Wardrobe Refashion

December Crafting

I have been knitting and crocheting more than sewing lately, but things have been so busy in general that I have neglected posting.   I finished up a couple pairs of socks, working on my two-at-a-time, toe-up, on one circular needle skills.  I have continued to make string bags, and have given 2 away as gifts, one at craft club at the library where I work, and one at our local Co-op’s Christmas party on whose board I serve.  I also finished this sweater:

 

I know the color is really eye-popping!  I was in a yank to try the pattern so I used yarn I had hanging around (for a reason I guess, who actually wants something this color?) And I need to make some adjustments in the pattern I think, to make it more flattering for my figure type.  But overall I’m still pretty pleased.  The pattern is the Shalom Sweater, and I found it on Ravelry, and here at Involving the Senses, and here at Soule Mama, and then afterward at lots of other places as I poked around for peoples’ changes to the pattern.  I have been wearing it already around the house and I actually wore it out in public the other day, kind of by accident, and nobody made any crude comments about it (at least to my face). 

 

I have done a very small amount of sewing.  I worked some more on a scarf from a boy’s dress shirt.  I added another panel to one I had previously started, and added buttons and loops to the pocket.  I also cut some of the rest of the leftover material into squares and rectangles for cloth napkins, and in some strips that I am planning to try some quilt squares with a paper piecing method I saw on Martha Stewart. I also took a quilted jacket in at the sides.  While I was hemming the napkins I ran out of bobbin thread and since the bobbin-winding part of machine gives me a bit of trouble I decided to oil her up and per her away for the day.  I’ll tackle the bobbin winding battle when I’m fresh on another day.  Whew!  Sorry for the long post, but it’s so fun to share!  

Apple green weskit - finished!

Finally finished - a wee green weskit started some time last winter or maybe earlier this year? I can't remember. It got abandoned and sat in the stash for months after a minor error.

Now, the label on this Cygnet SERIOUSLY Chunky 100% Acrylic is not untrue: it is SERIOUSLY chunky. Knit up on size 0 (8mm) wooden needles, the two fronts take me a short Friday afternoon to reknit.  The remaining neck band knits up in a Saturday afternoon, and the rest is wrestled together with a HUGE darning needle on Sunday morning. 

The pattern is a slightly lengthened version of 'Saffron' from Rowan's 2007 newshapes. Overall, it's an easy pattern to follow, and knits up gratifyingly superfast. Plus you get the chance to try out with different types of making up techniques:

• sewing two different knit styles when joining garter neckband to stocking stitch body
• mattress stitching the side seams together
• grafting the shoulders together - both stocking stitch
• grafting the two collars together...

More detail here...

Pink silk slip finished! (Finally)

So the weather is hot enough to wear a slip to bed - but mine wasn't finished yet! So I took advantage of the hot weather to stay indoors with my sweaty little sewing machine, and out of the burny, burny sunshine. Mmm, melanoma--y.

Anyway, I finished the slip I started so long ago! I didn't cut the skirt on the bias (as instructions suggested) as my vintage silk kimono linings weren't wide enough, but I used extra fabric to give it some gathers for a better skirt shape. I didn't find the book's instructions very useful. They don't even explain that it is a halter neck and its not obvious from the photos. But I never follow instructions exactly anyway.

It fits and is pretty comfortable for summer sleep wear. I can't say its decent (which is why I'm not modelling it!) for wearing in public, or if you need any kind of "support", but it does look pretty on and would probably be a pretty wedding/trousseau/honeymoon gift.

I slept in it and there was no discomfort from the halter neck or getting tangled in the skirt, although it didn't exactly fit properly once I was lying down - serious gaping. However I imagine it wasn't designed to stay on in bed... if you know what I mean. :)

P.S. Silk is awesome and I am now convinced 100% genuine silk is the only material to sleep in in tropical climates! I wish I could afford it!

Round 2

I had signed up last May but didn't do much sewing or blogging. Now that school is in session, it feels like its taking over my entire life! Winter break is coming up soon, so I will have time to do some sewing then. Meanwhile I've been making a kimino top for a friend's daughter. You can view the details at my blog The Crafty Witch .

I was bad and good

   I have to use this....I went to Target yesterday to shop for my little ones b-day and bought her an outfit and a coat.  Really, I feel dirty now, even with the toys I picked out.  I almost want to take them back and just give her the stuff I've made her. 

I did finish this yesterday also.

 My little one's halloween costume, a little gnomey!  I knitted the hat and socks using stash yarn and made the apron using vintage sheets and a doily for the lace.  I'll post more about it on my blog later today!

merlinthecat

October Refashions

Quick! Quick! Before the month is out, I have to make a post.

Mostly this month, I've been knitting this sweater:

I signed up for a knitting class, so for four weeks I was knitting non-stop. It kind of ate up my refashion time. But, I did actually get a couple of quick things done. There were a couple of draft blockers for the doors:

Just tubes of fabric made out of tshirts from The Pile. I stuffed one with rice and one with a combination of fabric scraps and rice. 

