daisy, daisy....

Daisy snood

Although 2015 is mostly the year of the handmade clothes, I snuck this one in over the winter and spring. This is a Thimble version of Whistlebare Yarns Daisy Scarf or Snood and I HIGHLY recommend it. The yarn choices are so delicious that it is very hard to choose just one colour. In fact I couldn't - I chose this one which is Yeavering Bell 4 ply and another one in silver.

I just noticed the description: Our very best selling pattern.  So so pretty.  This pattern is knitted in the round and is not for beginners.' Too true! There are 2 pattern variations.

My head must have been in beginners lace (scrim net) mode when I started it because on my first go there wasn't a single daisy in sight, just big holes. I soon realised the best thing to do was actually follow the pattern so I unravelled it and started again. eventually I figured it all out. It was this bit that initially foxed me: * K1, slip next 5 sts purl- wise dropping extra loops, insert LHN through the back of the 5 sts, then (p1, k1, p1, k1, p1 wrapping yarn twice for each stitch) into all 5 loops together* rep from * to * Basically there was a lot of knitting into a single stitch.

Once the penny dropped it was all systems go. I still don't know if I actually mastered the pattern but am happy with the end result. I wear it as a snood, but it could be worn as a shawl or scarf.

 

Hedley in Yeavering Bell 4 ply 

Daisy detail

Sog-gy (Sister of Groom) jacket and matching bag

Linen jacket: Simplicity K2938

The last of the wedding posts and hopefully the first in a series of homemade clothes, this being the hobby I am getting most carried away with in 2015.

This jacket came to life because I had a lovely pink People Tree dress for my brother's wedding, was in shock at the cost and poor quality of the flimsiest of organza shrugs in the shops (sewing has given me an appreciation for how much time and skill things take to make), had a stash of grey linen (bought for a trouser project that would never have worked), and had a week to go.

People Tree dress

Luckily I also had a stash of free patterns and chose Simplicity K2938 because..well it looked simple.

This was really a very easy pattern with raglan sleeves. In fact it was so straightforward I made it a bit trickier. Firstly I decided to add contrasting pink piping to the jacket edge. As luck would have it, my favourite sewing shop Just Sew had the perfect linen effect pink fabric in stock (same place I had bought the grey linen last year).

My favourite touch was to put the same contrasting pink inside the arm pleat. This was very pleasing. I used Hong Kong seams on the inside and this was even more pleasing for two reasons- to have a neat inside finish and to be able to name the seam finishing technique.

Pink contrasting fabric for sleeve pleat

Inner pleat with contrasting fabric, finished with Hong Kong seams

I used the same pink fabric to make the buttonhole loop and made a covered button with the grey.

Finally, I lined it in pink (fabric also from Just Sew - they have loads of colours in stock).

inside lining

Once the jacket was finished it became really obvious that I needed a bag. With loads of fabric leftover I used one of my favourite Manocia bags as a template. I lined it with the same pink lining and used the contrasting pink from the jacket for the inner handles, button and flap. 

On reflection, I think the machine embroidery on the flap was a bit of overkill! It was meant to match the hand-embroidered waistband of the dress but I didn't quite manage to pull it off. Plus, it is wonky and that draws my eye, which is a shame. 

I drew the line at home-made shoes.

Bag details

This is an action shot. After far too many Prosecco's I am afraid my face was as pink as the dress.

Thanks Goodness for Negative Ease

Thimble sporting Hare and Tortoise sweater

Boy oh boy, where to start! There have been so many 'moments' when making this sweater - those wobbly moments when it looks like it has all turned to s*** and why am even bothering with complicated things when I could probably make a really nice PLAIN sweater and surely to goodness it is easier all round to just buy one anyway.

There have also been some really brilliant moments, like when I finally understand the instructions, and when the little tortoises appear and when the steeks don't fall apart despite me using the wrong yarn and when the neck looks so neat....

I am very proud of that neckline

Hedley helping me stretch the sweater

The design by Kate Davies caught my eye a couple of years ago and I bought the pattern online as a PDF. I think it suits a petite frame better...or maybe I should face the fact that I should have gone for size 3 rather than size 2, though I think I was between sizes...lesson 1 - if between sizes choose the BIGGER size.

Kate Davies wearing Tortoise and Hare sweater

Lesson 2  - Steeks: if the instructions call for Shetland wool, use Shetland wool. Alpaca yarn is everywhere at the moment and I loved the idea of it, plus it is hypoallergenic. I was excited to discover Artesano 4 ply Alpaca comes in the same shades and at a fraction of the cost too so I bought all the yarn and only then did I read this post, where Kate Davies explains steeks (a scary process which involves cutting across rows of ovely neat knitting) and in the final paragraph, states: 'So if you are in any way nervous about steeking, then I would suggest that you stick with a sticky yarn (choose a woollen -spun yarn with a ‘halo’) and avoid smooth, shiny yarns — ie, those that are superwash-treated, those that are worsted spun, or those with long smooth fibres, like Alpaca'. Well of course it was too late by the time I had read that....I have to say there were a few sticky moments at the end with the steeks. I used sticky wool to crochet the steeks but the Alpaca really is a slippery customer and I had a sweaty couple of evenings sewing in ends.

