A Cropped Sweater

I have a very bad habit of not keeping track of my knitting projects.  Perhaps because they often take a long time for me to complete.

Sometimes I manage to write needle and other specific information on the pattern itself, which can be helpful.

But in the case of this particular project, I can't even find the copy of the pattern that I was using.  I'm sure it will turn up at some point, but for now, it's a mystery where it could have got to.  Sometimes I manage to post some useful information into Ravelry, but I didn't get around to it in this case.

After rummaging through some bins of yarn, I did find the leftovers and the information band.  This is Serendipity Tweed, a cotton/wool blend from Brown Sheep Company.  The skeins were purchased from a craft fair that my Mom's community has every year.  It was nice to work with as I recall, and I love the resulting sweater.

The pattern is one that I have used before.  In fact, this is the third version of the Jailbird Blouse from Poison Grrls that I have made (with a couple of modifications).

It seems to be my go-to pattern when I don't think I have enough yarn for a sweater.

The pattern instructions call for more of a mock-neck design, but I like to fold the collar and cuffs over for a slightly different look.

I would say that three versions of the same sweater is enough to have in one wardrobe, but if I come across the right yarn, I wouldn't put it past me to make another.

And I will definitely be on the lookout for more wool/cotton blends!

Talking Flowers

I had a feeling that I would love this dress.  And I do!

For some reason, I decided to cut the pattern one size larger than I usually do, which was a mistake.  But the added bust pads and the waist stay saved it for me.

This project has reminded me how much I love wearing a tiered skirt.  

What I do not love is gathering all of that fabric, but it's almost worth the aggravation!

I am also quite thankful that I had the yardage to lengthen the skirt.

The more yardage a design requires, the more likely I am to want to make it!

There were plans to make another tiered dress before the Summer weather ended, but here we are in September and there is a distinctive brisk feeling to the mornings and evenings.  

So I believe that I will leave the more warm weather coded fabrics and colors behind for the year.  

I do love Fall dressing, but I somehow manage to run out of time before the rain and real cold has entered the chat.  Here is hoping that I can manage at least one autumnal themed sewing project before then.

And while this particular design may not have turned out exactly as expected, and I am not sure that I will be making another version, I am quite pleased to have another cotton floral frock in my reperatoire.

Dress:  Made by me, McCalls 8575
Necklace:  Ali Khan
Shoes:  Banana Republic

Purple Pansies

This is one of those patterns that I knew that I wanted to make up as soon as it was released.  Of course, it's a fabric hog, so that limits the amount of stashed yardage that I can use.  And so the pattern was put away, waiting for the right fabric to show up.

While trying to figure out my next project a couple of months back, I came across some cotton that was still on the bolt, just as it had been since I purchased it at the closing sale at my local JoAnn Fabrics.  I assumed that I had about 3 yards.

When I went to unfurl the yardage to measure what was left and to take care of pre-washing it, I realized there was significantly more fabric than I had expected.  I wish that happened more often!

In fact, I had enough to lengthen the skirt so that it is more of a tea length look than the original below the knee styling.  I definitely prefer a slightly longer length, so it was good news all around.

The pattern calls for bias tape to create the neckline elastic casing, but I prefer to use self-fabric when possible.

For one, it matches, and also, the most commonly produced bias tape is a poly/cotton blend, which I try to avoid whenever possible!

This particular quilting cotton is fairly lightweight and has a really nice hand, and the self-made bias tape worked perfectly.

I will say that the instructions are interesting.  This is not the way that I would have chosen to construct this, but I decided to follow the given directions to see how it went.  The main downside to the given instructions is that it is impossible to tell how the bodice is going to fit until it is completely put together.

The wide neckline means a standard bra will not work, so I went ahead and added bust pads.  The pads that I had on hand were slightly too large for the design, so I just trimmed them down.  They get hand stitched into place along available seamlines.  It can be a little fussy to make sure they are in the right position and to have them sit between the bodice and lining layers, but it is definitely worth the extra effort.

So far, so good.

The pattern calls for different width elastic in the neckline and around the arm.  

This seemed like an odd choice, and seeing as the only neckline elastic that I had on hand was 1/4" instead of the suggested 3/8" (and I really didn't want to purchase more elastic) I decided to change things up slightly while still maintaining the difference in width between the neckline and arm.  I am still not entirely sure why that choice was made by the designer.

The tiered skirt went together fairly painlessly.  The cotton did want to fray, but not terribly.

And once the seam was stitched, I finished it with some seam binding.

Since I was dealing with a bunch of rectangles, the hemline was a piece of cake to finish.

A circle skirt is wonderful, but those curved hemlines can be a bit of a bear to deal with.

The sleeves are not lined, but the remainder of the bodice is so those raw edges were nicely contained.

And then there was a bit of hand sewing to accomplish.

It was around this time that I realized that I had made a mistake by sizing up with this pattern.

So instead of adding a waist stay for the purpose of stabilizing a form fitting waist seam, I used it to slightly take that waist in.

When that didn't feel quite secure enough, I added a length of elastic just under the bust line.  

This dress is essentially held up by the elastic in the shoulders of the dress and it does not have any added boning or something to maintain the structural integrity of the garment.  If those sleeves slip down, the whole bodice is going with them.

The addition of the waist stay and the under bust elastic worked pretty well.

I was hoping that this would be a pattern that I would return to again and again.  I'm not sure that I want to deal with modifying the construction of the bodice, and I don't know that I love the dress enough to deal with all of that gathering!

But only time will tell.  

A Summer Find

There are certain projects that get neglected for whatever reason, and this was one of them.

I know that I rushed to finish it for pattern testing, and I didn't actually hem the skirt for quite a while after the rest of the dress was complete.

It may be that the weather got away from me, and by the time I had stitched that hemline, the weather was too cold, or a pastel floral just didn't feel appropriate to wear.

But eventually, I got around to hemming the dress.  I actually love hand sewing, so I couldn't tell you exactly what my issue was.

And then it hung on the back of the sewing room door, for no obvious reason.  But at least the dress was completed.  That gives a sense of accomplishment, at the very least. 

Turns out, I love the print, and the dress isn't too shabby, either.

Now that I finally got around to wear the darn thing, I am quite happy to have another easy to wear wrap dress in my closet.

And I suppose that is the most important thing.

So perhaps I should get back to all of those other works-in-progress!

Dress:  Made by me, "Jade Wrap Dress"
Blouse:  Gap
Shoes:  Kate Spade
Earrings:  Etsy