Jaywalk Plantain

when Tessuti announced it's Jaywalk competition I was quite excited. Not because I wanted to enter the competition, but because the jersey was half price and it was my chance to get some good quality jersey for 10 dollars a meter. It was my Easter gift to myself :-)

I really wanted to try the Plantain pattern from Deer & Doe, so I thought it would be a great match ...
well ... the match between pattern and fabric and giggles was not made in heaven.

The pattern itself is good - great even, the fabric itself is good as well, but my perfectionism and the stripes and the sleeves did not match at all. As a last resort I used a band so it is now more of a tank top ... something I never wear in Queensland. I tried with the sleeves, several times in fact, but it's a 4-way stretch and it really bothered me that I couldn't match it at all. In fact it was driving me absolutely mad. Actually, it is quite ridiculous that it does that to me as I have plenty RTW shirts that don't match at all and I still love the clothes.

I have plenty more of the fabric so I will make a cap sleeve dress at some point where I will use fusible web or some special glue that I recently bought to stabilise the seams, but for now I am putting it aside.

UPDATE: on the wearability side it is actually a great layering piece for winter -  something I hadn't considered before. So I am now much more positive about the whole thing :-)

the New Years Resolution a.k.a UFO #3

I am not too bad with New Years Resolutions to be honest. I usually pick one thing that is achievable, but that I keep putting off. At the beginning of this year I decided to take a break from the blanket making and thought it would be nice to actually make something wearable for myself. I had a whole lot of cotton yarn from Bendigo Woollen Mills and plenty of possibilities in terms of patterns.

In the end I decided on a simplified version of the Feather and Fan Flare from the Knitter's Handy Book of Top-Down Sweaters. It's a beautiful pattern, but I simplified it by taking out the actual feather and fan bit and knit straight down.

One big problem is that it is too large. When I started reading the book it talked about design ease and that it is recommended to have 2 inches wearing ease and I just kept nodding along. I started the sweater and by the time I finished the yoke I realised it was bigger then I like for a number if reasons:

a, I don't wear my knitwear with 2 inches wearing ease, I wear it with 0 or negative ease.

b, despite my gauge being spot on (yes, I actually tested the finished sweater) it's still bigger overall, not sure why, but hey, it's one of those mysteries I suppose

c, I have a small upper back, so next time I need to take out a substantial number of stitches there (the picture below shows the back)

However, by that time I didn't want to unravel it all again, which in hindsight was a mistake as I then had considerably less enthusiasm for the project. I omitted the 10 stitches each side that were supposed to be cast on under the arms and I inserted some ribbing on the side to make it less obvious that it is too large, but I still know.

It was definitely a test garment and I have learnt a lot. I have a lot more of the yarn left (I used 1.5 balls of the 12 that I have), so once I have washed it a few times and it becomes obvious how the yarn behaves, I'll see whether I make the same pattern again or whether I'll try a different one from the book or whether I might give the Miette Cardigan a go. Ultimately it will be something that I'll wear on top of some long sleeved shirts, so it probably won't make too much of a difference that it is too big and slouchy is in :-)

Lekala 4099 - ahoy there, mateys :-)

I am finally getting around to posting about my newest Lekala 4099. My husband has been occupying the computer lately with his desire to learn SQL.

I had originally planned for the jersey to be used for a Humming Bird top, but it is more of a cosy jersey that was asking to be made into a winter top. I had been thinking about making a long sleeved top like this for a while although as I finished it I realised that it might be a bit pirate costume like ... never mind though, everyone needs a bit of adventure in their life ... so ahoy there, me mateys. (I realised after I had taken the pictures that I had forgotten to press the shoulder seams, so ooops)

This version has a centre front seam as I couldn't fit is otherwise. I wasn't so sure about it at first, but it seems unobtrusive, so I'll see how I feel about it in a couple of weeks. I made it a little tighter then the black one, because the jersey relaxed and I need to resew that one as part of my next mending Monday maybe.

I am not very good at this taking pictures of myself business really. I am looking at my back thinking 'Why oh WHY, for goodness sake, didn't I smooth out THOSE wrinkles in the back"

Onwards to the cape ...

