Toaster Sweater #1 & Simple Skirts

Peggy at Sew House 7 recently ran a sale on her popular Toaster sweater pattern to celebrate a regrade and I couldn't resist getting a pdf copy.  I have had such success with her patterns this past year, and I don't knit as fast as would be ideal for wardrobe purposes.  She also restocked her lovely wool-cotton jersey and since I've been wearing my wool-cotton jersey Coco on repeat this winter, I bought another yard and a half, hoping to squeak out a Toaster sweater version.

Nothing much to report on this.  I dithered a bit on the sizing, as I didn't want it too fitted, but I didn't want it sloppy either.  My more fitted clothing doesn't fit quite right at the moment.  

I've gained a fair bit of weight around my middle in the past six weeks (much to my dismay and consternation, as I've not changed anything...I'm working to get to the bottom of it, as well as making some lifestyle changes, but still.  It is frustrating.  I'm not someone who subscribes to the idea that the only good bodies are small bodies, but I feel better in my body when I am at the weight I've been maintaining since around 2015.  So I'm hoping this is a temporary glitch and not the new normal).  I did have a bit of an argument with myself about the basic idiocy of wearing elastic waistbands all the time because they don't constrict me during the day and therefore allowed me to gain weight by not providing adequate feedback before I slapped myself upside the head and told the eating-disordered part of my brain to shut up and go home.  

Anyway, I ended up going with a 10, on the idea that my size 10 Remy was a bit roomy for a summery blouse, but the 8 was more fitted to my preference.  In the wool-cotton jersey, that has very little stretch for a knit, I worried that an 8 would be too tight.  The 10 was exactly the right call, as I love the way this one fits.  I've been wanting something with a high (but not tight) neckline lately, as I can't stand anything tight around my neck (hot flashes!) but I'm cold because of being anemic.  It's a bizarre combination.

I did end up taking off the bottom band as it made the top entirely too long to be flattering on me, and I knew shortening the body to accomodate the band would throw off the proportions.  I did a baby hem of just under 3/8" and called it good.  (Which probably gives you a fair idea of how short-waisted I really am).  Because I was working with a yardage that was just shy of the recommendation, I cut the neck piece on the cross grain and had to piece a tiny bit of the inside of the bottom band but it looks fine and gets over my head okay.  As it happens, since I took off the bottom band anyway, I probably could have made it cutting the neck on the grain, but it doesn't matter.  

The skirt is a super simple knit skirt that I cut using the M7353 as my guide.  The fabric is a thicker quilted cotton knit I found at KnitFabric.com.  I skipped the pockets and used the waistband facing from the Free Range Slacks.  The stitching at the bottom of the facing is a little more visible than I thought it would be, but I could go back and hand stitch it if need be.  I did the hem by hand for that reason.  Since I had skipped the pockets, I also sewed a little fabric loop on the inside of the front facing so I could hook my pedometer to it. 

And because I am making really simple stuff lately, I also made a Free Range skirt hack out of chambray flannel last month and never showed it, so ta-da (shown with the same Toaster sweater):

No construction notes except that I used rayon seam tape on the pocket edges instead of fabric facing to reduce bulk on that seam.  I've worn the skirt quite a bit since I made it.

The keen-eyed amongst you will notice the brace on my left arm. I fell in October and it kept hurting enough to wake me up at night, so I finally got it looked at and I have traumatic tennis elbow. There's a longer medical term for it, but that's the short version. I have to wear the brace as much as possible for the next six weeks and had a cortisone shot, both of which have helped a lot.

The shortest month

I realize I've been a bit AWOL over here.  January is so busy for us, and I spend most of February just trying to catch up.  Throw in some vitamin and mineral deficiencies that are hugely messing with my energy levels and it's slow days mostly.  I'm knitting, rewatching Discovery of Witches for the nth time (and re-reading the series....so.good), and generally trying to keep my head on straight.

Last week I did a special presentation on Stalin and the gulags to the 4th graders at my kids' school.  It was fun and nerve-wracking at the same time because getting the information down to their level was such a challenge.  Suffice to say I was massively over-prepared for 9 year olds, but that's okay.  I might be asked back to give a more advanced version of the talk to the 12th graders next year, and I'm looking forward to diving deep for that!

I made another plain vanilla flannel skirt last month (no pics yet), and have fabric for another heavy wool one, but lack motivation to sew right now.  So back to my needles it is!

Over and out.

A sweater for my mother

There's a charming children's book called A Chair for My Mother, which details how a family saves up to buy a new chair after they lose everything in a fire.  My kids all had to read it for a book report in lower grammar, and it is delightful.  The book sprang to mind when I was trying to come up with a title for this post. 

