I haven't posted in like two weeks, because it's been a busy couple weeks for me - let's see...we're going on a trip in a few weeks to the States; I have been paying for the various elements of the trip, like the rental car, hotel rooms, etc., a little at a time, to spread the cost out. Two weeks ago, I was going to pay the last major expense, long term parking at Heathrow, when I got it into my head to check the passports. No idea why I decided to check them, but I did, and as it turned out THANK THE MAKER THAT I DID. Kiddo The First's passport expired May 2016. WHOOPS. Glad I noticed it NOW as opposed to at the airport!!! That would have been a very expensive mistake.
We did the whole deal of going to the embassy in London, etc, to get her a new passport, and now we are waiting for it to come in the mail. We should get it this week, so please keep your fingers crossed for us.
In addition to the stress of the passport, I've been having fun with the doctor.
For the last few years, I've been having problems with my hearing. If there's any kind of background noise, I basically can't hear you unless you're speaking directly into my ear. If you are turned away from me and speaking, I can't hear you, even if there's limited background noise. Recently, I have been straining so hard to hear Kiddo the Second, I've been getting headaches. It also irritates the Husband, because I'm constantly asking him to repeat himself. I just can't hear him. So anyway, I finally got fed up enough that I made an appointment with the GP, and lo and behold, there is an actual physical REASON for my hearing loss.
In a nutshell (and this one is for you, Mom!), I'm snotty. ;) Seriously - there's a build up of mucous that is impacting the pressure in the tubes behind my eardrums, so it's pulling my eardrums further into my head than they should be, causing everything to sound muffled and creating the mild irritating feeling - like imagine you have a pipe cleaner in your ear. It's not so bad at first, but after 20 or 30 minutes, you'd really like to get the pipe cleaner out of your ear, thanks. After a while, it's enough to drive you bonkers.
Anyway, so I have been prescribed a medication to clear up the mucous, and given a referral to an ENT to identify the source of the mucous.
NOW THAT YOU ALL KNOW WAY MORE THAN YOU WANTED TO ABOUT MY SNOT...
What have I done lately crafting wise? Let's see...
I have my stripe socks with the interesting cuffs - one is completely finished, the other has just had the heel turned. I will do my best to work on it this week, I solemnly swear.
I started another sock that doesn't go so high up the top of my foot, so I can wear it with my brown leather shoes - I guess they're clogs? I dunno. I only pretend to know what I'm talking about in regards to fashion. Anyway, I'm to the heel on the first one of these socks.
I made a tank top based on the Seamwork pattern Aurora. If you'll recall, I bought jersey in 2 colors that both coordinated with the striped sweater I made not long ago. There is a STORY behind the Aurora, I'll get to it in a minute.
I bought yarn for another sweater for me - it's King Cole Opium, which is a fabulous thick and thin cotton/acrylic blend, in a lovely bright blue color. The pattern I'm making is really simple, it's just rectangles. The hard part is that the pattern calls for two wide stripes in the front of the sweater. Do I a) stripe it, or b) knit it in a solid color? If I go for stripes, what color should they be? The fabric is open enough that I will need to wear it over something else - see above, my two Aurora tank tops, plus I have a few existing tanks that will work.
I bought fabric and a pattern to make a swimming suit for myself, but haven't started it; the reason for that is related to the Aurora story, so more on that in a minute.
When I ordered the jersey for the tank tops, I poked around on the website, and picked up a striped jersey on clearance. I'm tossing around the idea of a boat neck top with three quarter length sleeves, but nothing solid yet.
NOW ON TO THE AURORA STORY. I have a wireless printer. It has mostly worked fairly well, it's a couple years old, but it generally does what it's designed to do - print. I prefer to buy my sewing patterns from indie designers, because I like to know that my purchase is directly benefiting the designer. I've also found that the indie patterns tend to be better fitting for modern bodies without needing a whole lot of alterations. So, you buy the pattern online, and it's a PDF file that includes directions, and printable pattern pieces. You print the pieces, tape the pages together, then cut out your size, and you have a sturdy pattern, rather than the flimsy tissue one.
HOWEVER. It is critical that your printer is set to print at ACTUAL SIZE, not "scale to fit" or "fill page".
So, I went to print the Aurora pattern, and I could.not.get the printer to communicate with my laptop. Let me rephrase that. I can't get it to print from Adobe Acrobat from my laptop. I can print from Chrome, and I can print from Adobe on my phone or my tablet, but Adobe on my laptop and my printer do not speak to each other. I FINALLY got the pattern to print from my phone, BUT I didn't have the settings option to not scale the document - so the pattern ended up printing a quarter inch narrow, and a quarter inch short.
Not too huge of a deal on a stretchy tank top that only has 3 pieces. I went up a size, adjusted the seam allowances, made the tank top, perfected the fit, and altered the pattern pieces. So, a pattern that was MEANT to take 3 hours from cutting to wearing, actually took like 4 days.
I ended up taking it in at the sides so the armholes are smaller, because there was gaping at the armhole, which is normal for larger busted ladies like myself. The neckline also gaped a bit, because I am very narrow across the front - on the gray tank top, I added a pleat in the center front of the neckline, and hand stitched a pretty pearlescent button over it. I lined the armholes with bias binding, to make them a bit sturdier. I haven't hemmed it yet, because I haven't decided what kind of hem to do. I'll post a photo after I get it all washed and completely finished.
