find nice piping anywhere. Maybe I didn't know where to look. I think my pattern tracing is really going to pay off here, because I can re-use this pattern for myself or others, since I didn't cut the pattern at all.

4) Made my first repeat (for myself)!

This is another Colette Sorbetto, the freebie pattern on their website. Based on the last time I made it, I lowered the dart 1" and did a sway back adjustment that didn't seem to make a difference. But the dart placement is so much better.

The fabric has cat faces on it. Adorable, right? It's an oddly shaped remnant I bought in London. I took the decorative pleat out of the front, because I didn't think the fabric would hold that shape, and then had to add a seam in the back in order to fit the pattern on the fabric I had. I used pre-made bias tape at the neckline and armholes.

I love the shirt, and it's filling a navy-shaped hole I didn't realize I had.

5) Made another a-line cotton twill skirt. I now understand the allure of the tried-and-true pattern. 

Although I did have to make some edits - this was one of the first patterns I used, and I'd cut the tissue along with the pattern. Sadly, I have gained some weight since then (very few of my me-made clothes fit right now, which is devastating) and need the next size up, which...wasn't there. So I had to add some on to all the seams. It worked just fine, except with the waistband, where I messed up somehow. There's a little fudging. If you look at the right side, I ran out of fabric for the seam allowance so I had to just finish it with an overcast stitch. Luckily I don't really ever tuck shirts in, so no-one will see it.

Funny story: I had been planning on making another Sewaholic Cambie (and I still will! I have ridiculous fabric that is calling out to be used), but I would have had to re-fit it, and I thought by the time I finished it, it would be winter. So instead I started this fairly heavy-weight skirt...and finished it while it's still summer temperatures out there. I haven't worn it yet, but I'm sure I'll wear it as much as the previous version.

Pretty topstitching.

Next on deck: another Colette Moneta in a heavy mustard yellow. Except today I felt the urge to make a shirt, so I started making the required edits to the Sewaholic Alma (FBA and swayback, for sure, and possibly a narrow shoulder? Sloped shoulder? If I can get the bust right, I'll look at the rest.) I haven't decided what fabric, but I'm going to pull something out of the stash.

Stretching myself

Hello! I'm back, to finally post about the dress I finished just before Christmas. Fair warning, the photos in this post are terrrrrible. Sorry.

Here it is - my first attempt at sewing with knit fabrics. Short story: I like the result, but the process was annoying. Long story, well, that's the post.

This is some of the fabric I bought in London, on Goldhawk Road. It's great, but I suspect possibly not the highest quality, because I think it's already starting to stretch. I found cutting it out to me a massive pain - it kept shifting and stretching, and it was hard to feel like I was really getting the actual lines of the pattern. I'm sure it would be easier with a rotary cutter and mat, but that's just more things to find somewhere to put.

The sewing part was okay - there's a stretch zig-zag stitch on my machine which I used (and a few other stretch stitches, so I'll have to experiment). I even figured out how to set up and thread a twin needle, which wasn't expressly in my machine's manual - I used that to hem the neckline and arms and hem. The actual stitching felt weirdly slow, until I realized that's because it was - the stretch stitch just takes longer to stitch the same length than a regular stitch.

[ETA: the pattern is Colette Moneta. Forgot to mention that!] I didn't bother doing an FBA (the blessing of stretchy fabrics and a pattern that's drafted for a C cup instead of the normal B), but I did add a little length to the front bodice, and did my regular sway back adjustment on the back. It's still a little low in the back waist, so I took another 1/2 " off the pattern for next time. (Looking at the side photo, I might want to add that 1/2" back on to the skirt at the back, hmm.) And there probably will be a next time - despite not loving sewing with stretch fabric, I did like the end result (dresses with sleeves and pockets, hooray!), and I'm sure I'll make it again. And once I figure out the world of knit fabrics, I have a few other patterns lying around to try.

Summer shirt, owl skirt, and a seasonally inappropriate cowl

I made 3 things! And they go hideously together, heh.

After my fitting issues with the dress I was trying to make, I wanted to do something that didn't require adjustment. The first thing that came to mind, of course, was a skirt, and I had this Sewaholic Hollyburn pattern hanging around, just waiting to be used with this fabulous fabric.

Owls! In orange and lime green!

I had to cut the fabric in a single layer in order to have all the owls upright, so cutting took a long time, but it's a quick make otherwise. And a great skirt in a style I really like currently.

(It's not as long as it looks there - it's really right below the knee. I actually took a bunch of photos before hemming it with the intention of getting opinions on length, but when I looked at them, this length was the clear winner.)

I'm definitely looking forward to wearing this, and I'm sure I'll make more.

