I have several small projects to share, including another pattern from the recent Butterick release.
TOC
I reviewed this duster pattern in the last release of Butterick patterns. I liked that the neckline had some interest—it's not merely a jewel neckline—it's more of an abbreviated shawl collar. The pattern that I really wanted to make went missing so I ordered another on-sale copy and, meanwhile, gave this pattern a try.
The fabric, a heather blue sweater knit, is a drapey, lightweight, single knit. The pattern calls for a moderate stretch knit: jersey, ponte, or sweater knit. This fabric was fairly lightweight, but I decided to forge ahead. (Note to self: pay attention to your gut instinct.)
My alterations were fairly typical: I started with a size 18 and added a bust dart, made a forward shoulder adjustment and narrowed the shoulder by about 1". All of these are typical for me. I also decided to create a deep slit in the side seams (all the way to the waist) but, otherwise, I made the pattern as designed. Because of the slits, I finished the hem with 4 mitered corners.
It was a straightforward sew, but it's a lackluster garment. I finished the duster last Monday night and wore it to work on Tuesday. I felt very "meh" wearing it. In analyzing my reaction, I think there are two reasons. First, I think I'd prefer this pattern in a less droopy knit. The neckline just sort of lays there, defeated. I think it would be nicer in a ponte or another doubleknit with some drape. Also, the front band feels very wide—if I make this again I might narrow the front band a bit. Maybe.
I'll probably try wearing this garment again—give it another chance—but I am very likely to send it on to a new owner. It's too bad because I quite like this knit, but I should have saved it for a different project.
I first made a red knotted scarf using a rayon jersey using a pattern from Sewing Workshop. I didn't love that scarf, but that was mostly because I was a little over-enthusiastic when stretching the strips—I ended up with Angel Hair when I should have aimed for Spaghetti.
I had a half yard of the heather blue sweater knit left over from the duster, so I decided to give it another try.
This time I didn't go quite as nuts when stretching the strips. I made this one quickly, in just a couple sessions, instead of the 1+ years it took me to finish the red one.
I LOVE this one!
Persistence pays!
Last week Savage Coco asked, on Instagram, how many Prestos have you made? So I had to count and it was give (not counting a failed attempt that was operator error), but I already had #6 cut out. I decided I needed a teal Presto for Paris. I'm not sure where this fabric came from because I now have several similar teal jersey fabrics purchased from different sources!
Left to right: Coco, Meg, Beth, me, Laura, and Jillian (who is now more active on Instagram than her blog)
Photo credit: A stranger, taken with my camera phone.
I actually forgot my blogiversary this year! It has been 7 hears of blogging as of last Thursday, August 25th. I usually do my annual recap on my blogiversary post, but I wasn't feeling it last week. I will likely come back and do it later—it was a good year and I like to do a bit of reflection before looking forward.
I've talked about going to Paris this fall with the Tilton sisters, but I'm also spending some time in Munich. I'll mostly be working, but I have a little time allotted to play tourist. I won't be able to go to far afield, and I've started compiling a list of things to try and see, but do you have any recommendations? I'd love to hear about it!
I went to Seattle a couple weeks ago for work. This is becoming a regular trip for me, though I only rarely have time to play. For this trip, Kathy and I worked on chemo caps! She has updated her pattern to use fair isle to spell "f*ck cancer" in Morse code. She hasn't posted a pattern yet but, when she does, I will share it. We make these for Knots of Love and they love them, as you can see in this tweet:
As it's now September, DD2 is back at university! She attended Gustavus Adolphus for one year, two years back. She did well, and it's a wonderful school, but it wasn't the right fit for her. She spent the last year working multiple jobs in San Francisco, socking away money, and now she's off to a new university in British Columbia. Her sister and I made two shopping trips with her before she left. Hey, for those of you who ship packages from the U.S. to Canada, any tips on how to do that economically?
For those of you in the U.S., enjoy your Labor Day weekend! I actually have 2 more Paris projects almost done. One, a coat, is in timeout for misbehaving. For the other I need to run to JoAnn's today to buy invisible zippers. I have a huge zipper stash, but my stash doesn't extend to the invisible variety!
For those of you on Instagram, the #sewphotohop started last Thursday and runs through September. It's been fun learning about new Instagrammers! You can also check out my Instagram feed.
And, finally, join me on Patti's Visible Monday!