HOWEVER - I also bought an indie swimsuit design. I'm very excited about this swimsuit design, I feel like I will be sexy in a swimming suit for the first time since having children. However, fit in a swimming suit is a lot more critical than fit in a tank top. So I haven't touched it, because I need to go to a copy shop or something to get it printed properly.
Also, you remember the brown corduroy trousers? I think I may have figured out a fix for them that doesn't involve taking them in at the ankle. Stay tuned; if it works, I'll post on it in like a week or two.
I really need to get in gear getting my jeans done, the trousers wearable, and a couple tank tops done. Our trip is in less than a month, and it would be rather nice to have a mostly handmade wardrobe to take.
Sunday, 12 March 2017
Wednesday, 22 February 2017
Finished object!
I finished my stripey cardigan, and I LOVE it. It is super cosy and warm, and fits PERFECTLY. In looking at it, I think it would be cute with leather patches on the elbows, so I'm going to keep thinking along those lines, and possibly order in some patches at some point.
I did also get the corduroy trousers sewn front to back - I sewed the inner seam, and decided to baste the outer seams so I could check fit before I top stitched the inner seam. Good news: Fit across the backside, crotch, and legs is generally good.
Let's see if you can spot the bad news: (Please ignore the quality of the photo, Kiddo the First was being a tweenager and refused to take a photo, so I had to steal Kiddo the Second's mirror. It has since been cleaned!)
I did also get the corduroy trousers sewn front to back - I sewed the inner seam, and decided to baste the outer seams so I could check fit before I top stitched the inner seam. Good news: Fit across the backside, crotch, and legs is generally good.
Let's see if you can spot the bad news: (Please ignore the quality of the photo, Kiddo the First was being a tweenager and refused to take a photo, so I had to steal Kiddo the Second's mirror. It has since been cleaned!)
The trousers are about 2 inches too short. It's okay, a fab friend and I brainstormed up a way to fix them - I'm going to take them in around the calves, and hem them to just above the ankle bone. She called them "ankle grazers", and they're actually quite trendy at the moment.
I've been sort of pouting about these being too short, and then it occurred to me - these were only ever meant to be a wearable muslin. Now I know, the pattern itself fits just fine through the hips, derriere, and thighs, I just shortened it too much based on my inseam. FORTUNATELY, I didn't cut the pattern when I shortened it, I just folded it. So, I'm going to move forward on the actual jeans, with my nice denim, and unfold the pattern.
We have just over a month until our trip, and none of my jeans/trousers fit properly any more, so I really need to get rocking on getting some made.
Which actually brings me to my next "issue" - I have been paying for the major expenses of the trip a piece at a time, so the rental car, hotels, etc, are all paid for. I was in the process of pricing out the final major expense, and feeling really good about the whole thing, when a problem came up. It's not a huge deal, just another trip related expense that we hadn't expected - and it costs exactly the same as the bra pattern and kits I was going to buy for myself.
I really NEED new bras. I have always said there are two garments you should never skimp on - bras and shoes. You get what you pay for, and as a chesty lady, I really need good, supportive bras. Mine are a few years old, so couple failing elastic with weight loss, and things are starting to look pretty droopy. If I wait until the next paycheck for the money to buy the pattern/bra kits, I won't have enough time to actually get them sewn before we leave. I can go to my favorite bra shop, and spend the money on a few ready made bras, BUT that's violating my no buying clothes resolution. I really can't go to a less expensive shop, because I am a hard-to-find size. So, that's where I'm at.
Tuesday, 7 February 2017
Progress!
I have been knitting a sweater of my own design, just a stripey cardigan using the patterns from Ann Budd's Handy Book of Top Down Patterns. Of course, I can't do anything "right" (I kid, I kid) so I messed up the cardigan. It was meant to be a crew neck cardigan with buttons, but I forgot to cast on for the fronts at the appropriate place, so it's a cardigan, but it won't close. That's okay. Design feature, who needs a cardigan that buttons?
I was reading another blog, and the author of that blog linked to a fabric shop she loves, and a specific jersey fabric she likes. It's not a hugely expensive fabric, and it happens to be available in colors that perfectly match my stripey cardigan. So, I'm going to order fabric to make three Auroras to wear under the cardigan. All three colors will work with the brown corduroy trousers. It'll be a cute, versatile outfit for our trip to the States in the spring; we'll be in the South for the majority of the trip, so it may or may not be warm enough to swim in an outdoor pool...which would be warm enough for a tank top. If it gets chilly, voila, sweater! We are visiting Husband's family; the last time we were in that part of the US was February 2006, and it WAS warm enough to swim in an outdoor pool. We're going in April this year, so it should theoretically be as warm or warmer.
Speaking of the brown corduroy trousers, I finally started sewing them! My first hang up was deciding what to put on the pockets - my butt should be a reflection of my personality, don't you think? I love love love Urban Threads for embroidery designs, and once again they had exactly what I wanted - a coffee goddess. Anyone who knows me knows I do not function without my coffee; even my children have learned not to wake me up unless there's a cup of coffee in their hands. So, I give you:
The first attempt at embroidering it on a pocket came out BRILLIANTLY. It was perfectly placed, there were no nasty thread breaks, no tension issues, no puckering - just a really nice, clean design.