Sometime in mid-October, when I was hip-deep in quilt-making for St. Nicholas Day and Christmas presents, I decided I didn't have nearly enough to do, so I might as well make a sweater for my mom's birthday.  Which falls on January 9.  Two days after our Christmas.  And the pattern I chose was fingering gauge with a lace yoke.  So, no pressure or anything.  Ha! 

I knew my mom would understand if the gift was late.  I had made her a little table runner and pot holder from scraps from her quilt, so it wasn't like she had nothing to open on the day.  There have been late knitted birthday gifts in previous years.  But I was quite determined to get this finished in time.  I put aside everything else and knitted away.  Despite the small gauge, it went relatively fast, particularly considering the amount of time I had for knitting this fall.  I had started the first sleeve by November 12 (I know this, because I had to get a 9" circular needle in the correct size), and finished the second sleeve sometime in mid-December.  

I added length to the body of the sweater after I sneakily measured a few of my mom's current sweaters when I visited in November, so that added a bit more time, but I started the lace charts during the winter break, during which time we all got covid (again) and the kids were home an extra three days because so many teachers were sick when we were supposed to go back.  Thankfully this round of the virus was much milder than the first, and much shorter-lived, so I didn't lose too much time to it.

I finished the sweater just before dinnertime on January 5, soaked it quick-like, and put it on the blocks in the warmest room I could find so it would dry overnight and I could get it in the mail first thing on January 6.  The postal service being what it is, I had scant hope it would arrive on Saturday, but my mom was happy to get it on Monday instead!

My making notes are on my ravelry page, including the short row mod for the back neck, so I won't repeat that here, but I will say it was an extremely enjoyable knit.  I'm not generally a leave-it-to-the-last-minute kind of person (that is probably the understatement of the century), but I'm glad I made it, despite all the obstacles!

More wool gathering

 

с Рождеством! С праздником!  

 

Since Friday, we have celebrated Christmas, Piglet's birthday, our parish yolka (ёлка), and my husband's namesday, and there are still more celebrations to come this month!  The weather has also turned quite cold (yay!) and we had snow on Friday for Christmas, so that was fun.  

It will be February before I know it, so I want to get caught up on projects from late 2021.  I mentioned that I found an extra wide yard of Melton wool in a fantastic peacock color in my previous wool skirt post.  It's really meant for things like coating, but I figured it would work for a structured straight skirt as well.

This is probably the closest, as it tends more to the green, but it is still much more saturated than this.

(It was extremely difficult to get an accurate color read in the pictures.  It is much bolder and saturated in real life). 

The boiled wool is significantly heavier than the pink, and more tightly woven, so I made some modifications to my Free Range Skirt hack to accommodate the fabric.  The first was to use rayon seam tape on the pocket edges and hand sew it down, as the thickness of the wool did not play nicely with visible seams. 

I also hand sewed the pocket back as well, for the same reason.
 

I lined the skirt with rayon bemberg, but dithered about whether to face the waistband with the wool or the bemberg. 

I had done wool on the pink and bemberg on my plaid flannel, and I like both. I decided in the end to go with wool as I feared the bemberg might not play nicely with the Melton, particularly since I'd have to hand-stitch the thing down.

As with the wool and flannel skirts, I shortened the ban-rol elastic--this one to 26".  It was more of frugality than anything, as I had a 26" length left and didn't want to waste it. 

The elastic has relaxed slightly since I've worn the skirt a few times, and while it is snug getting up over my hips, I can make it.  I think the shorter length balances the bulk.  

I also used lace hem tape on the hem and hand sewed it down.  I really like all the finishes on this skirt, and I like the straight silhouette I got in the heavier fabric.  

I used the same adjusted seam allowances as with my green flannel skirt.  It is slim without feeling restrictive, and the waistband is very comfortable.  I'm quite pleased with the finishes too.  All in all, a successful winter skirt!

A Year of New Things

Nothing like leaving a year in review to last minute, eh?  I scrolled through all my posts this year to see what I had made and wrote about, and it was a Year of New Things.  I tried a bunch of new-to-me patterns, knitting techniques, and silhouettes, and had some great successes.  

I fell in love with stranded knitting (colorwork), got more confident with lace charts (open work), and found that I like working with sport or fingering weight yarn best, even if it takes longer to complete.  I found a few well-fitting basic sweater patterns that I can modify or adapt going forward.  Pullovers are still my happy place.  

Sew House 7 topped my list of great pattern companies after I made the Remy Raglan and the Elemental skirt in the spring.  It took me a while to get the sizing right on the former, and the fit right on the latter, but I loved wearing both once I did.  

My summer was again a horror of heat, humidity and feeling crazy in my clothes, but I guess I went into it knowing that, so it wasn't as bad, perhaps?  I made the Free Range slacks in the early fall, but decided I liked the pattern better as a skirt and have happily made several in different weights.

