Another Birthday dress, and a Sirdar Birthday cardigan. The perils of knitting taking longer than sewing.

 Conveniently, two of my friends have little girls who are 3 months apart in age. Naturally, when I was invited to the younger baby's first birthday party, my thoughts were drawn to the pattern I had recently used for  Miss M . I love reusing a pattern that I have already traced out, it makes me feel smugly efficient.

 However, I was not feeling smugly efficient when I took this photo mere seconds before leaving for the party. I may have sewn the buttons on whilst a passenger in the car. The reason for this was that my thoughts had not instantly flown to this pattern, because the intended present for Miss S was a sweet little cardigan, which mysteriously had not been finished by the day of the party. I blame this timing failure on having to rip back the sleeve due to its strange and disproportionate length. Of course, that was also because I thought I could knit 2 sleeves in 3 evenings after work. I was wrong. But I can mostly sew a little girl's simple pinafore dress in 4 or so hours if everything falls into place.

This dress is also a modification of the pattern (for a romper) Lollipop (Australian Smocking and Embroidery 72). It is clearly much more simple than the dress-for-the- birthday-party that I made for Miss M, but as it was only part of Miss S's gift, and intended for everyday wear, I felt that it was equally appropriate. I made Miss S a winter dress, as her birthday is at the beginning of Autumn, and besides, I had a little remnant of cordoroy that jumped out at me when I opened the door to my fabric closet in a slightly panicky manner. You can see that I made some attempt at fancy touches, it is a birthday gift after all. The front pocket , neckline and armscyes are trimmed with pale pink mini piping and the bodice is lined in the same pink cotton twill. I do like my remnant stash. Unfortunately using up these little pieces of fabric does not encourage me to clean out my fabric scraps, which is the other name for my remnant stash.

I am very lucky, and the mother of Miss S kindly visited me with Miss S wearing her little dress about 3 months after I'd made it. Doesn't she look sweet?

 

However, you may notice that she also looks tall, which is particularly evident as she dashes out the door whilst having her photo taken. As I had still not finished the cargidan, and I had firm intentions that the two garments be worn as an outfit, I had to do something about the length of the dress.

 

I finished the cardigan, and visited the family with my gift in tow with an ulterior motive. I  also came with a pink bias bound ruffle which I sewed to the pinafore whilst giving my friend a mini sewing machine foot lesson. She has started sewing for her little one on her grandmother's sewing machine, and I think she is hooked.

The cardigan is made from Baby Bamboo, and the pattern is cardigan C  from the pattern book  346, Baby Bamboo Too

I am quite pleased with the cardigan now that it is finally on the baby.

Little white cardigan

So as soon as I start boasting about our lovely weather,  Ruthie pipes up and tells me that a short sleeve cardigan is practically useless for the purpose of warmth. Actually she didn't say anything nearly so cheeky.  I'll paste her actual words here so that I don't mislead anyone :)

SewRuthie has left a new comment on your post "Little red cardigan":

Adorable little cardigan. (Thanks Ruthie)
By the way in cooler climes we need long sleeves in our cardigans.

It is quite true, and in fact, although a short sleeve cardigan is very useful for extending the wearable life of a sundress in my own locale, a long sleeve cardigan gives the sundress even more longevity, so I made one of those too.

I used cotton yarn again, this time in Jo Sharp Desert Aran Cotton, in an off white called "Solstice". I actually repurposed most of this yarn from a jumper I made for my younger daughter a few years ago. She only wore it a few times before some dastardly cup of tea spilt itself down the front and left an unfortunately placed stain which we could not remove.

(This link is the version I made for my older daughter - it's still in use)

As I'd knit the previous incarnation mostly in the round, it ravelled easily, and I was able to remove the tea stain by discarding the stained sections. I had a few balls of unused yarn to make up the shortfall.

Keeping to  my current theme, I used a pattern that I'd made previously, Miette by Andi Satterlund. (I just noticed that I have not yet posted about the previous version - bad blogger that I am). This pattern does not actually have long sleeves, but I just extended them from the original 3/4 length with a bit of tapering to the wrist. I particularly like the bust shaping on this cardigan, its nicely fitting for something made in 10ply.

