Draping a Top

Photo Link

I decided it would be interesting to try draping a top on my dressform. I see so many things that appear to be done without a pattern (probably not really, but you know what I mean) and although this quickly changed into something very different than what I'd originally had in mind, it's still been a fun project. The check is a crinkled woven, and the solid is a knit. I decided to just 'go for it' and have been cutting and pinning with abandon. I've been basting since I took the photo yesterday, but it will be awhile before I can actually try it on and get a feel for how it's going to look, since I still have some 'things' I'm wearing around me since the surgery. But, since it's on my form, it's probably going to be close enough to make the fit tweak-able.

I'm not sure I'm crazy about it, especially now that I've seen the photo. It definitely needs something at the neckline, which I had planned from the beginning. I wanted an asymmetric neckline, but I'm not sure about the angle of this. I will have to see. The sleeves are a definite experiment, and may change a lot before they're done. I have to get it basted before I can take it off the form though. I started it a couple weeks ago, and now I'm not able to do much on it at a time, as I still have no stamina whatsoever. That is the most annoying part of this whole thing.



I have been doing some knitting, and finished a pair of socks. I used Serenity Sock Yarn from JoAnn's, and the Lacy Arrow pattern from SpinOff's Socks book. I have used this pattern several times, (it's the center photo on the cover) and it always turns out nicely, and is interesting to knit. I have to say that I think it would be better in a solid color, or at least one not so wildly striped, but it's a fun yarn. I've started another pair in the Concertina Lace Socks
pattern by Jackie Erickson-Schweitzer.


I'm up to the heel flap on the first one, and I have to say her heel method seems nice, but is kind of fiddly. It looks like it will be nice and cushy, though.

I want to thank you all for the very nice wishes and comments after my last post. I am attempting to find out what part of Sweden my ancestors are from. I am Swedish on both sides, and I know I used to hear about Malmö(?) as being a place in family history, but I never paid enough attention to know just what it had to do with things. There are relatives who've done extensive genealogy research though, and there's a big family reunion every August, so I may have to find out a few things this year. I do remember finding it very interesting several years ago when a sewer from Sweden posted some things on PatternReview, and her figure was almost exactly like mine. Aha! I thought. My alteration/figure problems aren't what I usually read about people dealing with, or at least not all of them at once, but she seemed to be doing all the things I have to do. Somehow, that seemed encouraging or something.