Lekala 4099

I wanted to thank everyone for the kind comments on the Pumpkin Scone Recipe.  In fact, the comment from velosewer about Greek pastries led me to the conclusion that Greek cuisine is mostly ... well ... Greek to me. Brisbane does have a wonderful Greek community and they just had their festival, but, alas, various Kindy fetes, birthday parties and sleep overs conspired against me actually attending it. Thus I have declared next weekend to be a Greek weekend ... I shall research the menu extensively (i.e. spend a leisurely hour surfing velosewers food blog when I really should be doing other things) and let you know how I get on with this. Hopefully we'll end up with something all children and adults will eat and maybe like to eat again :-)

Anyway, back to Lekala. I love them in theory, no seriously, the idea of having made to measure patterns for my measurements is great. Their website is like a candy store that offers new surprises every day. However, like a candy store, it has a few drawbacks. The biggest, I think, is the instructions. They are minimal, translated somewhat questionable from Russian. The PDF pattern fits together mostly, but that could very well be a printer issue. Over all the PDF is not onerous though. Having downloaded a skirt pattern from somewhere else and ended up with 60 odd pages, the Lekala patterns I have range from 17 pages for a T-Shirt top and 24 pages for a coat. The price is great. Once you register on their website you get a 10% discount on the pattern and you have to register to buy, so the pattern is like $2.10. I keep reading about the $0.99 US sales, but that never quite happens down here ... sigh ... it's probably a good thing as I have no self-control :-)

Lekala 4099 is a dolman sleeve jersey top with a gathered wide sleeve. I had intended to use Cation Design's free Dolman Sleeve top and modify it, but I thought it might be a good way to try out Lekala. I had read some bad reviews, about their sizes being too small (no ease etc), so I was a bit weary.

I used Spotlight's new brushed Jersey for that (yes, I know it was not in my stash), but I really wanted a black top and there was nothing in my stash. I lowered the neckline a bit and shortened the sleeves, but looking at the pictures now, I didn't actually need to shorten the sleeves as they ride up a bit.

This might well be the white sponge of cake sewing. It is perhaps the most useful thing I have sewn so far (except for the sleep masks that we use daily).

It's not as fitted as some of my other tops, which probably means I wear them too tight usually. However, Jersey and I am going to become best friends in the next few months, because I have started to exercise in the lost month of April. I can see some results already and I don't really want to go through the pain of fitting things that don't fit right a few months later. Overall, I was really happy with the pattern and the fit. I didn't need any instructions really and I imagine I will make many more tops from this pattern.

Ariadne Tunic by Tanit-Isis

I have lost all witty inspiration for a title ... perhaps something will come to me later.

Not so long ago I bought a Jersey bed sheet for my son, but after 2 washes it had shrank to the size of a cot sheet. What better to practise Jersey sewing skills on :-)

It is a thin 4 way stretch so the Ariadne Tunic by Tanit-Isis seemed perfect. I do feel I look a little pregnant in it, but when it is hot and humid it is nice to wear something loose.

I omitted the band around the bottom, because my hips are the largest bit of me and I felt that the band would draw extra attention to that bit. I also didn't do the keyhole in the back due to personal preferences.

My jersey hemming skills need to be improved, but I have no doubt that with time that'll come. Overall I am really happy with it and I am sure I'll wear it lots this summer. Thank you Tanit-Isis for providing this lovely pattern :-)

Summer sewin' - had me a blast

I shall never ever list to Grease again (maybe) - that song just doesn't want to go away. I dreamt of it last night :-)

After something for my son I thought I make something for myself. Firstly I made another straight skirt, this time made from blue cotton sateen - another remnant that was languishing in my stash.

It is a bit more baggy then the previous versions as I lost a little weight, but I shall see whether that stays this way before changing both the pattern and the skirt.

I also experimented a bit with a T-Shirt pattern from one of my favourite (very old) T-shirts. I used the flowery interlocky material that I used for the Dolman Sleeve Top, but it is a bit tight as the material is not as stretchy as jersey.

The front looks okay, but the back seems a little tight. I shall go back to the pattern and see about the seam allowances and whether I did actually add them. On the whole I am quite pleased with it, because T-shirts and skirts are what I mostly wear. Yes, I'd like to do more difficult things like dresses and pants, but if I just get the basics right and wearable and durable then I feel I have already achieved a lot.

When taking these picture I came across something slightly odd - granny squares around a tree in the playground. I wonder what it means :-)

Dolman Sleeve Top

I did it ... I sewed a top with Jersey like material. I think it's actually interlock, but I am not sure. It was a mystery purchase from fabric-a-brac. I used the free Dolman Sleeve Top pattern from Cation Designs.

It came out alright, although the directions say that you should sew the sides with a straight stitch and the first time a did it and then tried it on the stitches ripped where the sleeve turns down the side. I just resewed it with a zigzag stitch and it was fine.

I might make one more version from it with a lower neckline, but it's getting warmer now so it's back to T-shirts.