I changed the neckline finish to an i-cord bind off, and lengthened the body of the cardigan by one lace pattern repeat, but otherwise this is knit pretty much as written in the smallest size -much to the displeasure of my daughter who tried this on and found that it was too big for her (Yay, I can keep this one)

I was wondering why I haven't made myself a little white cardigan before. It goes with nearly everything in my summer to autumn wardrobe.

 

Then I remembered how long my daughter's white jumper lasted. I wonder how many times I'll wear my new cardigan before it suffers a fatal stain attack.........

Little red cardigan

Gail has commented on the main problem that I have with summer sundresses. Eventually it gets too cold to wear them, even when one is lucky enough to live in Queensland.

Drawing inspiration from the deprived people who have to live in less delightful climates, I have made a cardigan to extend the wearing season of my new sundresses. (I hope you realise that my tongue is firmly in my cheek whilst I write this ;) )
Once again, I am repeating a pattern, but this time, I am extremely pleased with myself for doing so, as I've  made this cardigan once before for myself, and once for each of my daughters, but until now, every version of this cardigan has left my house, never to be seen again in my wardrobe. Fourth time lucky!

The pattern is Peggy Sue, by  Linda Wilgus. It's quick to knit, being cropped with short sleeves, and doesn't use a lot of yarn. This version is made from just less than 5 balls of Jo sharp Soho summer cotton in a shade of red that I adore. For some reason wearing red makes me feel cheerful. I must do it more often!

I will refer you to my earlier posts about this cardigan for my fitting/design modifications.
version 1,
version 2,
version 3

Doesn't it go well with my newish dresses? 

Jo Sharp Knit 7 Ra-Ra cape,.

My daughter asked me to knit this cape for her, but now that it is finished, I think she finds it a bit out there for her personal style.

The cape is constructed of 5 different pieces, from 10 yarns knit or crochet by themselves or in combination. I used mainly remnants from my statsh for the construction, as very little yarn is used of each type. None of the pieces are very difficult to make, and they are connected by rough threading together with i-cord.

I varied the pattern a little - mainly by using the same shade of mohair yarn throughout, but also by adding a row of shell pattern border to the crochet ruffle to make it a similar width to the knitted lace collar piece on the other side.



The cape is shown in the pattern book as being worn in several different ways, but my daughter really only likes it worn in this direction, which is the same way the model is wearing it on the cover of the pattern book.
I am interested to see if she wears it frequently. It was certainly a different type of knit garment to what I usually make. It is good to experiement occasionally.

A-line yoked skirt with insert. Burda World of Fashion 06-2009-122 revisited

There seem to be a lot of a line skirts about recently. As I am on a pattern diet, I did not buy myself yet another A line skirt pattern, but adapted, after internet inspiration, the knee length A line skirt with a bow, #122 that I made from my very first Burda magazine, 06-2008. This not only made me feel thrifty. It also, after much muttering at my former self, allowed me to see how much better I have become at pattern alterations for my figure in the last 3 years. The internet is great for improving your sewing. My changes to the pattern, other than fitting, were to fold out the pleats, and add an insert below the yoke at the same width as the pleat. I left off the yoke bow and moved the zip to the centre back.
I rather like the above photo, which gives the illusion of leg length and sveltness (well, considering the reality!), but in real life the denim (Greenfields, Sydney, @ about $3.50 per metre - are you listening Mary Nanna?) is rather stiff, and I am not sure that I have quite got the length of the skirt at a most flattering point.



In the interests of honesty in blogging I have to admit that the insert denim, which has an overprinted pattern, was from Gorgeous Fabrics, USA, and was about $15 USA per metre + shipping, and that the Greenfield's bargain denim which is fortuitously exactly the same shade also cost a return plane ticket to Sydney and at least $85 in airport parking, an expensive lunch out and even more expensive cycling shop detour for my husband. I think internet shopping is cheaper.