Then I tried to do the OTHER pocket. Cause, you know, butts generally have 2 cheeks. The first time, it was misaligned horizontally, off by nearly half an inch. I hear some of you saying, how bad can half an inch be? Bad enough that when I showed it to Husband, HE noticed it was off center. Second attempt at the second pocket, it was misaligned vertically, again by half an inch. The top of the design went right into the top stitching.
So that was when I decided to be creative. I know on ready to wear jeans, the designs generally match - but these aren't ready to wear jeans, are they? They are custom-made trousers. So the pockets don't need to match! Problem solved.
I wrote on the fabric (in chalk), and then traced over it three times with my quilting foot. I love the overall effect, even though if you look closely, you can see some of the lines are wibbly wobbly. I did think about going over it a fourth time, because the lettering is not as robust as the coffee goddess design.
The second tricky part of the trousers was the zippered fly. I have inserted a zipper before, and I have sewn a fly before, but I really had a mental hang up about sewing a zippered fly. It took me three tries to get it right, but I did finally get a functional fly, and I discovered something about the Ginger pattern.
I mentioned it took three tries; this was over the course of 2 days, and included watching many video tutorials on the subject, All of the tutorials had you sew the fly shield (the flap of fabric between the zipper and your skin) at the same time as the zipper tape and top stitching, so you had a bit of bulk, but it was all done in one go. The Ginger pattern that I'm using has you install the zipper, do the top stitching, and then go back and sew the fly shield onto the fly extension. I wasn't able to do that, because the top stitching did what it was supposed to - it secured the fly extension to the front of the trousers. I fudged it, and did a seam down the middle of the top stitching in dark brown thread. It's not hugely noticeable in these, and hopefully no one will be staring at my crotch, but when I go to make my actual jeans, I'm going to sew the shield and zipper at the same time.
That's actually part of why I'm making these - most patterns/designers will tell you to make a muslin to check the fit of a garment before you cut into your expensive fabric. A muslin is basically a run through of the pattern, using cheap fabric - you could even use a bed sheet from the thrift store. It helps you adjust a pattern to fit YOUR body perfectly. Of course, you probably wouldn't wear trousers made from a thrifted bed sheet, but you can make a muslin out of any fabric. I happened to have five yards of this corduroy in my stash from ages ago, so this is a wearable muslin. I'm running through the pattern on inexpensive fabric, so that I can make any adjustments to the finished pattern, so my jeans will fit perfectly.
Today, I'll be finishing up the trousers. I am not sure how I'm going to hem them by myself; it's times like these I really wish my mom was just around the corner instead of across the ocean, because I'd go stand on a chair at her house and have her pin the hems for me. There are a few local fabric shops, I might call them up and see if I can stand on a chair or table and have the employees pin the hem for me, but we'll see.
I was reading another blog, and the author of that blog linked to a fabric shop she loves, and a specific jersey fabric she likes. It's not a hugely expensive fabric, and it happens to be available in colors that perfectly match my stripey cardigan. So, I'm going to order fabric to make three Auroras to wear under the cardigan. All three colors will work with the brown corduroy trousers. It'll be a cute, versatile outfit for our trip to the States in the spring; we'll be in the South for the majority of the trip, so it may or may not be warm enough to swim in an outdoor pool...which would be warm enough for a tank top. If it gets chilly, voila, sweater! We are visiting Husband's family; the last time we were in that part of the US was February 2006, and it WAS warm enough to swim in an outdoor pool. We're going in April this year, so it should theoretically be as warm or warmer.
Speaking of the brown corduroy trousers, I finally started sewing them! My first hang up was deciding what to put on the pockets - my butt should be a reflection of my personality, don't you think? I love love love Urban Threads for embroidery designs, and once again they had exactly what I wanted - a coffee goddess. Anyone who knows me knows I do not function without my coffee; even my children have learned not to wake me up unless there's a cup of coffee in their hands. So, I give you:
The first attempt at embroidering it on a pocket came out BRILLIANTLY. It was perfectly placed, there were no nasty thread breaks, no tension issues, no puckering - just a really nice, clean design.
Then I tried to do the OTHER pocket. Cause, you know, butts generally have 2 cheeks. The first time, it was misaligned horizontally, off by nearly half an inch. I hear some of you saying, how bad can half an inch be? Bad enough that when I showed it to Husband, HE noticed it was off center. Second attempt at the second pocket, it was misaligned vertically, again by half an inch. The top of the design went right into the top stitching.
So that was when I decided to be creative. I know on ready to wear jeans, the designs generally match - but these aren't ready to wear jeans, are they? They are custom-made trousers. So the pockets don't need to match! Problem solved.
I wrote on the fabric (in chalk), and then traced over it three times with my quilting foot. I love the overall effect, even though if you look closely, you can see some of the lines are wibbly wobbly. I did think about going over it a fourth time, because the lettering is not as robust as the coffee goddess design.
The second tricky part of the trousers was the zippered fly. I have inserted a zipper before, and I have sewn a fly before, but I really had a mental hang up about sewing a zippered fly. It took me three tries to get it right, but I did finally get a functional fly, and I discovered something about the Ginger pattern.
