FO: Pleated Elliptical Cardigan

I just finished the Pleated Elliptical Cardigan. My yarn is Elsebeth Lavold Silky Wool. It's knit at a looser gauge than the recommended gauge for the yarn to give the sweater a really nice drape. The sweater is a bed jacket style, with a modern curved hem. It's quite long in the back -- I could have made it an inch shorter all around and it would have been fine. The fit is really loose and I didn't like it when I first tried it on, but then I discovered what wonders a shawl pin can do.

I didn't really make any size modifications but I decided to eliminate the front pleats at the last minute and just gather the stitches. I thought that the front pleats might poke out too much at the bust line for my particular body type. The gathers aren't really visible, but the fronts have a smooth drape as a result. I kept the back pleat. I used a crochet hook and added a row of slip stitches around the back and shoulders neckline to keep it tighter and prevent stretching. The sweater has an interesting saddle shoulder construction but I'm hoping the shoulders won't stretch too much with wear because there's no sturdy seam to keep everything held in place. Overall, I'm pleased with how this turned out.

Sewing FO: Vogue V1348 It's all about the petticoat

This dress is sewn from Vogue patterns V1348. I love the print of this fabric. It reminds of either (1) an abstract painting, (2) a child's finger painting project, or (3) a house painter's well used drop cloth. It's also 100% linen, which I love. The skirt lining consists of two tiers of ruffles, which forms a petticoat. I decided that since it has a petticoat, I might as well let it show at the hem. Instead of using a narrow hem for the bottom tier, I cut it twice as high and folded it for a double layer. It's cut from as very light weight lawn cotton, as is the rest of the lining. The pattern calls for underlining the bodice pieces, but I skipped that since my linen is a medium weight and I didn't want any more thickness. The underlining is also used to tack down the top edges of the pleats, but the dress is fine without the tacking.

Now all I need a is a great summer party to wear this to -- too bad summer is almost over!

Sewing FO: Butterick B5347

This a great easy-wearing summer dress from Butterick B5347. This is view A using two neckline buttons instead of one and using my own pocket design. The fabric is a medium weight cotton with some lycra for a bit of stretch. Because it stretches, I can pull the dress over my head easily so I omitted the back zipper -- woo-hoo! I wanted something more exciting than square patch pockets so I came up with this angled and pleated pocket and the pleat is held in place by a button, sort of echoing the front neckline. The dress is unlined so it's great for hot weather.

The trickiest part of this dress is getting the front pleat just so. The amount and angle of the fold is sort of body specific -- you have to try the dress on and keeping pinning the pleat until you like how everything drapes. I used two buttons because I found that the extra button keeps the front tucked in a little better. This is actually the third rendition of this pattern. I made the first dress in pure cotton and a second dressy version in silk. Both of the those have the cap sleeves and for the dressy one I used three front buttons to give it even more shaping.

Is it Instagram-worthy?

For some unknown reason, I've recently jumped onto the Instagram bandwagon. I've set myself a challenge to see if I can find at least one photo to post everyday on Instagram. I'm using both new photos, mainly taken using my phone, and old photos from my stash. I haven't set an end date for this exercise, so I'll have to see how long it takes before I'm bored.

The one thing this has done for me is to make me more aware of my surroundings. I'm now looking around more for things that are interesting or different or pretty, or whatever. I'm always asking myself, "Is it Instagram-worthy?" Anyway, you can follow me on Instagram. Other than the occasional finished knitwear and my feet in shoes, I promise not to bore you with the ever-annoying selfie!

FO: Alison Pullover

This is Alison Pullover from Knitscene Fall 2013. This is a classic fitted pullover. My yarn is 2nd Time Cotton from Knit One, Crochet Too. The pattern calls for a wool/alpaca yarn but I decided to use a cotton blend and also make short sleeves. I knitted the sweater as flat pieces, and I used reverse stockinette for the yoke instead of garter stitch. I used stockinette instead of garter for the sleeves.

I made my neckline a bit higher and rounder in the front, and I finished the neck and front edge with a row of single crochet followed by a row of reverse single crochet. I omitted the buttonholes so the buttons are just decorative. Even though the sweater is knitted with a cotton yarn, it's still too warm to wear in the middle of summer because of the thickness of the yarn and resulting sweater.

Sewing FO: V1387 - The Sleeveless Version

This is a shirt from Vogue Patterns V1387. I made this hipster plaid shirt not too long ago using the same pattern. I kept seeing all these sleeveless shirts in the stores and decided I should make one. I figured this pattern could be easily adapted to be a sleeveless shirt. Plus, I had this leftover silk/linen fabric that would be perfect for it. The fabric is great -- it is really lightweight but crisp and has a slight sheen to it. The crispiness does make the front pleats bubble out a bit, but I'm good with that. The shirt will probably soften after a few washings.

I used a narrow folded bias strip as a facing for the armholes. I did have to cut in the armholes a bit, especially on the back side. You can't see it in the photos, but the buttons each have a tiny rhinestone in the center for that added bit of bling.

This is actually the third shirt from the same pattern, so I really like it. The second one has sleeves like the first and is sewn from a white-on-white striped cotton. It's not the fastest shirt to sew -- the front yoke section along with the narrow collar and front band require some careful workmanship. The bottom edges are curved narrow hems. Finally, in order to keep things tidy, it's best to use french seams on the sides. The one detail that I didn't like about the pattern is that it leaves a bit of raw fabric at the corner where the collar and front band meet. For this shirt and the one prior, I sewed a small square onto the corner with stitches that turn at about a 100 degree angle. I clipped to the corner and turned the square to the inside. This leaves me with a strongly reinforced corner and no raw edge exposed.

FO: Gyre Cardigan

This is the Gyre Cardigan knitted with Valley Yarns Stockbridge, a merino and alpaca blend. I liked this pattern when I first saw it because it has a hippy-dippy 70s vibe to it. After I looked at some of the finished ones on ravelry I decided that perhaps it was a bit too much hippy-dippy. Also, several knitters said that the garment is really voluminous. The back sections looked a little too lumpy to me because of the changing gauge with the different stitch patterns and the large number of stitches increased after the dropped stitches. I decided to simplify things by not doing any increases after the dropped stitch section and just do stockinette. I used a border of broken rib at the bottom and also for the armhole bands. I shortened the dropped stitch section to 5 inches from 7 which reduces some of the hippy-dippyness. Finally, I made it at least 4 inches shorter than the pattern's length. The finished sweater is still a bit too large but the shawl pin holds it in really nicely, so I'm very happy with it.

To give the front edges a more finished look, I added a couple of stitches to each side and slipped the first and last 2 knit stitches on every knit row to give it a quasi I-cord look.