I revisited the Coco dress pattern after writing it off years ago, and discovered it makes a great knit shirt.  Hot flashes and tucked-in shirts are not a great combination, but it is hard to find tops that look good untucked on me, so having a go-to pattern that works for my short torso is fantastic.  

I frankenpatterned a woven top that I like very much (and can also wear untucked).  I got better at inside finishes and did a lot more handwork, including some embroidery to fancy up a linen skirt from 2020. 

 

I made some dresses: the Sorrel, Terrace, and a Frankenpatterned knit dress pattern that were fine.  I used my bodice block and Anne Adams skirt bottom to make a flannel dress this fall.

 

In unselfish sewing, I did a lot more than in years past.  In September, I became a godmother again and made the baptism ensemble.  My Weekender sweater worked out well for Ponchik last winter and she wears it constantly right now.  I made my dad a linen shirt for his birthday.

I made a lot of simple panel lap quilts for family and my kids and enjoyed the process of quilting very much, although perhaps not the self-imposed deadlines. I made myself use up almost all the scraps from the quilts on pillowcases or zipper pouches or tote bags, so that was useful. Panel quilts are very straightforward, so I'm not sure pieced quilts are in my future, but I have in mind to make some kind of crazy quilt with my scraps. 

Making my first bra was a fun project, but I'm unsure about making all my own going forward.  I'll probably have a mix of me-made and RTW in that department for a while.   

I had several outright fails and some alterations, but overall, I had a lot of successes, and ended up pieces I wear a lot, so it has been a good year of making! 

So long, farewell, до свидания to 2021!

Wool Gathering

The past couple of winters, I've been wearing a quartet of thrifted wool pencil skirts from Sag Harbor, probably dated from the early 1990s.  Maybe late '80s.  They fit me well, had a bit of elastic at the back waist, and were just the thing in cold weather. 

Well.  One of the skirts doesn't fit at all right (it was borderline tight to begin with and I always struggled to pair it with other things in my closet).  The other three still fit fine (although are very slim-fitting) but the polyester lining on them drives me crazy with static, so I've long thought to replace it with something less static-prone like bemberg.  Even though I generally try to make things I already have work, I found the skirts a bit uncomfortable, and decided to shelve the lining idea for the moment.  A project for another day.

 

In the meantime, however, I wanted to have at least a couple of easy skirts that were warmer than the Brussels linen or flannel or corduroy.  I found an end-of-bolt yard of Melton wool at Fabric.com that looked like a bright emerald green on the monitor, but turned out to be the most gorgeous shade of peacock teal you could ever want (even better!), and a light pink mystery wool blend in a looser weave. 

The pink wool has tweedy little flecks of teal, green, yellow, and red in the weave, so it is a lot more interesting than a plain pink would be. I decided to line it with the leftover white bemberg from my Sorrel dress, so I had to piece the lining a bit and the hem is a bit wonky, but given the simple shape of the skirt, it worked out fine.  No one sees the hem lining but me, so it doesn't matter.  Even better: I used up all but a 6" square of that bemberg!

A few things to note about making the Free Range Skirt hack in this heavier fabric (probably applies if making the pants in the heavier fabric too).  I originally sewed it all according to the packet instructions (which have you top stitch the waistband and hem), but decided I didn't like how that looked:

 

Too boxy, bulky, and puckery.  So I went back and redid the hem with lace hem tape stitched down by hand and also hand stitched the waistband facing to the skirt.  I think it looks much better that way.  The pockets I left alone.  Because I omitted the front center seam but left part of the seam allowance (just a smidge), I believe I sewed all the seams at 5/8" as directed.

The main change I made to this make was in the elastic length at the waist.  I discovered quite by accident that the elastic needs to be several inches shorter in a heavier fabric.  For my Elemental skirts, 29 1/2" with a 1/2" overlap is perfect, and that length also worked well for the Brussels linen and silky noil skirts. In this heavier fabric, 27" with no lap (just butting the edges) is perfect.  I'm also using Ban-rol elastic, which has a different sort of stretch to the hard elastics found in most sewing supply places.  For reference, my waist is around 32-33". 

 

I'm not really sure why, but shortening the elastic made a huge difference to the fit and feel of the skirt (so much so that I went back to my plaid flannel skirt and shortened the elastic there as well--much better!) 

As per my now-usual, I applied the waistband facing as directed, at a 5/8" seam allowance, and then divided the waistband and elastic into fourths, and zig-zagged into place on the seam allowance so that the gathers are evenly distributed (as opposed to inserting the elastic into a channel and sewing the ends together). 

I think what I like so much about this pattern is that it is a slim skirt (that actually feels slim to me while I'm wearing it) but it is still flattering and easy.  The pink isn't in my usual palette, at least not for a bottom weight, but I've worn it a ton, and it goes with much more of my wardrobe than I would have thought!  I love it with this teal top, and it goes nicely with my Evendoon and Stripes! sweaters (both of them!)