Knitted Infinity Cowl

I got this lovely skein of mohair from Granville Island in Vancouver. I wanted to wrap it around my neck just as it was and wear it like that. Instead, I did the closest possible thing that I could manage: an infinity cowl with a twist.

According to the label, the yarn is hand dyed by someone called Yoriko at the Granville Island Fibre Art Studio. Sadly, she wasn't there for me to buy from that day, but the studio is full of wonderful fibre arts, including some gorgeous felted wraps and scarves. It is mohair and wrapped up at about Fingering Weight. The colours range from navy, through dark blue, to turquoise and brown. It actually looks much more blue in real life than in the close up photos.

My strong preference for scarves and cowls that have no right or wrong side meant that if I didn't want to knit rib (no thanks!), it would have to be garter stitch or reverse stockinette. A quick Ravelry pattern browse led me to the pattern I've linked to from my notes. It has rows of stockinette and reverse stockinette which add texture and interest, especially important when working with a variegated yarn.

I didn't actually look at the pattern, I just referenced it for inspiration. I also didn't do any counting or calculations at all. I feel like such a rebel - a knitting rebel! I don't know how many stitches I cast on. I used the thumb method and just stopped when my needles felt full. I added a twist so that I could laugh in the face of all those times that I have joined in the round and discovered an accidental twist. Ha ha! I want a twist!

I did about 5-10 rows of garter stitch as a border, then 4/5 rows of plain / purl alternates. I do admit to a moment of second thoughts and pulled it off the needles to rip out. Then I saw that it was larger than I feared, so I picked up all the loose stitches and carried on. I am sorry that the stockinette doesn't really show at all, the yarn looks lovely in the smooth side, but I kind of knew that would happen.

To end, I didn't really know how much yarn I had left, so I missed the garter stitch border at the top and just cast off. It doesn't seem to curl, which is unusual. I did run out of yarn about 40 stitches from the end, so I had to pull out all the cast off stitches (a total pain with mohair) and cast off lower down.

I can just wrap it twice around my neck so it is the perfect length. And, lo and behold, there are two twists in the join!

Wool Megan Dress

The Megan Dress from Tilly Walnes’ book, Love at First Stitch, was the reason I bought this book. (But my Mimi Blouse was my first make.) Its simple, classic lines made it a winner and I was keen to get started. My love for the pattern multiplied when I found this beautiful wool fabric at the Knitting and Stitching Show in March, and I knew the resulting dress would be a staple in my wardrobe.

The fabric was from M Rosenberg & Son and buying it was such a delight. They had a great selection of wools and suiting and I also picked up a meter of lovely a cashmere/wool blend. More on that later.

The warp threads are black and the weft is brown and turquoise blue. The overall effect is brown, but navy is a great accent for this, as is black. I ended up using black thread and a black zip. I also bought the polyester lining fabric from M Rosenberg, I love its Art-Deco/Victorian motif. It reminds me of Victorian china and crockery decorations, as well as ceiling roses.

I started the sewing with the lining but it was slippery as anything. The motifs helped me line it up straight, otherwise I would not have had a hope of getting it right. Thank goodness it was a lining. I sewed it with a walking foot, but it still puckered like crazy.

The main fabric has no right or wrong side, but it does have a slight nap. By adding a lining and omitting the facings, I only had five pattern pieces and my fabric was wide enough that I cut the dress from 1.25 meters.  I think I have enough left from my 2m to get a blazer, or at least a skirt.

Now for the pattern… Based on my sizing from the Mimi Blouse, I traced a Size 3.

I changed the skirt sizing by tapering to a size 2 to make the bottom more pegged. I thought the skirt shape on the photos was neither here nor there: not quite A line, but not pencil either. This is probably a deliberate decision to get a straight-ish shape with simpler sewing for beginners, it is easier to explain when there is no vent to cut or sew. I forgot about  adding one, but my skirt allows just enough movement. 

During tracing, I shortened the waist by moving the hip curve up. It is nice to have a chance to do this during the tracing of the pattern, instead of folding afterwards. I even remembered to lower the hem by a corresponding 1.5 inches. Finally, I added a small sway back adjustment by shaving 0.5cm from the centre back of the waist seam at both the bodice and skirt, for a total of 1cm.