I also made a Colette Sorbetto, a free PDF pattern they offer on their website.

I didn't bother fitting this at all, just cut my bust size. Due to Colette patterns being cut for a larger bust, it worked - not perfect, but okay. The biggest issue was with my sway back, but all RTW clothing has that too, so I'm used to it.

I got to do two new things with this pattern - work from a PDF pattern (okay, but annoying to paste all the pieces together) and make my own bias tape (time consuming, but looks really good to use the same fabric). I would definitely make this again! And maybe try fitting it better? This is almost like a wearable muslin, given that the random mint green paisley from a yard sale goes with nothing in my wardrobe, so probably won't get worn much.

Finally, I knit a cowl. Yes, even though it's summer. In my defense, it was winter when I started - I just put it aside for a few other things.

Stephen West Purl Ridge. It's a little more teal than it looks there. I need to learn to do a looser bind off. But I'm pretty happy with it.

Now what? Maybe I'll tackle the dress with all the fitting problems again.

Pants in the wild

I finished my pants! And I wore them to work, and they (mostly) held up.

It's surprisingly hard to hem pants on yourself - skirts are somehow easier. But pants, pants have two legs that both have to be the same length. Not to mention that I had to decide what length to make them in the first place. But it's done, and I'm quite pleased with myself.

The one small problem is with the zipper - I had to shorten it, since I shortened the crotch length. But I think that stitching came out. It still works, it just comes completely apart if I zip it fully open. I'm pretty sure I can fix that without having to take anything apart.

Yes, I will probably make these again. I really do need more trousers. Sadly, although I made all the adjustments to the leg pieces, I forgot to adjust any of the other pattern pieces (fly, pocket, waistband) so I made all those adjustments as I was going. So they won't be quite as quick as I would have hoped a second time.

In the mean time, as I was procrastinating hand hemming the legs, I started fitting another pattern - the next thing in the Colette Sewing Handbook, a shift dress of sorts. I'm having a very hard time with this one! I did the same adjustments I did for the Cambie dress (shortened the bodice, swayback, FBA). Colette patterns are built for a C cup instead of the standard B, so I did a smaller FBA. But wow, the muslin did not fit.

I think it's just too big in the bust. I cut a 12 top to a 16 at the waist, and all that seemed okay, but perhaps I overdid the FBA. Just a touch. :) It's also too short in the middle. And I couldn't get a good picture of the back, but it was TERRIBLE - still too long, I think, and weirdly blousy.

Looking at the back pieces again, I think the problem is that the darts were shortened when I shortened the pattern, and I should have redrawn then back to the original length. And for the front, I've gone down to a 1 1/2" FBA. Once I can get the bodice part fitted properly, I can look at the length again. And this time I'm going to remember to make adjustments to the facing pattern pieces as well.

Baby's First Wadder

First, the good: I finished the February skirt! I actually finished about a week ago, so not quite so far into March. :)

It's okay. It's a very cute pattern - I really like the scallops on the botttom. The darts don't fit entirely, but I'm sure that's easily fixed. I'm just not convinced it's the best style for me and my sizeable waist-hip ratio. I think things with actual waists look better on me. It's funny - this is the kind of thing I always buy: not fitted in the waist, sitting on the hips. Comfortable, but not actually flattering.

Look at that gap! Since I've started sewing, I'm so much more aware of fit. In fact, I think I'm too aware of fit, to the point where I often can't figure out what proper fit is. I need the pattern designer there with me, to tell me how tight or loose it's supposed to be. I looked at this skirt, and I think it's fitting the way it's intended to fit, but that fit is just not the best style for me. But maybe it just needs to be adjusted? Maybe if I make the waist smaller? There's no actual waistband, though.

In any case, the skirt is fine, if not awesome. I wore it to work, and with a shirt over instead of tucked in, it's not noticeable, although the waist ends up rolling oddly through the day. Super comfortable, though, since it doesn't come anywhere near my waist. :)

And now the bad. The March shirt, which was going swimmingly and was totally going to get finished before April (the power of long weekends and the end of the month being on a weekend!), is a wee bit disasterous. I hit a point where it was basically sewn together, so I was able to try it on properly. My bust adjustment worked perfectly to put the band where it's supposed to be - except that it's now giant and gapey in the middle of the bust. I guess this is what 3 extra inches of fabric does! So I'm thinking maybe if I take it back to the original length in the centre, give it more of a W shape. I'm frankly just making things up here. Because otherwise this is a dead shirt, and I'd be sad to lose the fabric.

In any case, to make that change I have to basically unpick the entire thing. So I think it's going to go onto the back burner for a little while, and I'll unpick it slowly and see what I can do.