I took trouble with this skirt. The yoke is interfaced with a hemp/cotton blend, and lined with Japanese cotton woven. The horizontal seams are stabilized with woven selvage and topstitched to prevent stretch. The vertical seams are topstitched also, but for mere leg lengthening illusion (wishful thinking, I know). The lapped back zip is hand picked. This is because I have trouble matching topstitched seams in denim otherwise.

I added machine embroidery to the insert after deciding that the fabric pattern alone was too dull to do justice to my fabulous new green handknitted cardigan. (Maybe I was spending a bit of time knitting in front of the telly whilst the Tour de France was on.)




The cardigan is another one of the Jo Sharp garments than can be worn up side down.Knit 10, Silkroad DK Tweed.



The cleverest thing about this one is that it has shape at the back worn either way, because of the stretchy corrugated stitch pattern - very clever design, as most of these garments can be quite blocky.

Unfortunately, I don't know that these garments, which I like individually, really make a great outfit. Any tips? Is it the shape of the skirt, or the length? Are the colours too contrasting? How do you decide what will look good together before you make it?

Easy cardigan Knit 10

I am participating in Elizabeth's 6 piece seasonal sew-a-long, in order to encourage myself to complete some work clothes.
Living in a subtropival climate, in winter, I wear much the same clothes to work as I do for the rest of the year (air conditioning is a good thing for work), that being trousers and a woven top, but I also need another layer for the trip there and back, all 10 minutes of it :). The terrible length of this commute has often lead to travel in my shirtsleeves, but this can be rather chilly if I have to collect a child, or do the grocery shopping on my way home.
I knit myself a new cardigan for these occasions. It is beautifully warm, and took about 10 hours to knit (2 yarns, large needles), but I am afraid it is rather too casual and shapeless/arty for a work look.



I am wearing it over the new work trousers and the Burda style 09-2010 skivvy, but I think in real life the bottom half will be jeans. (I don't wear skivvies to work, but the new blouse is in the wash, having performed successfully yesterday). the cardigan is symmetrical at the bottom, I think it is the rolling edge and the way I have pinned it that make it look a bit uneven in this photo.
The yarns are Jo Sharp mohair knit together with Aslan Trends Artesenal, a cotton/wool/alpaca blend. The pattern is from Jo Sharp Knit 10. The only shaping is in the yoke, but I did add a little shaping to the sleeve.

I am vaguely thinking of a proper jacket, but I still have a perfectly good one from 2008 .10 minutes a day, for about 8 weeks of winter per year is not very hard on my jacket collection. It is a good thing I only own one structured jacket, I think that gives me the perfect excuse to make another one - the need for variety.

Secret projects revealed, Simplicity 9652 top and some knitting

When I was making Christmas presents for her cousins, my younger daughter thought they were terrific, and wanted me to make her some too. I wriggled out of this nicely - all nieces wear children's sizes, and my 13 year old daughter is in adult sizes.
However, the little sun-top Simplicity 9652 was not too hard to alter.

I made the child's size 14 a little longer (perhaps a tad too much), and added a FBA to the child shaped bodice to fit a more grown up figure. I used a different variation of the top, with an angled front and non-adjustable straps, and wrapped it up with the the straps pinned in place. If I had actually fitted it to her whilst making it, the only change would be to use slightly longer elastic for the gathered front neckline. I don't think it is bad enough for unpicking. (Post Christmas laziness is rife here at the moment)

The top is made from quilting cotton, upper bodice lined with batiste. It is very cool to wear due to the open back and loose empire line shape.


My daughter also benefited from a knitting disappointment. The first bolero I made for my 10 year old niece was far too big. It fits my daughter nicely, so I was able to give it to her instead. She is very pleased with it, and was surprised with her gift, which is a bit tricky when you sew and knit in the family room!

