Rescuing this post from the draft folder and posting timey-wimey-wise.
I've been promising a post about this sweater and top for over a month. This is that post.
Blue sweater and white tee. We've seen this before, and not just because I used this picture for MMM. What can I say; I'm not terribly original. #sorrynotsorry
I've been needing a light, blue summer sweater for several years. Crocheting or knitting one thin enough was out of the question and I was all set to cut up one of my blue pullovers and turn it into a cardigan when I came across this slate blue lacy sweater knit in Textiles on King. Perfect colour, perfect weight, fun pattern. And now I can leave my beloved pullovers alone.
Once again, it's the Swoon Patterns scarf-neck cardi. It's the fourth time I've made this sweater so I don't have much more to say about it. I adjusted the front pattern piece so that the seams actually end at the same place, and because this sweater knit was so unravelly at the edges, I used French seams everywhere and the edges are turned and turned and stitched. The fabric is some kind of acrylic; it presses fairly well but I accidentally melted a bit with the iron.
One thing I've noticed is how much more closely this fits me than the cream version, because that knit has stretched out a lot and this knit, well, doesn't really stretch that much. I'd say that I'm done with this pattern for now, but I need a long black cardigan for fall/winter, so I'll be keeping my eye open for some suitable fabric. Are you listening, merino-wool fairy godmother?
Anyway, I made both the sweater and the Cake Bonny tee (w/o sailor collar) to wear to the Toronto Sewcialists meetup. The good thing about my setting event deadlines for items is that I am much more likely to get them done. The bad thing is that I'm much more likely to wear them, regardless. Case in point. The version I wore in May was gaping horribly. And yet I wore it.
Why? Well, partly to see if it was as bad as I thought*. Partly to see if the problems would work themselves out through wear**. Anyway, as part of my "finish your UFOs before you sew anything new challenge," I fixed most of the problems and wore it on the last day of school.
Looks better now. But let me back up a bit.
I really like the pattern. Square necklines are my friend, and princess seams give nice shape and making fitting easy. This sounded like a perfect recipe to me, but the binding, my friends, is where it fell apart. First of all, the instructions have you put the neck binding on before you sew the side seams, which makes fitting adjustments impossible. They also don't say to stretch the binding as you attach it. So I didn't -- and I realize I should have known better. So it gaped. A lot. Like you-could-see-all-the-way-to-my-navel gaping. Not the look I was going for.
These pictures don't really capture how bad it was.
I also sewed the kimono sleeves too loose.
To fix it, I needed to spread the top of the centre piece out. I unpicked the bust seams right at the top, which meant unpicking stretched seam on a t-shirt knit, which meant a) really difficult and b) I put a few holes right where I didn't want any. Grrr. Anyway, I sewed it back up but the seams aren't as even as they could be. Don't really care. I'm treating this like a wearable muslin.
You can see I didn't do a perfect job, especially since I couldn't tighten the binding everywhere. I think I also used the wrong interfacing on the front bodice piece. I should probably learn more about that stuff.
Also, I think I need to shorten the top above the bust line or something. As you can see from the horizontal wrinkle from the armpit to chest, it rides up a bit. The waist wrinkles because I cut it too long as I didn't want a repeat of the baby-tee fiasco, and my generous bootay causes it to ride up.
So yay, me. It's still technically a UFO since I have to decide what length to make it, but it's infinitely more wearable than it was before. I also finally dealt with my gaping LGRAB Anna by lengthening the bust pleats. I wore it to commencement last Thursday. So much better. Two down, many, many UFOs to go.
*Yes, yes it was.
**No, no they didn't.
I've been promising a post about this sweater and top for over a month. This is that post.
Blue sweater and white tee. We've seen this before, and not just because I used this picture for MMM. What can I say; I'm not terribly original. #sorrynotsorry
I've been needing a light, blue summer sweater for several years. Crocheting or knitting one thin enough was out of the question and I was all set to cut up one of my blue pullovers and turn it into a cardigan when I came across this slate blue lacy sweater knit in Textiles on King. Perfect colour, perfect weight, fun pattern. And now I can leave my beloved pullovers alone.
Once again, it's the Swoon Patterns scarf-neck cardi. It's the fourth time I've made this sweater so I don't have much more to say about it. I adjusted the front pattern piece so that the seams actually end at the same place, and because this sweater knit was so unravelly at the edges, I used French seams everywhere and the edges are turned and turned and stitched. The fabric is some kind of acrylic; it presses fairly well but I accidentally melted a bit with the iron.
One thing I've noticed is how much more closely this fits me than the cream version, because that knit has stretched out a lot and this knit, well, doesn't really stretch that much. I'd say that I'm done with this pattern for now, but I need a long black cardigan for fall/winter, so I'll be keeping my eye open for some suitable fabric. Are you listening, merino-wool fairy godmother?
Anyway, I made both the sweater and the Cake Bonny tee (w/o sailor collar) to wear to the Toronto Sewcialists meetup. The good thing about my setting event deadlines for items is that I am much more likely to get them done. The bad thing is that I'm much more likely to wear them, regardless. Case in point. The version I wore in May was gaping horribly. And yet I wore it.
Why? Well, partly to see if it was as bad as I thought*. Partly to see if the problems would work themselves out through wear**. Anyway, as part of my "finish your UFOs before you sew anything new challenge," I fixed most of the problems and wore it on the last day of school.
Looks better now. But let me back up a bit.
I really like the pattern. Square necklines are my friend, and princess seams give nice shape and making fitting easy. This sounded like a perfect recipe to me, but the binding, my friends, is where it fell apart. First of all, the instructions have you put the neck binding on before you sew the side seams, which makes fitting adjustments impossible. They also don't say to stretch the binding as you attach it. So I didn't -- and I realize I should have known better. So it gaped. A lot. Like you-could-see-all-the-way-to-my-navel gaping. Not the look I was going for.
These pictures don't really capture how bad it was.
I also sewed the kimono sleeves too loose.
To fix it, I needed to spread the top of the centre piece out. I unpicked the bust seams right at the top, which meant unpicking stretched seam on a t-shirt knit, which meant a) really difficult and b) I put a few holes right where I didn't want any. Grrr. Anyway, I sewed it back up but the seams aren't as even as they could be. Don't really care. I'm treating this like a wearable muslin.
You can see I didn't do a perfect job, especially since I couldn't tighten the binding everywhere. I think I also used the wrong interfacing on the front bodice piece. I should probably learn more about that stuff.
Also, I think I need to shorten the top above the bust line or something. As you can see from the horizontal wrinkle from the armpit to chest, it rides up a bit. The waist wrinkles because I cut it too long as I didn't want a repeat of the baby-tee fiasco, and my generous bootay causes it to ride up.
So yay, me. It's still technically a UFO since I have to decide what length to make it, but it's infinitely more wearable than it was before. I also finally dealt with my gaping LGRAB Anna by lengthening the bust pleats. I wore it to commencement last Thursday. So much better. Two down, many, many UFOs to go.
*Yes, yes it was.
**No, no they didn't.
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