The Asian Fabrics Are Nice Together (Hooray!)

I finally got to put the jacket body together with the new contrast fabric tonight, and to my great relief, it's very nice. I ought to be able to finish up in a day or two I hope, if nothing unusual crops up.

I've been knitting with some really strange yarn called Samoa, by Austermann that I got from elann.com earlier this year. I bought two colors, one similar to what's in the picture below, and the other is a soft pink. It's 100% nylon, and it's extremely weird to knit with, as the little lumps are kind of like blobs of hosiery fabric and in between is just a medium thickness thread, about like a topstitching thread, so it is quite a difference in feel when knitting, and sometimes the blobs want to hang up on the threads. There is no easy movement of yarn within the stitches as there usually is. It makes a cute fabric though. I'm doing a shell and knitting circularly, as this would be horrible to have to sew.

Sewing Again; Knit Top & Asian Jacket

I've been waiting for the chrysanthemum coordinate I ordered from eQuilter for my Asian jacket, and while I've been waiting, I worked on the jacket up to the point where I could go no further without the fabric.

At this point I thought an instant gratification project was in order. So, I pulled out Simplicity #4020 and decided on View B (the blue one on the envelope) in a very thin knit from JoAnn's. It's a tie-dyed fabric which is then overprinted with a brown/copper opaque ink. It was not quite the instant project I envisioned, but I did finish it in a day. Here's the front view. I like it quite a lot, although it could be a little more fitted. This kind of top is difficult to predict fit on without a muslin, and of course the drape of the fabric is critical, so a muslin may not tell you as much as you'd think, unless your fabric characteristics are identical.

The chrysanthemum fabric did come today. It's absolutely gorgeous, and I immediately began to worry that it wouldn't look right in the jacket. I've prewashed it and pressed it, and I think I'm just going to forge ahead tomorrow and see how it is. I think it might be wonderful, but it's a stretch for me to work with so many patterned fabrics at once.

Progress

Well, I've progressed on several fronts. I've ordered some different contrast fabric for my Lonni Rossi cottons jacket. The original, which you can see in the topstitching photo, is just too boring. The main fabric is in the same colors, with a dark bamboo print, and a few gold leaves and crickets here and there. I have now ordered another Rossi print, which is a large scale chrysanthemum, with a lot more gold in it. You can see it above. I think I will like it a lot better, and it should liven things up a little.



I'm planning to do some decorative topstitching on both sides of the seams. Maybe not all of them, or maybe not all the same. I've been testing threads, and I think I've found the perfect gold that matches the metallic printed gold. It's a Madeira Rayon thread, and is the center line of stitching in the photo. The green thread is a very heavy (12wt.) cotton, from Sulky. I really like the look of it, especially the lightning stitch, which ends up looking a little like a twisted cord. I don't think it's the absolute perfect color however, and so I tried to find a better match today, but the shop was closed by the time I got there. I will try again tomorrow. I want something that's a little more closely matched, and thus more subtle than this. I've used this heavy thread for topstitching before, and I really like how it makes the stitching stand up off the fabric. I've also been testing stitches. I like the little clumpy things, and also the lightning stitch. I think I'll do some of one and some of the other, in groups as shown on the sample. I don't think I will use any of the straight stitch. I like it, but it looks awfully plain compared to the other 2 stitches. I was planning to do this on all the seams, but I'm now thinking just the main ones, or even just between the fronts and sidefronts. This will become clearer as I progress.

I also have made one more Potato Chip scarf, this one a black and white mohair blend. It's really soft, but with enough body to hold this shape very nicely.

Finally Back on Track, I Think

I've been doing more knitting than sewing lately, and mostly of scarves I said I'd make for a fundraiser for my music fraternity, Mu Phi Epsilon. I was afraid I would leave it until the last minute and not get anything done, and actually I've done more than I thought I would, since at the same time I seemed to have trouble getting going on a particular sewing project. I've done 7 knitted scarves and hemmed 2 poly silky ones so far, and have another one on the needles. I've finally been able to knit in the car again, and so it's nice to have a very low concentration project going. This one is a black and white nubby yarn, and fairly soft.

But, I have been able to finally get with it on a jacket I want to make. It's Vogue 2852 and I think it's very similar to a jacket I drafted last year, but with several different features, like princess seams, set-in sleeves, and a different collar style. This is actually a very appealing style to me for every day, easy wear, and I hope it's going to work out. So far, I'm altering the pattern, and I need to do a quickie test of it next.