I mentioned it took three tries; this was over the course of 2 days, and included watching many video tutorials on the subject, All of the tutorials had you sew the fly shield (the flap of fabric between the zipper and your skin) at the same time as the zipper tape and top stitching, so you had a bit of bulk, but it was all done in one go. The Ginger pattern that I'm using has you install the zipper, do the top stitching, and then go back and sew the fly shield onto the fly extension. I wasn't able to do that, because the top stitching did what it was supposed to - it secured the fly extension to the front of the trousers. I fudged it, and did a seam down the middle of the top stitching in dark brown thread. It's not hugely noticeable in these, and hopefully no one will be staring at my crotch, but when I go to make my actual jeans, I'm going to sew the shield and zipper at the same time.
That's actually part of why I'm making these - most patterns/designers will tell you to make a muslin to check the fit of a garment before you cut into your expensive fabric. A muslin is basically a run through of the pattern, using cheap fabric - you could even use a bed sheet from the thrift store. It helps you adjust a pattern to fit YOUR body perfectly. Of course, you probably wouldn't wear trousers made from a thrifted bed sheet, but you can make a muslin out of any fabric. I happened to have five yards of this corduroy in my stash from ages ago, so this is a wearable muslin. I'm running through the pattern on inexpensive fabric, so that I can make any adjustments to the finished pattern, so my jeans will fit perfectly.
Today, I'll be finishing up the trousers. I am not sure how I'm going to hem them by myself; it's times like these I really wish my mom was just around the corner instead of across the ocean, because I'd go stand on a chair at her house and have her pin the hems for me. There are a few local fabric shops, I might call them up and see if I can stand on a chair or table and have the employees pin the hem for me, but we'll see.
Wednesday, 25 January 2017
Ease
Let's have a conversation about ease. Ease is something that still gets me, even after a decade of knitting. Probably because I don't knit sweaters for myself very often, and with kids, it's easy to pick a size and go with it. With my 2 being the ages they are, if a sweater is too big or small for one, it'll fit the other.
Ease describes how loose or tight a garment is on your body. If the garment has POSITIVE ease, it's loose. If it has NEGATIVE ease, it's skin tight. If it has ZERO ease, it fits without being stretched.
Remember my beautiful Heavenly sweater? The one that was finished except for the sleeves? It's in the frog pond. If you look at the pattern photo, it is shown to be a loose fitting garment. If you check the sizing, it has positive ease built into it. It is designed to be a loose, comfortable sweater. I don't wear loose clothing. I'm a big girl, and loose, baggy clothing just makes me look bigger. I don't wear skin tight pinup style clothes, but I do wear my clothes fitted to my body. So I will literally NEVER wear a sweater with 4 inches of positive ease.
Let this be a lesson to you! BELIEVE the designer when he/she says a garment will have X amount of ease, and look at the designer's photos, because the designer's garment will fit the model the way the designer intended the garment to fit. The designer wants to show the garment off to its very best, you know? Then think about how YOU wear YOUR clothing. Some women prefer to wear looser, non-restrictive clothing. Some women prefer clothing to take after boa constrictors. I don't like having to squeeze into my clothing, but neither do I like to feel like I'm swimming in anything other than a body of water. I invariably get "Have you lost weight?" comments when I wear clothing that is more fitted - even if I haven't actually lost anything. If the designer's photos show a sweater stretched across the model's chest, and you like your clothing to have movement in it - knit the next size up. (Or 2.) If you like your clothing to be snug, knit the next size down.
I did have a couple options with Heavenly. I could have sucked it up and finished it. I have a month's worth of knitting into it, after all. But I know I would NEVER wear it, and if I did wear it, I wouldn't feel proud of it, I wouldn't feel like it looked good on me. I could give it to someone else - my mom is the same size as me, but prefers to wear looser clothing for ease of movement, and the blue is a shade that would be a fabulous color on her.
But, the bottom line is, I really wanted THIS sweater. THIS shade of blue, in a plain design that would let the yarn sing, even though it's inexpensive acrylic. THIS shade of blue is a fantastic color on me, too; that's why I picked it. So - I unwove (is that a word?) the end from the bind off, and I am reknitting it straight from the finished sweater, into the smaller size, and I'm leaving a giant NOTE TO SELF - YOU LIKE ZERO EASE IN YOUR CLOTHING.
Ease describes how loose or tight a garment is on your body. If the garment has POSITIVE ease, it's loose. If it has NEGATIVE ease, it's skin tight. If it has ZERO ease, it fits without being stretched.
Remember my beautiful Heavenly sweater? The one that was finished except for the sleeves? It's in the frog pond. If you look at the pattern photo, it is shown to be a loose fitting garment. If you check the sizing, it has positive ease built into it. It is designed to be a loose, comfortable sweater. I don't wear loose clothing. I'm a big girl, and loose, baggy clothing just makes me look bigger. I don't wear skin tight pinup style clothes, but I do wear my clothes fitted to my body. So I will literally NEVER wear a sweater with 4 inches of positive ease.