I changed the construction order to set the sleeves in flat, then sewed up the whole underarm and side bodice in one seam. I find setting in the sleeve much easier on a flat armscye. Why would you manoeuver the sleeve into a small, circular opening if you don't have to? I'm asking seriously here - I would really like to know if I could be doing it better. Remembering the snug fit of the sleeves from the Mimi Blouse, I increased the underarm seams by 0.5cm, at the cuff, not the top. This is a more comfortable sleeve, especially given the fullness at the top. They are gathered, not eased into place. I was quite surprised by the amount of gathering in these sleeves and I had to press the seams towards the sleeves to avoid a very Edwardian shoulder line. I don’t mind the look, but it is something to bear in mind with this pattern.

I constructed the lining and the dress separately, leaving the centre back seam open, then joined the two at the neckline by machine, and understitched (my favourite secret weapon!) I then inserted the zip on the outer fabric only. Proper fitting can only take place once the zip is in. No amount of holding the dress together gives a true picture of what is really going on. Unfortunately for me, there were all kinds of fit issues going on. The sizing has come out very small. I don't know if I messed up by raising the waistline, but it was so high that I had to add a waistband. I didn't shorten the bodice at all but the seamline was right under my bust. Luckily, I had lots of fabric to spare and I really like the look of the waistband. I cut it from one single width of fabric. This blown-out picture shows the seam lines in the front.

There was absolutely no ease at all in the dress. To make it fit, I felt like I unpicked every single seam and dart and redid them with smaller seam allowances. Here is a list:

Side seams: 1cm seam allowance each sice = 2cm gained @ waist

Centre back seam: 1cm allowances through the waist, 0.5cm when I could manage it = 1.5cm gained @ waist

Back darts (bodice and skirt): reduce dart legs by 0.5cm = 2cm gained @ waist

Under bust dart tucks: unpicked legs, left tucks in place as pleats = +3cm gained @ bust

Front armscye seam: wanted to reduce the seam allowance to 1cm but I had already clipped the seam allowance.

Zip: angle sharply in at neckline to make dart.

Lining: removed all darts/pleats for maximum ease.

I could still do with taking a snick out of the shoulder seams at the neckline. It is a bit too baggy. When the dress was tight, this was very pronounced, but I am leaving all my understiching in place for now because the extra ease I added means the neckline has settled down somewhat. It is not perfect, but close enough. I also stitched the seam allowances of the lining and the bodice together at the front of the waist because the lining was still curling out of the neckline.

I know that in choosing not to make a toile I am choosing to make any alterations in the final fabric, but it was frustrating to have to make so many changes. It meant that I took a lot longer to finish than I should have. I put it aside for weeks at a time, and only came back to it in short bursts now and then. Unpicking dark thread from dark fabric on dark evenings probably had a lot to do with it too.

Finishing:

I was pleased that I decided to stablise the zip with stabilising tape, purchased for my grey dress. It meant fewer puckers, but there are still some at the bottom. The zip went in beautifully. Both times.

I hemmed the lining, at the sleeves and hem, by machine, then hemmed the sleeves by hand and catch stitched the sleeves to the main fabric sleeve. 

I used hemming lace to hem the bottom of dress, attached by machine, then hand stitched into place. 

I love this dress because I love the fabric. It is totally my signature style and I love that I have sewn stuff that I will wear to work. But the tight bodice is a problem. As to whether this pattern is a keeper, even in a size 4: the jury is still out.

Accounts:

Main fabric: £15

Lining fabric: £5

Pattern: £3.50

Zip: £0.50

Stabilising tape: £0.75

Hem lace: £0.57

Thread: stash
Total: £25.33

Icelandic Hot Water Bottle Cover

A perfect stash buster from my Icelandic yarn used for my pullover last winter. The nasty rubber of my hot water bottle, and the even nastier shade of pink, needed covering. This yarn is pretty scratchy to wear so something that touches only my feet is ideal.

I modified the pattern, All You Need, to incorporate the pattern from the Aefmaeli yoke. (Ravelry notes here) I used the small flowers at the top, with the red petals, and modified the black zig zags to go over fewer rows. Despite knitting with almost no tension in the yarn - I don't even hold the yarn - my floats are still very tight. It makes the pattern stretch out in an un-pretty way. You can see it quite clearly in the white sections.