Instead, I'm going to move on, start something new. April's project is calling!

February update

Well, I didn't get my February project done on time. One month this year I will, I promise! I blame February for ending on a Thursday - I need that last weekend.

Although actually what slowed me down was the zipper foot I needed for the invisible zipper. I thought the machine came with one, so I didn't think about it until I sat down to sew the zipper in. Sadly, no zipper. So eventually I found somewhere to buy one...and promptly lost in on the way home. In my defense, they're tiny!

I did buy another one. So annoying. Even more annoying when I tried to use it this weekend and it didn't fit on my machine. AUGH. I faked it with a regular zipper foot, but the results weren't spectacular.

Not exactly invisible! Also there's that bump at the bottom, but I'm pretty sure I know how to make that not happen next time. I'm going to attempt to find the correct foot for future projects.

Onward! There are technically only 2 steps left, but, as always, tons of tiny steps contained within those.

When is a pattern not a pattern?

I've hit a small bump in February's project: I just discovered that I don't have an invisible zipper foot. Not that I mind getting one - I'm sure I'll use it lots, especially since it seems to be the preferred zipper for Colette and Sewaholic patterns - but I'm not totally sure where to buy one. I'll have to look into that this weekend - this is my last weekend to get this skirt done and keep on track!

Meanwhile, a peek at what I've done so far.

In my sewing classes, and what I remember from watching my mom sew, cutting a pattern is pretty simple. You pin the pattern to the fabric, and then cut it out with scissors. Which is what I did for my first few projects. But then I started reading (there it is again, reading above my level), and there was a lot of "no! don't cut the TISSUE! what if you want to make a different size? and think of the future!" Instead there was talk of pattern weights, and rotary cutters, and tracing, and templates. Too much.

But, I thought, if all the cool kids are doing it, I should see what it's all about. So I bought some "pattern weights" (washers, because there's a Home Depot right near me) and some posterboard (because there's a Staples right near me) and got to tracing.

The tracing was easy, if time consuming. I simply put the tissue pattern on the posterboard, held it in place with the washers, and drew over my size with a thin felt, which bled through to the posterboard. As a bonus, I didn't have to do this part on the floor! Score.

See the pink line?

And here it is after the tissue is gone

Then once I'd traced out all the patterns and copied all the markings, I cut out the posterboard and ended up with a bunch of templates.

Sadly, then I had to get back down on the floor, to lay out my fabric and the pattern pieces.

Look Ma, no pins! This part makes me really happy - I always find it kind of painful, getting the pins in. I have delicate princess hands, clearly. And an amazing ability to instinctively avoid using whichever finger has the thimble. It's uncanny.

Finally, I traced my template pattern pieces with tailor's chalk, and cut the fabric. It occured to me after that if I were very careful, I might be able to moved the chalked fabric onto the table to cut it out. My knees would certainly thank me for that.

So, was it worth it? I guess that depends on whether I end up liking the pattern. If I do, I've got this great, sturdy set of pattern pieces that can be used over and over again. The tissue patterns are definitely not long-lasting - I've used the men's shirt pattern twice and it's looking a little ragged. But it's a process and it takes time away from actually sewing, which is the part I like. So I guess we'll see!

Level up: Blouse

"Blouse" is not a word I ever used until I started sewing. Anything I wore on top was a shirt, no matter what it looked like or what it was made of. Blouses were giant poufy 80s things with huge bows (sidenote: those are back. I know.)

But in sewing, things are more specific. Shirts are tailored and button-down, blouses are...not. Highly technical language, I know. Anyway, "blouse" has come back into my vocabulary. And now into my wardrobe!

I did two new things with this project: made a blouse, and made a muslin/toile. A toile is basically an unfinished test version that you make in order to test the fit. I haven't bothered up until now because, 1) I'm so slow, and it's basically like making another half a thing, and 2) my waist and hip measurements fit into a standard pattern size, and I mostly made skirts. But since, as always, I read far in advance of my actual skill level, I was pretty paranoid about fitting on the top, what with being larger than a B-cup (which is pattern standard).

Enjoy my classy pjs and morning hair.

So I made the toile in a 14 (from an old bedsheet!) and tried it on. And then stared at it - I could tell it didn't fit properly, but I had no idea what the problem was. Toile fail. I thought at first it was too small across the bust, but eventually I decided it was too big everywhere else, which is why it was pulling. For the real thing I cut a 12 for the top and a 14 for the bottom (for the hips).

I do like the blouse - I wore it to work on Friday! But I think it might still be too big. When I make it again (which I will), I think I'll cut a 12 all around. And maybe shorten the back? If I can figure out how. In any case, I totally count this as a win.