I believe it would work well as the reversible piece for this year's SWAP contest, (this link will take you to a chat board on Stitcher's Guild with several SWAP topics) in case I decide to join in. I may not, as I'm to do a program on wardrobing for my Sewing Guild in January, and the sewing on the contest pieces isn't to start until January, so if I get a new wardrobe group done for the program, I may not do another for the SWAP. Oh well, I'll just see what happens.

Another Scarf

This is the latest Potato Chip Scarf. I may keep this one myself, as it has an edging which is very pretty I think, but the edging is also pretty loose, and may get snagged rather easily.

What happened is that I didn't bother to check, or even think about gauge on this, and although I changed to a 15 needle, I still used the same number of stitches. So, I ran out of yarn about halfway through the next to last even row. It's an old skein of bargain-brand bouclé which I think is beautiful, but I was sure I couldn't get anymore, and if I could it likely wouldn't match this dye lot very well anyway. I remembered some blue Bendigo fingering yarn that I made socks from, and by chance, it was a lovely match! Well, knitting with fingering yarn on size 15 needles is not exactly the recommended approach, and I think I might do something similar again, but with a crocheted edge, so it would be a little sturdier. I think the colors are beautifully misty, though, and it's light as a cloud.

I found out yesterday that I won the Personal Threads Boutique prize for my Cable/Bobble Sweater at the State Fair! So, that was a very nice surprise, and thank you to Personal Threads!

State Fair Results

We went to the Fair today, and I was very pleased with my showing. I won 1st Prize on Pearle's shirt, and also on my Organza Little Blouse. I was 3rd with my Embellished-Collar Jacket, 2nd on the Cable/Bobble Sweater, and 4th on my Toy Shell. All in all, it was very nice, but the real icing on the cake is that the judge actually commented on 2 of my items. The shirt says "Beautiful job" which is very nice, but.....I almost fell over when I read the comment on the Organza Blouse. It was just one word. "Perfect." I was stunned, but extremely thrilled! So, what a great fair! You can see the 3 sewn garments in both photos.



Just to celebrate, I guess, I decided to head to JoAnn's for the Simplicity pattern sale. I don't think I've bought a Simplicity pattern for more than 20 years, but the girls on Stitcher's Guild were posting about the latest ones out, and a blouse pattern, #4020, really caught my eye.
I purchased it, but naturally had to browse among the fabric as well. They had a lot of clearance fabric at the back of the store, and it was all 50% off the clearance price! I wasn't really in the market for fabric, but I found some real buys. A beautiful deep green plaid boucle that will be a wonderful coat, a geranium graduated polka dot burnout poly/rayon velvet for a scarf, a linen-look print, a tie-dyed overprinted knit, and a couple pieces of wool felt to embellish, but the pièce de résistance is a fine brown wool, which looked pretty nice, and when I opened it up, I saw it had a woven selvedge that said 100% Superfine Cool Wool. I took all they had, which was about 4 7/8 yards, at the very fine price of $2.50/yard. I was quite excited, as I didn't know JoAnn's ever carried anything like that, and I didn't think you could ever find it at a price like that. I really feel that my day is complete!

More Chips

Yes, I'm still making scarves for October, and I finished two more potato chip scarves; one knit and one crocheted. The crocheted one was fun, and quite different to work on, as it began to spiral quite quickly, and the knitted ones do not do so until you bind off. Instant versus Delayed gratification, I guess.

The knit scarf at the top is made with Scheepeswool Vrillée Fine, and the crocheted one below is made with Red Heart Fiesta worsted weight. The detail photo is the crocheted version.

Potato Chip Scarf

Here's a quickie project that I finished last night. (Click on the photo for a larger, more detailed image.) It's called The Potato Chip Scarf, as in you can't have just one, from KnitPicks. It takes about 2 balls of yarn, and just make sure you have a really long circular needle before you begin. I ended up finally using 3 cables from an old Susan Bates modular set, and that worked very well. This will go for the Mu Phi fundraiser. The yarn is a 65%Silk/35%Wool from Tahki called Chelsea. I had it leftover from a cardigan I made quite a few years ago, and I was pleased to find a good use for it.