Leafy cardigan

You may have gathered by the lack of posting that sewing around here is deadly dull at the moment. Did you want to see a few bloke t shirts and a teenager skivvy? No? How about knickers from merino, wicking polyester or bamboo jersey? No? I understand, but did you know that quick dry travel knickers are an absolutely outrageous price? Just think of all the fabric I could buy in France just for making undies. Totally worth it or maybe not.

Unable to completely stifle my creative urges, I have indulged in some experimental knitting. (All seamstresses may leave the blog if overcome with complete disinterest)


The cardigan is for my travel wardrobe, knit from 4ply/category 2 , Jo Sharp alpaca silk georgette.

This is my own pattern (pats self on back). The leaves are mainly taken from Nicci Epstein's Knitting on the Edge Book. I would like to point out that her trims are all unidirectional, and not charted - what use is that when you want to put them on the middle of a cardigan?






I am currently sewing a gortex rain parka-come-jacket. If coat maker extraordinaire Mary Nanna had not made one, from Burda no less, I would feel very out of fashion. Why are technical clothes dorky? This pattern has welt pockets, with zippers. I am eternally grateful to Kenneth King for his ribbon welt pocket technique - there is no wriggle room in Gortex.

Alternative garments worm their way into the SWAP and ruin the P part

I have been knitting, school term time being prime knitting opportunity (swim class, music lessons, cross country carnival etc, etc), and just finished this wrap top for my daughter. She picked the colour, and design, saying she wanted it for dance class, but look how nicely it goes with the pale blue SWAP skirt, and a BWOF blouse that I made her last year.


Do you think it looks better than this knitted cardigan type top that was the original SWAP contender?



I expect that we will end up with another 20 garment wardrobe, and still have trouble finding 11 items that mix and match perfectly. This wardrobe planning is tough.
I am still planning to make the flippy skirt, but have traced out a pencil skirt pattern from Burda 3/10 this morning before work, in order to make a patterned denim skirt that is apparently urgently needed. I am inclined to make the recipient sew it herself , but she is finishing a very complicated wall hanging for Home Economics over the holidays, and just doesn't have spare time. I, on the other hand, must have plenty!

A knitting diversion with sequins, Knit 4 Jo Sharp

I have just finished knitting this short sleeved cardigan, from Jo Sharp's Knit 4. I was seduced by the yarn, which is a rayon fine tube twisted with cotton strands, and liberally strung with gold sequins. I am not normally drawn to glitz and bling, but I had been reading so much about knitting with beads, which normally seems to involve threading hundreds or thousands of beads on to knitting yarn, that this pre-beaded yarn was irresistible.

Unfortunately, as I simply fell in lust with the yarn, rather than making a considered, planned choice whilst thinking about my wardrobe needs, I don't have many garments that I can wear with this cardigan. It is a colour departure for me, and also a swing shape, which I know does not flatter me, but overcome with yarn bedazzlement, I forgot this when I was selecting the pattern.

I love the i- cord cross over fastening. I love the colour, and the cardigan is a perfect weight for autumn evenings where I live.

I am glad it suits my daughter better than it suits me.
...................................................................................
I will let out the back waistband of my trousers today. Thank you for the fitting tips on my last post.

What to do at your in-law's over Christmas when not eating

I like my in-laws, they are lovely, generous people. However, I usually get a bit stir-crazy after a few days at their place. I am not very good at a)sitting around doing nothing or b)dashing about Sydney looking at things (other than fabric shops, for which I make an exception). I really, really, like to stay home and make things. This time I had a plan.
The first part of the plan involved the 15 to 16 hours travel in the car - each way.

My husband and I share the driving, but I am able to do simple knitting whilst on passenger shift.
I made this pair of socks... (for my son, from remnants of Patonyle and Heirloom sock yarn)

and this pair of French Press slippers - seen here in their unfelted state.