Let this be a lesson to you! BELIEVE the designer when he/she says a garment will have X amount of ease, and look at the designer's photos, because the designer's garment will fit the model the way the designer intended the garment to fit. The designer wants to show the garment off to its very best, you know? Then think about how YOU wear YOUR clothing. Some women prefer to wear looser, non-restrictive clothing. Some women prefer clothing to take after boa constrictors. I don't like having to squeeze into my clothing, but neither do I like to feel like I'm swimming in anything other than a body of water. I invariably get "Have you lost weight?" comments when I wear clothing that is more fitted - even if I haven't actually lost anything. If the designer's photos show a sweater stretched across the model's chest, and you like your clothing to have movement in it - knit the next size up. (Or 2.) If you like your clothing to be snug, knit the next size down.
I did have a couple options with Heavenly. I could have sucked it up and finished it. I have a month's worth of knitting into it, after all. But I know I would NEVER wear it, and if I did wear it, I wouldn't feel proud of it, I wouldn't feel like it looked good on me. I could give it to someone else - my mom is the same size as me, but prefers to wear looser clothing for ease of movement, and the blue is a shade that would be a fabulous color on her.
But, the bottom line is, I really wanted THIS sweater. THIS shade of blue, in a plain design that would let the yarn sing, even though it's inexpensive acrylic. THIS shade of blue is a fantastic color on me, too; that's why I picked it. So - I unwove (is that a word?) the end from the bind off, and I am reknitting it straight from the finished sweater, into the smaller size, and I'm leaving a giant NOTE TO SELF - YOU LIKE ZERO EASE IN YOUR CLOTHING.
Sunday, 22 January 2017
Jeans!
This week, I have pretty much exclusively been knitting my Heavenly sweater. I'm like 4 inches from finishing the body, then I'll just have the sleeves to do. It's one of those sweaters where I keep having to stop knitting and start petting it, because it's got such a great feel to it, especially considering it's knitted in inexpensive acrylic yarn. It's Wendy Fleur DK, which I bought at my LYS...4 balls for like £20. Not bad for a sweater's worth of yarn! It's a gorgeous TARDIS blue, so it will match the TARDIS shoes and solar system necklace I got for Christmas. It's got a little hint of shine and a bit of a halo, without the cost of silk or the itchiness of mohair.
I wanted to share a cool little tip for the Heavenly sweater, or really any knitting...this pattern has you do an increase, knit a few inches, do an increase, knit a few inches, do an increase, etc. However, the increases are designed to not be really visible, which can make measuring kinda tricky.
See? Believe it or not, there are multiple sets of increases in that photo. You can see them if you really study the photo, but they're pretty well hidden, and the actual garment isn't much better.
There's the obvious answer, of counting your rows, but I lose count when I'm counting to 3. (Hello Family who likes to come in and talk to me every ten seconds.) So, I stuck a bobby pin through the increases!
MUCH better! Now I have an easy line to measure from, no counting needed. You could do the same thing with a darning needle, a cable needle, a different tip from your interchangeables, a tooth pick, a piece of grass, a locking stitch marker - whatever you can get your hands on when you need it. I happen to have 2 daughters, so we are up to our eyeballs in bobby pins, so that's what I used.
Sewing wise, I am tiptoeing towards the edge of making my own jeans. I've lost 10 pounds following Weight Watchers, and have dropped a size in jeans. Yay me! Not so yay, skinny jeans become fugly when they're baggy, and this is, of course, my year of no buying clothes. So I've purchased the pattern (Ginger from Closet Case Files), printed it, taped it, and cut out the pieces. I've been binge watching Angela Wolf's Craftsy Class, Sewing Designer Jeans. I've ordered, received, and pre-washed denim from eBay.
I should be ready to go...except, you know, for getting over the nervousness of it. I don't know why I'm intimidated at the thought of making jeans. There are literally no techniques used that I haven't done before - I've even done a zippered fly before. So what am I scared of? Who knows.
I'm also kinda browsing embroidery websites. My sewing machine does small embroidery as well, and I love the idea of embroidered pockets on my jeans. Just need to decide what I want. I have kind've adopted Wonder Woman as my mascot for the year, so maybe the WW logo? I dunno. Still thinking on it.
I bought some brown corduroy like five years ago, when I first started sewing, and never did anything with it, so I'm going to use it as a wearable muslin. I already know I'm short, so I'll have to alter the pattern to accommodate not having long, beautiful legs from here to there. I'm okay if the fit isn't 100% perfect with the cords, because I don't see myself wearing them that often - certainly not as often as I wear jeans! Also, hopefully, they will be too big before too long.
That actually reminds me of a question a few people have asked me when I've told them my resolution to have a 100% handmade wardrobe by next January. No, I'm not going to throw out my existing clothes. I will continue to wear them until they're worn out, or I've shrunk out of them, but I will be replacing them only with handmade items. I will probably keep my t-shirts, because I have a very nice collection, and either upcycle them into something that fits me when I'm 2/3s the woman I am today, or I'll turn them into a t-shirt quilt. It will depend on how I'm feeling when the time comes.
I wanted to share a cool little tip for the Heavenly sweater, or really any knitting...this pattern has you do an increase, knit a few inches, do an increase, knit a few inches, do an increase, etc. However, the increases are designed to not be really visible, which can make measuring kinda tricky.
See? Believe it or not, there are multiple sets of increases in that photo. You can see them if you really study the photo, but they're pretty well hidden, and the actual garment isn't much better.
