Knitting: Horizontal Vertical Kimono

Thanks for your kind comments about my last sewing project. For this post, I'm returning to the normally scheduled knitting program. I finished the Horizontal Vertical Kimono sweater, which is a free pattern from Cascade. I used Valley Yarns Brimfield, which is a nice merino/silk blend that's easy to knit with and seems to wear well so far. I love this sweater. It's knit side-to-side as one piece from one front to back to the other front. Because it's knit side to side, the sweater tends to conform to the body better because of the way it stretches. You can easily adjust the length of this sweater, but row gauge is important for getting the width correct.

I only made a couple of tiny changes from the pattern. I made my armhole bands about 2.5" inches instead of 3". I also wanted to scrunch in the armholes a bit, so I picked up 6 stitches for every 7 for most of the armhole and 3 stitches for every 4 around the shoulder area. This also helps prevent the armhole band from poking upward at the shoulders. For the front bands, I picked up 11 stitches for every 12 because the double seed stitches tends to be a higher gauge than stockinette and I didn't want the front bands to flare out either.

In the name of shameless advertising, if you like my shawl pin, it's 3D printed in plastic, and you can buy it here in my Etsy shop. :)

Sewing: Vogue V1515 Skirt

I made a skirt for fall and winter from Vogue Patterns V1515. My fabric is a great bottom weight cotton/poly slightly textured knit that I bought at Joann last year. I love this knit and I wish I could find more cotton/poly knits like it out there -- the poly makes it hold its shape and the cotton makes it really comfy. There are tons of all-polyester knits but I just don't find them breathable to wear. This is a pattern that falls into the interesting-construction category, and I love the quirky and asymmetrical look of it.

The skirt pattern provides two versions - one for wovens and one for knits. The knitted one relies on just the stretchiness of the fabric to hold the skirt up and I knew that wouldn't work with my non-existent rear end, so I added a waistband which encloses some elastic. The trim on the pattern is done with piping but I just used some double-fold wide bias tape. I used the same tape to encase the bottom edge instead of hemming it. For the middle trim, I ironed out the two edge folds and sewed the bias tape into the seam and then edge-stitched the tape to the skirt.

The skirt is a bit on the long side and I'm a bit on the short side, so I cut off about 1.5 inches at the bottom. If I made it again, I might also trim an inch from the middle piece. I omitted the pocket because to me, it sort of looks too much like an appendage growing on my hip. The bottom section does bulge out on one side, and the bulge is accentuated on my version because I used a heavier knit. With a softer, lighter fabric, it would probably drape more, as seen in the drawing and on the model.

I'm very proud of myself for actually wearing some boots to take these photos. Usually, I'm lazy and just wear slippers and never show my feet!

This post is linked into Gray All Day's Sew It Chic October.