So Far So Good - Crochet Bag

I finished the shell stitch band for the crocheted bag last night, and this morning I took photos of the pieces pinned out the way they'll fit together. It's looking pretty good, and I want to make sure I put plenty of pockets, etc. in the lining. I haven't decided what to make the lining from, but I may end up making a double lining so I can interface it and not have the interfacing show through any holes in the crochet. It's pretty solid, but if you don't want something to show through, you know it will. Here's a close up of the crochet. I am hoping that if you click on these photos it will take you where you can see larger images if you want to really see the details. We'll see if my link works.

The other exciting news here is that the roofers came this morning, and we're getting a new roof! They're supposed to be done tonight, which would be great. I don't see how they can do it that fast, but there are guys swarming all over the roof. The cat is not pleased, to say the least.

We were also very surprised this morning after looking in the rain gauge and seeing that we only got .12", to find that north of town, where the farms are, they got between 2.75" and 3" of rain! Finally, it's going where we need it.

Crocheted Bag Progress

I fell in love with this crocheted bag from the August Burda World-of-Fashion magazine, which is evidently an almost exact copy of a Prada bag. I hadn't crocheted anything in a long time, but once I got past the first few inches, it became very automatic. The only thrill was the fact that the pattern was translated from the original German into British English, which changes the names of all the crochet stitches from what they are in American English. A little attention was necessary to make sure I was actually doing what was specified, but it worked out okay. I finished the main part of the bag this evening, which was all single crochet, and began on the shell pattern band. That's going really quickly, and I'd better hurry up and find some leather for the straps and bands. I hope to post photos tomorrow of the crocheted pieces. Mine is a dark chocolate brown in a linen/hemp/broom yarn. It should wear like iron, which for a purse is just about necessary.

Little Projects

I suddenly remembered Friday night that I had promised to donate some knitted scarves or similar small items to a fundraiser for my music fraternity, Mu Phi Epsilon, in late November. Of course, I had done nothing about this. I recalled a printed scarf panel I had purchased this summer to make 2 scarves for this event, and I set up my serger for a rolled hem, and hemmed them. I may add some beads at the corners, as I had a scarf done that way once, and it hung very nicely. You can see the 2 identical scarves with iris below.



I also dug out some novelty yarn, and began a scarf, which you can also see in the photo above. I ended up with a cute pattern, which came out as if I had actually thought about it ahead of time. I cast on 25 stitches and knit 5-6 rows in garter stitch, then began the pattern.

Row 1: K3, *K2tog, YO* (repeat between *s) end K4.
Row 2: K all.

That's it. Repeat until you reach your desired length, then end with the same number of garter stitch rows with which you began. What's neat is that the edge borders are the same width, since the first K2tog reads as a K stitch. I may weave some ribbons through the lattice. It's easy, yet not totally boring to knit. I also thought holes would make it go faster.

I prepared the cotton coordinates that I want to use for a jacket. The color is not as blue as the top photo, but not as bright as the lower one. The plain fabric on the left will be the lapels and cuffs and the bamboo/cricket fabric will be the body of the jacket.

Katia Bolero Shell is Done

I finished the shell I've been making from Katia Bolero yarn. It's a very strange yarn with little chunks of grosgrain-type ribbon every so often with the cotton/acrylic yarn. I really like the texture of the knitted fabric, and the color is very interesting. It's going to look very nice with my border print skirt and the Seafoam Marfy Jacket as well.



I am pleased, and a little relieved that it turned out as well as it did, as I began with the Katia pattern for a tank top with cute buckles on the straps for which I had bought the yarn. About 2/3 of the way up the front, I decided I really couldn't wear the tank comfortably, no matter how cute the pattern was. It just wasn't me, and I should change it to a shell with the shoulders more covered. So, I happened upon a cute pattern, #2 in the Art Issue of VK Knit1. (Thanks Mardel for the heads up on this magazine!) I had dismissed it after looking at the first issue they put out, as it looked very much a scarf/poncho/let's knit rectangles kind of thing, but this issue has several very cute things. This pattern was for a completely different yarn, but at the point I was in my pattern, the stitch count was only one different, so I was able to just follow the instructions as written for the rest, which was quite handy. I did go back to the original pattern for the neck finish, as the VKK1 pattern used a seedstitch band, and no way was I going to do seedstitch with this yarn. My finish is 2 rows of garter stitch, which is very tidy. You can see a side view here.

