Tuesday, January 10, 2012

A Couple of FO’s

Trying to make up for lost time here!

Madder Rose Shrug

MadderShrug

Begun:  December 6, 2011
Completed:  January 8, 2012

Pattern:  Shawl Collar Vest by Amanda Berka, free pattern from Unicorn Books & Crafts. Knit largest size: 40”.

MadderShrug_backYarn:  Handspun wool, dyed in the roving with alum/home-grown madder root, spun DK/light worsted weight 2-ply. 4 skeins, approx. 324g = 848yds total. Had a small amount left over from these.

Needles:  Addi Lace Cliks, 5mm. Switched to Addi Lace circular, 5mm, part way through after difficulty with Clik tip.

Comments:  My yarn was somewhat finer than the called-for worsted but I used the same needle size and the unblocked piece came out very close to the correct size. It relaxed quite a bit after blocking. The finished shrug is more drapey and oversized than the other versions on Ravelry. I didn’t put the button in that I’d planned because it didn’t end up in the correct place. I’ll just pin it closed with my shawl stick.

Obviously I broke down yesterday and put Debbie in front of the dining room window to try to get some pictures. They aren’t ideal but they’re better than nothing, no? Of course today it’s sunny! I also tried a new plug-in for Windows Live Writer – a Flickr image importer. I can’t make cute drop shadows on them though. At least I can use the pictures that are already in Flickr. Doesn’t save any time but it’s a little less duplication of files. Of course, I’ll still need to insert some photos the other way so you’ll see both varieties.

Yoke Dress

YokeDress

Completed:  January 4, 2012

Pattern:  Self-drafted using my basic stretch blocks and Style Arc’s Laura Dress as inspiration.

Fabric:  Black/gray novelty slinky knit, purchased at Fabric Depot in Portland, OR. Used about 1 yd of my 2-yd piece. Contrast yoke and sleeves used scraps of black rayon/lycra double-knit, purchased at Dressew. (At least I think these are proper fabric descriptions! I never keep good enough notes when purchasing. You’d think I’d know better, huh?)

Notions:  Gutermann sewing thread, black. Serger thread, black.

Comments:  I really like this simple t-shirt-dress. It’s comfortable and yet a little dressier than my usual garb. I used both the sewing machine and the serger to put it together. I’m happy that the top-stitching doesn’t show on the pockets because they are probably a little wonky! They are a single layer of the contrast fabric inside and utilising the dress front as the top layer. I stitched both layers together from the back so I could see where I was going. The top and bottom edges of the opening were zig-zagged through all layers from the outside at the seam line to reinforce. I probably should have used a proper facing instead of turning under and topstitching the opening. It’s functional though. I like having pockets. My inspiration didn’t have any.

I could have made the front yoke slightly wider and the shoulders are a tad wide, whether from the neckline stretching out a little or a need for another tweak of my basic stretch bodice blocks. I may have added too much when I adjusted the shoulder width. However I did stay the shoulder seams with lace so they shouldn’t stretch at all and I stay-stitched the neckline before applying the narrow facing. I used a strip of crosswise stretch but had to piece it. That’s how short of fabric I was at the end!

One last garment left to go out of the “4-2-5 Collection” (4 garments from 2 pieces of fabric, 3 metres of double-knit and 2 yards slinky). This one is the Cowl-Neck Tunic based on Vogue 8699, but heavily adjusted using my shoulder-princess block to fit me better in the shoulders. It’s nearly done and I should have it finished today. Only need to apply the collar and sleeves and twin-needle the hems. I’ll be sure to double-check the fit of the shoulders before sewing the sleeves in permanently this time.

2 comments:

Sharon in Surrey said...

hey - I like the shrug! Now all you need is one of the coconut shell shawl pins from Elann.

Carmen said...

Beautiful!