I have also figured out why some pants (trousers in British English) make me look frumpy: too much fabric. It's meant to accommodate curvy thighs, but my thighs appear to be straight. Well, at least the solution is to turn the pants inside out, find where they bulge, and stitch a straight seam instead. I figured this out by putting on the pants inside-out and pinning until they looked better.

Before:

After:

 

Those are the highlights of what I've been up to. I'm hoping to make a lot more progress next month.

-- VanimaAndune

Thrift yarn = Vest

Remember those woollen mill hanks of 100% wool that I found at the thrift/opshop? Well I have started knitting a vest from one of the colours. My mother heard I had this wool and has put in a request for a vest. Not exactly exciting to knit, but it will use up the yarn and give my mother a useful, versatile wardrobe piece.

I have chosen a simple yet unusual Jo Sharp pattern from her Eclectic Collection. It had been sitting in my cupboard along with all of my other knitting and craft books! I had to switch to much smaller needles and that still didn't make the guage right, so I have chosen a smaller than normal size. It won't look exactly like the Jo Sharp version but it will still fit snugly.

 Ignore the colour in this photo, its actually muchly lavender and not so much with the blueness.

Here's a close up. You can't tell but it's mostly knit 2, purl 1 rib  as well as having some side shaping which means it will be figure hugging. First you knit a tube top then you add the yoke, so its made up of three simple, fairly rectangular pieces with minimal shaping that I can knit whilst watching Dollhouse. :)

 If you don't want the vest you can make a tube top (to wear over shirts like a vest) instead, by leaving off the yoke part. The model makes it look good... I wonder if ot would stay up though!

If it turns out really sweet, maybe my mother will never see it... :D 
 

I'm knitting on all four

Needles, that is. In fact, there are five of them, and they are actually just sharpened wooden sticks. But those are details.

I was stuck ill in my flat at school. No internet. So after I got bored with my rather limited choice of books and films there, I took out a thrifted sweater with holes in it, unravelled it and started knitting... I made a pair of wristwarmers, a cap, a pair of socks, a headband/ear-warmer and turned the original turtleneck of the sweater into a neck-warmer (by simple crochet-finishing the raw edges). Now I'm working on another pair of socks.

The funny part is, it was the first time I knitted on "all four", and the first time I made socks, first time and without a tutorial or pattern, and it worked. I think it's thanks to my habit of first reading tutorials and studying the technique and then doing my own thing anyway...

Also, the charm of using plain sharpened wooden sticks for your needles lies in the ability to make your needles any length you need:

Definition of a cardigan

Started back in May, this cardigan has amassed a bundle of experiences and associations for me as I worked on it over the months. And I'm delighted to have rescued the wool from its previous unsuccessful incarnation as a Debbie Bliss Biker Jacket that really didn't rev my engine.

In short, the good news is: I finished it, have worn it, and will wear it again. 

 

Were it to be named after the pattern I used, it would have been the February Lady Sweater - for that is the pattern that wooed me back into 'like' with this tweedy green wool. But I knitted no part of it in February, and I'm British enough to think of 'sweater' as a perspiration-related term, which doesn't go with being a lady. So that name's out.

Longish, knit-related post reveals final ridiculous name of finished garment, but does include pics of Simon Baker: Guardian AND Mentalist. What you waiting for? Come on by!

Moth-eaten sweater = hotwater bottle cover!

Okay, so as far as making fashion goes, I have been pretty slack, but that doesn't mean I haven't been reducing, reusing or recycling! I had an old jumper (or sweater for Americans) that was totally felted and massively moth-eaten. But it was pure cream coloured wool! And had these beautiful cables on the front, that the moths hadn't yet chomped on.

So I decided to cut the uneaten pieces into hot water bottle covers. If you look carefully below you can see some small darker spots on the jumper. That's where the moths had chewed through. Particularly on the sleeves.I haven't decided what to do with the rest of the jumper, but I just can't bear to throw it out. Maybe mittens?

Anyway here is the jumper after I have cut the pieces for the hot water bottle covers. I just traced around the hot water bottle to get the right size and shape. I decided the ribbing at the bottom of the jumper would be great for around the top of the hot water bottle cover.

So I have my two pieces, front and back:

Sadly, even these have a couple of  little moth holes... Never mind, I will darn those.

Then I stitched the pices together inside out using the sewing machine. You can do this with lots of knits, even if they aren't felted. Needless to say, felted knits have less chance of getting a run or dropped stitch in them.

As you can see, there is no unravelling of the knitting because it is felted. (Unintenitonally, I might add!)

Then you turn it inside out and slip it over your hot water bottle! Voila! An Aran hot water bottle cover!

If you're worried about the cover coming off the water bottle (although its pretty snug - mine hasn't come out of its cover), you can add some buttons and loops from front to back at the top (over the bottle's "shoulders") to stop the bottle sliding out.