I was very thrilled yesterday when looking at the August Vogue. I had been thinking that maybe the jacket I'm working on is not actually stylish, although I really like it, and it's very much "me" in style. I turned the page to a story about tunics being the big thing, and there was my jacket! Not exactly, but the YSL belted tunic on the first page of the story is very much the lines and feel of my jacket. What a lovely validation! So, I'm trying harder than ever to figure out what fabric I want to use for it. I want contrast collar/lapel and cuffs but I don't want to completely limit what will coordinate with it. Much thinking and planning involved here. I've been going through my browns, and now I'm beginning to think of greens. A pair of quilting cottons keep popping up on the radar screen, and I may just underline them and use them. The colors would be wonderful. They're dark greens with a touch of gold, and oriental in character. Well, off to the drawing board.

Jacket Trials (of Many Kinds)

Well, I've been trying very hard to work on a Fall Wardrobe Plan, and I've been laying out fabrics and going through patterns and fashion photos. One thing I decided was that I'd better get myself a solid pattern for a new version of my Self Drafted Jacket that I made in February of 2005. I liked a lot of things about it, but I hated the dropped shoulders, and the insets I used instead of darts almost dictated the dropped shoulder treatment, so I changed that too. You can see the original below. It was supposed to be a wearable muslin, and I never did a "real" one, as I knew it needed changes but didn't get to them.


I changed the collar a little and used a set-in sleeve instead of the dropped sleeve. I have a regular dart instead of the insets. I made it up in a very boardy polyester woven, and it wasn't too bad, but I tapered the body a little and changed a few other minor things, and I'm going to try it in a nicer fabric. I'm thinking of using a wide-wale wool in a dark chocolate brown, but I want something else for the collar/facings and turnback cuffs. I may do an edge-to-edge lining as well. Anyway, it's going pretty well, and I hope it will be a success. I can see wearing it belted, and with the cute straight skirt with back godets in the August Burda WOF magazine.

I did a little knitting tonight during Project Runway, and am almost done with a shell from Katia Boheme. I changed from one design to the other about halfway through, so I'm anxious to see how it turns out.

Chiffon 1101 Blouse

I finally got photos of the chiffon blouse, after I finally got buttons and finally finished it. It seems that it's been a bit of a struggle at every step. Even my pretty decent first set of photos all got deleted instead of transferred to my computer, so I had to retake them, on this hot day, etc. Oh well, at least it's done. And I like it.

This is a 44, with a FBA, the sleeves lengthened about 3", and the body shortened about an inch. I also added extra wide seam allowances to the sleeves, but didn't really need the extra.

The buttons, which I think are very cute, although they pretty much disappear into the very busy fabric, are smaller on the placket and larger for the cufflink treatment.

I think I will probably wear this with pleasure this fall, as I like the look, and although after all the extra care this one took I thought I wouldn't make it again, I rather like it, and it might be a nice wardrobe staple for a blouse/shirt. It certainly looks different in different fabrics. Below you can see the Nile Green cotton print version which I made before the chiffon.

County Fair Results

We went to the fair this morning, and I found out what placings my garments received.

Cable Bobble Sweater First and Best of Lot



Vogue #8123 Jacket with Embellished Collar First


Shirt KwikSew #1627 Second


All in all, I'm fairly happy with my showing, although I always feel bad if Pearle doesn't get a first-prize shirt to wear, but there's always the State Fair at the end of the month. Reversals have been known to occur, in both directions.

Buttons, Buttons Everywhere...

But not a one will work!

Isn't that just the way it goes? I finished the chiffon Marfy #1101 tonight, except for the buttons. I thought I had a photo or scan of the fabric at least, but I don't. I'll take a photo of the blouse tomorrow when there's light again. It's a poly chiffon from FabricMart which has fringed satiny rectangles, and a leopard print. It's quite glamorous looking, with a few gold threads thrown in for good measure.

I really struggled with this one. It's actually the third version I've done, each one a different size. The chiffon is a 44 with FBA, although I think a 46 would be my choice next time, at least for a close-fitting garment.

The thing that really got me was that I altered the sleeves in width so they were the same as the other 2 blouses, which were made from the 50, without, and then with a FBA. I should have known that when I did an FBA, the 50 was the wrong size to begin with. But, that blouse is going to a good home anyway, and it's really cute, so I'm sad to see it go. I will take a photo before I box it up.

Anyway, the sleeves were the same width and length as the 50 sleeves, so I anticipated no problems. I got them done up to the point where I was going to attach the cuffs, and I tried them on, and they were almost skintight from the elbow down! How could that have happened? I cogitated on that one for quite a while, and realized finally that the shoulder seam on the 44 is actually in the correct spot, and so the sleeves need to be longer. I added about 3" and the sleeves are just fine. I added a little extra at the SA's just in case, and wouldn't have needed it at all.