There's the obvious answer, of counting your rows, but I lose count when I'm counting to 3. (Hello Family who likes to come in and talk to me every ten seconds.) So, I stuck a bobby pin through the increases!
MUCH better! Now I have an easy line to measure from, no counting needed. You could do the same thing with a darning needle, a cable needle, a different tip from your interchangeables, a tooth pick, a piece of grass, a locking stitch marker - whatever you can get your hands on when you need it. I happen to have 2 daughters, so we are up to our eyeballs in bobby pins, so that's what I used.
Sewing wise, I am tiptoeing towards the edge of making my own jeans. I've lost 10 pounds following Weight Watchers, and have dropped a size in jeans. Yay me! Not so yay, skinny jeans become fugly when they're baggy, and this is, of course, my year of no buying clothes. So I've purchased the pattern (Ginger from Closet Case Files), printed it, taped it, and cut out the pieces. I've been binge watching Angela Wolf's Craftsy Class, Sewing Designer Jeans. I've ordered, received, and pre-washed denim from eBay.
I should be ready to go...except, you know, for getting over the nervousness of it. I don't know why I'm intimidated at the thought of making jeans. There are literally no techniques used that I haven't done before - I've even done a zippered fly before. So what am I scared of? Who knows.
I'm also kinda browsing embroidery websites. My sewing machine does small embroidery as well, and I love the idea of embroidered pockets on my jeans. Just need to decide what I want. I have kind've adopted Wonder Woman as my mascot for the year, so maybe the WW logo? I dunno. Still thinking on it.
I bought some brown corduroy like five years ago, when I first started sewing, and never did anything with it, so I'm going to use it as a wearable muslin. I already know I'm short, so I'll have to alter the pattern to accommodate not having long, beautiful legs from here to there. I'm okay if the fit isn't 100% perfect with the cords, because I don't see myself wearing them that often - certainly not as often as I wear jeans! Also, hopefully, they will be too big before too long.
That actually reminds me of a question a few people have asked me when I've told them my resolution to have a 100% handmade wardrobe by next January. No, I'm not going to throw out my existing clothes. I will continue to wear them until they're worn out, or I've shrunk out of them, but I will be replacing them only with handmade items. I will probably keep my t-shirts, because I have a very nice collection, and either upcycle them into something that fits me when I'm 2/3s the woman I am today, or I'll turn them into a t-shirt quilt. It will depend on how I'm feeling when the time comes.
Saturday, 14 January 2017
I'm a piranha, they're in the Amazon
You know how I planned to knit a sock as my wearable garment for the first week? Hahahahaha. Yeah, that didn't happen.
I mean, I DID cast it on, and I even got the cuff knitted. But Hubs gave me an overlocker for Christmas, and for some reason I got it in my head that I needed to make him a pair of boxers. I bought fabric like a year ago, with the intention of using it for boxers for him. It's got piranhas. PIRANHAS. Every guy needs a pair of piranha boxers.
So. Voila. Piranha boxers.
I used the free pattern, Darcy Boxer Shorts, from Measure Twice Cut Once. Pretty straight forward pattern. I had some confusion over how to install the fly, but I figured it was one of those "sit down, shut up, do as you're told" moments, so I sat down, shut up, and just DID the thing, figuring it would make sense once it was done. It did.
Anyway, I mentioned that Hubs gave me an overlocker for Christmas. He gave me the Brother 1034d. I had started to make a pair of Scrundies for Kiddo The Second as a way to try it out, but it messed up on the waistband, so I hadn't touched it in a few days. (I say it messed up, we all know it was probably actually me that messed up. But I'm still gonna blame it on the machine.) I sewed the boxers almost completely on the overlocker, and it WORKED. Like magic.
There was one seam where the threads in the needles broke, so I had to re-thread the needles, and I didn't thread them through the tension discs properly, so that seam was wonky, but I was able to undo it and re-thread it (with the help of my handy dandy instruction manual), and whaddya know, it was PERFECT.
For Week 2, I didn't actually complete a handmade garment. Does that mean my handmade wardrobe didn't increase in size? No, no it does not. I met a friend through a Facebook knitting group several years ago; one of those "where is everyone located?" threads that pops up every week or so, because there's a few thousand people in the group so someone always thinks it's a new idea. ANYWAY. She posted that she was in a particular county in England, and I said, Hey, ME TOO. Then she said she lived between X town and Y town, and I said, NO SHIT, ME TOO. Then I private messaged her and said I lived in MyTown and she said Awesome, I live in OtherTown like 10 minutes away, so we got together for coffee and I have been bugging her to make me socks ever since. Totally 100% as a joke. Well, 90% as a joke. OKAY FINE LIKE 50% a joke. Anyway, she actually did make me a pair of fantastic socks as a Christmas present, AND she gave me three pairs of socks she had knit for herself but have since shrunk in the wash, since my feet are ever so slightly two sizes smaller than hers.