Lesson 3 - No two animals look the same so why should I knit them that way, even when the pattern wants me to? Reminds me of the flower scene from Harold and Maude:

 

Well OK, so my lumpy tortoises aren't so much deliberate statements on the wonderful diversity that exists in nature as happy accidents due to the old affliction of watching too many DVDs and not concentrating on the pattern. Luckily, for the more monstrous tortoises (tortoi?) I was able to fix any of the bigger shell cankers with a needle and wool.

Lesson 4 - Negative Ease. One of the biggest wobbly moments was when someone suggested tactfully that maybe I could give the finished garment to my 11 year old neice because it obviously was really very small. The hardest thing about this design is that it is knitted as a solid tube and then the 2 sides of the neck are knitted together with a steek bridge (as are the sleeves) so it is impossible to try it on until the steeks have been done and cut. So it takes a lot of faith that everything will be ok in the end. Negative ease is best explained here by Techknitter. The garment is smaller than the person wearing it. Had I known about negative ease I would have smiled knowingly at the 'little girl sweater' comment instead of feeling somewhat distressed. OK, so the 'trying on' moment was a bit like this example of extreme negative ease:

I have learned a lot about lengthening a sweater design and steeks and knitting in the round and fairisle and what a peerie is and Vikkel Braids and weaving floats and the properties of alpaca and negative ease and fixing mistakes. I am 90% happy with the sweater. I mustn't eat too many pies or I will enter extreme negative ease territory.

Party Frock

Party Frock

Work christmas parties. Enough said. This year I was determined to fulfil my resolution to make a frock and make a proper job of it. It has been a(nother) curve on the mysterious and sometimes incredibly frustrating but mostly fun journey of learning needlecraft.

This was the starting point:

It was a sorry moment when after a recent severe cold spell necessitating extra portions of pie, I had to 'upsize' Hedley in the bust department. Then the really fun bit of ordering fabric which I mostly like to do in a real shop but I ran out of time so used Calico Laine which has the widest selection of dress lining fabrics I have ever come across and is really reasonably priced. I chose the Airforce/Navy iridescent satin back Dupion because it looked a bit special...and also some polka dot green cotton...well just because.

Unlike the lovely lady in black on the packet, my figure crossed over several size bands which was a bit confusing, being a novice. I decided to be extra careful and EVEN made a muslin FIRST:

Hedley in muslin

The idea being that this is made using the pattern, sewn up, tried on and then the muslin pieces adjusted and unpicked to become the new pattern pieces. I am jolly glad I didn't miss out this step because I had to add 2 inches to the length and alter the curve of the side panels. Well to cut a long story short I got into a bit of a pickle sewing the lining to the front mainly because I didn't read the instructions. I also found out that Satin back Dupion frays really easily and is not the best choice for a beginner. There were a few sweaty moments when I had to unpick the zip and it might have ended up in the bin at the attaching the skirt stage, had I not remembered that my best qualities are perseverance in the face of adversity and optimism.

Well, I did it. I had my Pretty in Pink moment (anyone else remember feeling a little crestfallen at the unveiling of the dress in that film after the tremendous build-up? I'd do it again though.

Pretty in Pink

Pretty in Airforce/Navy iridescent satin back Dupion

Patchy

Patchy: front

Patchy: back

Hedley looks like she has been eating too many pies.

Here she is sporting a Thimble original - a patchy skirt using all my favourite floral fabrics, inspired by the twirly skirt.

A Room with a View (1985)

The design is not actually original in that I borrowed from a per una skirt in shades of grey that I have had for a decade. It is also lined...albeit with curtain lining...which makes it quite suitable for Autumn. I can also picture it being worn in a wildflower meadow in Spring in a cloud of butterflies (picture the barleyfield scene in 'a room with a view')...though here it is more likely to be damp tick-infested bracken and my allergic rhinitis would probably detract from the romance of the moment. Roll on spring...

Bad Hair Day Lady

Hedley goes domestic

Spot the difference: Crotchety versus Squirelly

  

Although I try to leave out any personal identifiers in these ramblings, if Cathycoo is having a bad day you may well recognise her from this picture. Do not approach her when she looks like this as it probably means she is under duress and she is liable to shake her rolling pin at you. The 3 year old artist may well be responsible not only for the portrait, but also for the harried and turbulent state of mind of Bad Hair Day Lady. 

Fabric: More from the Maureen stash so probably from the 1970s

Machine embroidered with cotton from the Maureen stash (Woolworths!) so probably from the 1960s

Hedley

Hedley before adjustments

When I was getting to grips with serging, the thing that I coveted was a "dressform" (dummy) but as it was I had to tack the seams of the jumpers whilst wearing them. This involved a little contortionism though I was pleased with the overall result. Now I had read a number of articles about making the perfect dress-form using duct tape (see this inspiring video: making a duct tape dress form) and I almost tried it, but kept having visions of duct tape catastrophes.

Anyway a little windfall was all I needed to get my hands on an Adjustoform lady valet (on my wish list for a couple of years) called Hedley. When she arrived she was pretty slim... 


 ...well after a few glasses of wine and pieces of pie she split her seams a little and well...looks a bit more relaxed.

Hedley in her new home after adjustments

In fact I would go so far as to say she looks a little like me.

Me and Hedley