So, after all my travails, it's done, and quite lovely, but I need the perfect buttons. I have many, many buttons, but lately I don't seem to ever have just the kind I want. I have in mind a tortoise-shell button with a gold center on a shank. I have a couple like this, but I need 9. I don't remember where I got the ones I have, but they aren't terribly exotic, so surely I can find them, or something similar.

Shirt & Blouse

Here's the finished shirt for Pearle. He picked out the buttons, and I made the buttonholes last night, pulled all thread ends to the back, tied them and hid the ends, applied Fray-Check, then allowed it to dry overnight, and sewed the buttons on today. I'm quite pleased with this shirt, and I will take it to the fair next week. You can see more photos here, including a close-up of the placket and cuff.


This is my test version of Marfy 1101, one of the free patterns included with the Fall 2006/07 Marfy catalog. I used a fabric I don't particularly care for, but it has no give in any direction, so it's nice to test things. I didn't use any interfacing, but this gives me a good idea of what I'll get with a different version. I think this would be nice in a chiffon actually, or probably any blouse fabric. I will make a couple of changes for the next version, including using smaller buttons. There are very small shoulder pads in this blouse, and I quite like
the fact that some padding in shoulders is making a comeback. I don't think I want to go clear to the huge proportions we left in the '80's, but a little is nice. There's a close-up of the cuff here.

You can see the pattern drawing below, and I did a very silly thing when I was tracing the pattern. It was quite late Sunday night, and for some reason, I traced a size 44 first. Of course, that's not the size I need, but if someone would like my tracing of it, let me know. First come, first served!

Size 44 translates to Bust 92cm/36.25", Waist 72cm/28.3", Hip 96cm/37.8".

Just Looking for Buttons

Here's the shirt I'm taking to the fair this year. It's all done except the buttonholes and buttons, as I don't have any I like. I'm going to go look for some tomorrow. I'm actually done over a week early! This is practically unprecedented. Please forgive the wrinkly appearance. I thought I wouldn't bother to give it a final press until after I've taken it to the fabric store to look for buttons, and sewn them on, etc. It's such a fine, silky cotton that it seems to gather wrinkles as it sits there.

I tried something new on this shirt. I did a chevroned yoke, thanks Ann Rowley! I think it turned out beautifully, and it's a really nice design detail, and perfect with the tiny stripe in this fabric. I was quite sure that the stripe was white, but apparently it's gray, as I tried white threads and they were just overpowering, so finally went to a light-medium gray, which seems to match the stripe perfectly, and actually reads as white. I'm thinking dark blue buttons might be nice. Here's the collar and the yoke.



If you want to see the entire shirt, you'll have to look here, as the stripes don't read well in a small photo.

Shoe Covering

I'd been thinking about doing some shoes again, and when the shoe issue came up with the Matka jacket, organza blouse and print skirt, I decided now was the time.

I went through all the satin dyeable shoes I had on hand, which are what I have used for covering in the past. I used to buy the mis-dyed ones on the semi-annual sale at a local shoe store, and so I have several pairs in reserve. They're pretty classic pumps, and although I could wish for a higher heel, these are actually really comfortable.

I've been asked for photos of the process in the past, and I had planned to take photos the next time I did a pair. I decided that this subject needed a lot of photos to illustrate it, and I have posted a series in a gallery called Shoe Covering on my photo site at Pbase. There are instructional captions as well. If anything is unclear, just ask. It's not particularly hard, you just have to be meticulous, and careful.

These are covered in the same Seafoam Silk Matka I used for the Marfy jacket, and the heels are covered with a crocodile print faux leather. I have not done heels this way before, although I have covered them with cloth, or even left them the original dyed color of the shoe. I also bleached and redyed one pair before covering the heels only. It just becomes very fun to dream up color and decoration schemes, and I really wonder why it's been at least 10 years since I did a pair.

Tropical Colors

I just had to share the very tropical (and a little wild, for me anyway) outfit I came up with just so that I could wear the darling polka dot shoes. I thought they were great with the pants, but didn't have anything else that was quite right, or at least right and also appropriate for a casual summer dinner. I realized that this camp shirt that I made almost exactly a year ago is the perfect color. I think the ensemble is great for a day that's in the 90's with high (99%) humidity. We finally got rain yesterday, so we're not complaining about the humidity. It's just fine!