Kiddo The First is in the process of developing her own sense of style, and has bemoaned the fact that she can't find clothes she likes, in her size, that Hubs and I will actually let her wear, in stores. She was complaining to me about this very fact after failing to find anything she wanted to buy at the thrift shop...and I looked at her, and said, Kiddo...look at your feet, what are you wearing? "Socks you made..." What shirt did you wear yesterday? "That blue one you made for me..." What is your sister wearing? "Leggings you made for her..." Soooo, Honeybun, if you can't find what you like in a store, what should your next step be? "I dunno..." How about tell me what it is you're looking for, and I'll make it for you? Or I'll teach you how to make it yourself. "OH!" Sheesh. I spend about 90% of my free time making stuff, and it still doesn't occur to her that I am willing and able to make clothes for her. To her taste.
On Tuesday, she has a mufti day (non-uniform day for all my American fans. No, I don't know what mufti means, no, no one else does either. It's a made up word.) Her house earned the most house points last term (She's a Hufflepuff!), so she's allowed to wear non-uniform clothes, but it has to be in the house color - purple. I informed her she has 2 purple shirts she could wear, and if she wants a NEW shirt, I am willing to make her one, but not buy her one. I have some fabric I bought on clearance several months ago - it's a really soft sweater knit, in this horrible beige color. Like, picture the blandest, ugliest beige - it's that color. Enter Dylon dyes! We're going to attempt to dye it purple after I've sewn up a shirt out of it. She wants a turtleneck shirt with short sleeves. I was going to adapt a cowl neck pattern, but then I realized I have Neenah in my pattern library, and it's way easier to shorten a dress into a top than it is to rework a cowl neck into a turtleneck, and I'm all about being easy and lazy. So I'll get that sewn up tomorrow. We're going to attempt Shibori dying - I keep saying "attempt" with regards to the dyeing, because I have no idea what the fiber content of the fabric is, so I have no idea if it will dye or not. It's gonna be an adventure!!
I mean, I DID cast it on, and I even got the cuff knitted. But Hubs gave me an overlocker for Christmas, and for some reason I got it in my head that I needed to make him a pair of boxers. I bought fabric like a year ago, with the intention of using it for boxers for him. It's got piranhas. PIRANHAS. Every guy needs a pair of piranha boxers.
So. Voila. Piranha boxers.
I used the free pattern, Darcy Boxer Shorts, from Measure Twice Cut Once. Pretty straight forward pattern. I had some confusion over how to install the fly, but I figured it was one of those "sit down, shut up, do as you're told" moments, so I sat down, shut up, and just DID the thing, figuring it would make sense once it was done. It did.
Anyway, I mentioned that Hubs gave me an overlocker for Christmas. He gave me the Brother 1034d. I had started to make a pair of Scrundies for Kiddo The Second as a way to try it out, but it messed up on the waistband, so I hadn't touched it in a few days. (I say it messed up, we all know it was probably actually me that messed up. But I'm still gonna blame it on the machine.) I sewed the boxers almost completely on the overlocker, and it WORKED. Like magic.
There was one seam where the threads in the needles broke, so I had to re-thread the needles, and I didn't thread them through the tension discs properly, so that seam was wonky, but I was able to undo it and re-thread it (with the help of my handy dandy instruction manual), and whaddya know, it was PERFECT.
For Week 2, I didn't actually complete a handmade garment. Does that mean my handmade wardrobe didn't increase in size? No, no it does not. I met a friend through a Facebook knitting group several years ago; one of those "where is everyone located?" threads that pops up every week or so, because there's a few thousand people in the group so someone always thinks it's a new idea. ANYWAY. She posted that she was in a particular county in England, and I said, Hey, ME TOO. Then she said she lived between X town and Y town, and I said, NO SHIT, ME TOO. Then I private messaged her and said I lived in MyTown and she said Awesome, I live in OtherTown like 10 minutes away, so we got together for coffee and I have been bugging her to make me socks ever since. Totally 100% as a joke. Well, 90% as a joke. OKAY FINE LIKE 50% a joke. Anyway, she actually did make me a pair of fantastic socks as a Christmas present, AND she gave me three pairs of socks she had knit for herself but have since shrunk in the wash, since my feet are ever so slightly two sizes smaller than hers.
(There will be photos, I am experiencing technical difficulties.)
Kiddo The First is in the process of developing her own sense of style, and has bemoaned the fact that she can't find clothes she likes, in her size, that Hubs and I will actually let her wear, in stores. She was complaining to me about this very fact after failing to find anything she wanted to buy at the thrift shop...and I looked at her, and said, Kiddo...look at your feet, what are you wearing? "Socks you made..." What shirt did you wear yesterday? "That blue one you made for me..." What is your sister wearing? "Leggings you made for her..." Soooo, Honeybun, if you can't find what you like in a store, what should your next step be? "I dunno..." How about tell me what it is you're looking for, and I'll make it for you? Or I'll teach you how to make it yourself. "OH!" Sheesh. I spend about 90% of my free time making stuff, and it still doesn't occur to her that I am willing and able to make clothes for her. To her taste.