I decided where to start the pattern by just putting the bottle in every now and then. I figured I wanted it to start when I was about half way up. I could have gone a little higher. I didn't want to break into a new ball of black so one quarter of the top zig zag border has no points. I was trying to use up the red - I can see more use for the black and white shades in any future projects.

I probably should have sized down a needle for the rib neck. It is quite loose and floppy. But the bottle fits in easily, and it is lovely and cosy to use.

Baby Knits

There's been a lot of knitting happening around here recently. Partly due to the Rugby World Cup, partly due to the darkening Autumn evenings and partly due to being unmotivated by my current sewing project. But Christmas is coming, so I'd better get on and finish the sewing so I can move on through my queue.

I am really pleased with how this baby cardigan turned out. It is the Sunnyside Baby Cardigan which comes in two versions and four sizes. I made the cable version which is more unisex and used the newborn size.

I have made this pattern before, where I made the lace version in a 3-6 month. This yarn is DK weight so I made the smallest size. I estimate it has come out at about a 6 month size. But, as Elizabeth Zimmerman puts it so beautifully, "knitting stretches and babies vary" so the finished size is not that big of a deal. The only variation I made was to continue the row of purl stitches beyond the cables and down the sides of the body.

I used exactly two full balls of yarn, Rowan Cashsoft DK, which is a discontinued yarn that I got on sale in 2011. I got it knowing it would be a good baby-gift-knitting yarn. The colour is a faint, eau de nil green, but in some lights looks quite creamy and almost oatmeal. The softness is lovely and Rowan does a good job of copying Debbie Bliss Cashmerino at a slightly lower price.

I got the bamboo buttons from The Button Lady, a tiny stall in Hampstead.

I finished in the nick of time - the intended recipient was born today!

Girls Lace Panel Cardigan

I got this scummy yarn for Christmas last year. My mother-in-law thought I could turn it into party shrugs for the two girls. She was right, but big sis has a very small selection of clothes and was desperately in need of a smart cardigan, so I used up two of the three skeins on a proper cardigan for her.

I didn't find anything I particularly liked in Ravelry, so I had a look in the few pattern books and magazines that I have. I notice that the quantity of patterns for children's knitwear is boundless for newborns, plentiful for toddlers and adequate for small children, but that as they get older, it peters out significantly. There is going to be quite a knitwear wardrobe gap from age 8/9 until she can fit adult sizes.

What I did find was one that made me very happy. I was given this lovely magazine, Fabulous Knits, for Christmas the year before, and while there are many beautiful things in it, I hadn't got around to using it. I checked the sizes carefully and decided to take a chance with this Sirdar pattern. It took a bit of convincing that: no, the bonnet is not automatically knitted with the cardigan; and ok, you don't have to have the collar.  I think is kind of sweet, and would have looked lovely. But I agreed to leave it off and do a crew neck instead. I do like it when she gets involved in the design choices.

The sizing only went up to age 6-7, but she is quite petite so I took a chance. She also has a younger sister that I could pass it on to if it really didn't work. It only just fits her. It is a great fit now, but probably won't last another season. The body is perfect but the underarm cuts in a bit. If I could figure out how to do just a few extra increases in the raglan sleeves, it would be ideal. 

The raglan sleeves are knitted separately and then seamed on to the main part of the cardigan, which is knitted as one piece. I honestly don't know why they don't have you join and then do the raglan decreases all in one. These are the perfect style of sleeves to knit with no seaming and no knitwear pattern designer should imagine doing anything else! That is probably my only beef with this pattern. It worked up really nicely, even if I couldn't commit the lace pattern to memory, and had to check the instructions every single time! The crew neck is just picked up and a few rows of garter stitch. Since it is a baby cardigan, the shaping at the waist is flared, which suits a chubby baby, but not so much a growing child. It also rolls a bit, even after blocking. A deeper, ribbed waistband might be more suitable, but less delicate. 

The buttons are salvaged from an old shirt of my husbands. I think it might even be the one that got subjected to the pink dye two years ago. (Here's how it looks now.) It keeps on giving and I used all 10 buttons from it. They look lovely and natural against the cream tones of the yarn.

My Ravelry notes cover yarn, pattern, needles and time. My self-imposed reduced knitting time means it took me three months to knit this.

Apparently, one has to pose for blog photos, and here is how to do it. I wonder where she learned that?