This pair was for daughter the first. I made them from Jo Sharp Silkroad Aran Tweed, which is the only worsted weight yarn I have that I thought might felt. After 8 agitation cycles in my mother-in-law's top loading washing machine, (I told you she was a lovely, generous person) they sort of felted, and are wearable, but the cashmere and silk in the yarn, although less than 25% of the total, seems to stop the wool from felting completely.
I cannot show you a photo of the finished slippers, as they are being posted back from Sydney with other Christmas presents.
Next up, I made myself a pair of French press felted slippers, from Heirloom "Heatherwood" 100% merino wool. This is not worsted weight, being an 8ply category 3 yarn, but I did not change the pattern at all, and the slippers fit perfectly.





I plan to make many more pairs of these. They took 2 x 12 minute agitation cycles in my mother-in-law's machine, so I am hoping that I can achieve the same effect in my own front loader. My mother in law has commissioned a pair for her birthday, so I think they are a success. Other relatives tried some commissions as well, but I did not commit to any more pairs. I think they have enough hand made presents for the moment. They did like their presents.

After this, I started on a cardigan for daughter the first. This is from Jo Sharp Knit 7, the drop stitch cardigan, and I thought I would be working on this project for our entire camping holiday. I am not very fast at knitting.
I started it on Boxing day, and finished the main cardigan on the 28th. It is knit on 10mm needles with 2 strands of 8ply yarn, and is unbelievably quick to knit, quicker than a baby cardigan.

I am hoping to obtain a photograph of this cardigan on my daughter, but she claims that it is too hot at present.
I did think, as it rained for most of our time in Sydney, that I might squeeze in a quick trip to the fabric shops. Fortunately for my credit card, my husband was very keen to get moving after 5 days of sitting around eating.
I knit the belt (moss stitch) on our drive home, and one size 11 man's black sock with a cable.
We did not go camping. Most of rural NSW seemed to have a flood warning, and it rained for nearly the whole trip back. This is a bit disappointing, but now I have a few unexpected holiday days at home, waiting for the weather to clear a bit so we can go camping somewhere else without being trapped in the tent by thunderstorms the whole time. I may start some SWAP sewing.

Mix and Match PJ's

I am still in a sewing pyjama phase. Initially, I was sewing lots of pyjamas for Christmas presents, but these extended family gifts are now all posted, or wrapped and under the tree ready for transport. This is an unprecidented state of organization for me! I have also made 2 sets for daughter the second, and one set for daughter the first that were urgently needed due to sudden growth.
Somehow, finishing all the required sewing was not enough pyjamas. I started to mix and match with daughter the second's urgently needed sets, as she does not like to wear the same thing more than once a week - even in pyjamas, but then thought that I should offer the same opportunity for variation to daughter the first.
Here is her mix and match set (her other set blends in quite well with these).

The sewn pyjama tops and shorts are from BurdaStyle 11/09 again. The pink and white striped singlet is from Target. I have wrapped these up to put under the tree as well.
I had to stop myself from making more pairs - I fancied a green top with the pink trims, but thought I should move on to some sets for her sister.
I am progressing with the other presents. I have finished a little cardigan for another niece - size 1-2 years.


This is wrap cardigan F from the Sirdar Baby Bamboo Too book that I have made in cotton. I used I-cord instead of ribbon for the tie as I thought my niece was less likely to pull it undone if it wasn't shiny and attention grabbing. Now I think I should have made the cord long enough to tie at the back.

Jo Sharp Origami Jacket

I did not sew as much this week as I would like. I was too tired in the evenings. However, I was able to knit, so long as it was not too hard, and I have finished this cool cardigan from Jo Sharp Knit 7. I am showing it to you here as a possible SWAP jacket contender with the Marlene pants and the Vogue 8304 silk blouse.
I quite like it with this blouse, but must admit that I like it even better with the Vogue 2975 knit top from last years SWAP. I am hugely tempted to evict all my button front blouses from the SWAP and to whip up several versions of this very quick and easy t shirt.





I love how the jacket can be worn upside down, fastened or not, and am really hoping it looks OK over the blouses. I cannot bear to have so many clothes on for any longer though - it is too hot, so the next photo trial will have to wait. I am off to work on my "persimmon" actually bright orange blouse that definitely will not match this cardigan. Something will have to go. SWAP eviction is tough.