On Tuesday, she has a mufti day (non-uniform day for all my American fans. No, I don't know what mufti means, no, no one else does either. It's a made up word.) Her house earned the most house points last term (She's a Hufflepuff!), so she's allowed to wear non-uniform clothes, but it has to be in the house color - purple. I informed her she has 2 purple shirts she could wear, and if she wants a NEW shirt, I am willing to make her one, but not buy her one. I have some fabric I bought on clearance several months ago - it's a really soft sweater knit, in this horrible beige color. Like, picture the blandest, ugliest beige - it's that color. Enter Dylon dyes! We're going to attempt to dye it purple after I've sewn up a shirt out of it. She wants a turtleneck shirt with short sleeves. I was going to adapt a cowl neck pattern, but then I realized I have Neenah in my pattern library, and it's way easier to shorten a dress into a top than it is to rework a cowl neck into a turtleneck, and I'm all about being easy and lazy. So I'll get that sewn up tomorrow. We're going to attempt Shibori dying - I keep saying "attempt" with regards to the dyeing, because I have no idea what the fiber content of the fabric is, so I have no idea if it will dye or not. It's gonna be an adventure!!
Tuesday, 3 January 2017
Getting started!
My resolution for 2017 is to have a 100% handmade wardrobe by January 1, 2018, by creating one wearable garment per week. I have the skills; I can knit, sew, crochet, spin, and weave. I also have the tools, in the form of (multiple) sewing machines, a spinning wheel, knitting needles, and a loom.
There are a ton of reasons to do it. When you buy cheap clothes, you GET cheap clothes. You wind up with shirts that have holes in the seams, or stretch out, or discolor, or just plain don't fit you properly, and of course there's the whole ethical issue of cheap clothes being made in sweat shops using child labor.
Really, though, I've set myself this challenge primarily because I want to. I enjoy crafting, and this will give me a direction and purpose for my hobby. Hopefully, it will mean fewer impulse buys of clothing, fabric, and fiber; I'll be more mindful of how I spend my money, and I'll be able to give myself permission to buy slightly higher quality (read: more expensive) fabrics and yarns that I wouldn't normally buy.
So, I'm going to create a capsule wardrobe. I'm a stay at home mom, and my general uniform consists of jeans and a t-shirt. Making a capsule wardrobe will let me improve how I dress, and let me explore my personal style - something I haven't done since I was a 90 pound teenager.
There's the obvious, socks, bras, and underwear. I can already knit socks, and I've made myself a few pairs of scrundies, but I'll confess to being really intimidated by the thought of making my own bras.
Then, I'd like to make a few pairs of jeans that fit my shape. I'm somewhat overweight, and carry a lot of my weight in my belly (Thanks for that, Mom!). Store bought jeans that fit me through the hip and waist tend to be baggy in the thigh. I'm also rather short, so having jeans that are the right length would be awesome. I should probably also make a pair of dressier trousers, and a skirt or two.
For tops, I'd like a variety of long-sleeved t-shirts, maybe a button up blouse or two, and a couple of cardigans that I can mix and match. I'll also likely knit a sweater or two. I've got a subscription to Seamwork Magazine, and I love the simple, classic shapes of their patterns.
I'll also make myself some pajamas, and probably around September, I'll be brave and make myself a really nice wool coat.
So far, I have a sweater on the needles (http://www.ravelry.com/patterns/library/heavenly-2), and one sock from a pair finished. (http://www.ravelry.com/patterns/library/penispoopcakewaffle-sock) I'll work on getting the 2nd sock finished by January 7, so that pair of socks will be 1 of 52 wearable items.
There are a ton of reasons to do it. When you buy cheap clothes, you GET cheap clothes. You wind up with shirts that have holes in the seams, or stretch out, or discolor, or just plain don't fit you properly, and of course there's the whole ethical issue of cheap clothes being made in sweat shops using child labor.
Really, though, I've set myself this challenge primarily because I want to. I enjoy crafting, and this will give me a direction and purpose for my hobby. Hopefully, it will mean fewer impulse buys of clothing, fabric, and fiber; I'll be more mindful of how I spend my money, and I'll be able to give myself permission to buy slightly higher quality (read: more expensive) fabrics and yarns that I wouldn't normally buy.
So, I'm going to create a capsule wardrobe. I'm a stay at home mom, and my general uniform consists of jeans and a t-shirt. Making a capsule wardrobe will let me improve how I dress, and let me explore my personal style - something I haven't done since I was a 90 pound teenager.
There's the obvious, socks, bras, and underwear. I can already knit socks, and I've made myself a few pairs of scrundies, but I'll confess to being really intimidated by the thought of making my own bras.
Then, I'd like to make a few pairs of jeans that fit my shape. I'm somewhat overweight, and carry a lot of my weight in my belly (Thanks for that, Mom!). Store bought jeans that fit me through the hip and waist tend to be baggy in the thigh. I'm also rather short, so having jeans that are the right length would be awesome. I should probably also make a pair of dressier trousers, and a skirt or two.
For tops, I'd like a variety of long-sleeved t-shirts, maybe a button up blouse or two, and a couple of cardigans that I can mix and match. I'll also likely knit a sweater or two. I've got a subscription to Seamwork Magazine, and I love the simple, classic shapes of their patterns.
I'll also make myself some pajamas, and probably around September, I'll be brave and make myself a really nice wool coat.
So far, I have a sweater on the needles (http://www.ravelry.com/patterns/library/heavenly-2), and one sock from a pair finished. (http://www.ravelry.com/patterns/library/penispoopcakewaffle-sock) I'll work on getting the 2nd sock finished by January 7, so that pair of socks will be 1 of 52 wearable items.
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