Purple Makes

29th Jan 2021 yorkiemouse1 Comment

Hi all. I’m back on the purple train today with two of my #makenine2021 complete. Can a capsule wardrobe be based on a single colour?! If it can, I’m well on my way.

This is quite a short blog because both of these makes were repeats for me – a Somerset and a Southbank. The Southbank wasn’t all plain sailing though, thanks to that pesky stretch percentage that catches me out from time to time. Sewing would be boring if it just worked every time, hey?

Orchid Somerset top

I love this pattern. It turns a basic jersey top into something more with the dramatic bishop sleeves and boat neckline. I made this version from an incredibly soft tencel modal jersey from Guthrie & Ghani. The fabric has a similar weight to my blue version, so the sleeves have slightly less body but the cuff ensures all of the drama.

As with my blue and mint versions, I made version D in a size 12/14 (graded at hip) with the following adjustments:

Shortened bodice by 1.5″
Shortened sleeves by 1″
Omitted the shirring elastic from the cuffs

Southbank on rotation

My Sparkly Southbank rarely makes it as far as my wardrobe because as soon as it’s dry, I wear it again. With a garment that’s so used, I often make another. This Damson version is made from fleece-backed sweatshirting from Minerva and is suitably cosy, particularly paired with slippers….and, let’s face it, who’s going outside much at the moment?!

As mentioned earlier, I had a few issues with the stretch (or lack of) in the fabric. I cut the collar using the drafted pieces and couldn’t get it over my head. Fortunately I tested it before stitching to the rest of the dress. I ended up cutting the largest piece on the cross-grain which both fitted the neck hole and went over my head. “Winging it” 1; Following instructions 0!

I made the same adjustments as on my previous version, including the balloon sleeve hack (I’m all about the sleeve at the moment).

Short and sweet today folks! Thanks for reading :o)

Sewing

Sagebrush

22nd Jan 202122nd Jan 2021 yorkiemouse2 Comments

Hello all. Today I’m writing about the Friday Pattern Company Sagebrush Top, which was the second pattern I bought with my Fold Line inspiring maker voucher. I’ll admit that I had reservations about this pattern when it first came out and wasn’t sure if it was my style. Then I saw four versions within short period of time on Instagram and fell for the ruffle and puff sleeves – I encourage you to check out the amazing versions from sewcatie, jenlegg_teescreative, patsypoomakes and stitch_make_bake to see my inspiration.

Fabrics, plural

I made two versions of the Sagebrush. My first is a coral cotton double gauze from The Sewist Fabric Shop, which I bought in the summer. Making this in the midst of winter may have been an error on my part because it’s too cold in the UK to have bare arms at the moment so I’m not getting much wear out of it yet. I can definitely see it getting a lot of wear in the spring/summer, I just need about 15 more degrees on the thermometer.

My second is made from a viscose lawn from Fabric Godmother that is really soft, light to wear and has a stroke-able quality to it that’s irresistible. Again, better for the summer but it’s good to plan!

I made piping!

In terms of fitting, I cut a Small, took 2″ off the bodice length then used a 3.5″ hem (rather than 4″ suggested in the pattern). I think the slightly shorter hem works better with my body proportions. As garments go, it was an easy fitting process as it’s a loose top and the big sleeves meant I didn’t have to worry about bicep adjustments. When I saw the length of the bodice piece, I checked the hem allowance fortunately or I would have hacked more off it!

The first alteration I made was to change the tie fastening at the back to a rouleau loop (using the Park Lane blouse instructions and a bit of ‘winging it’). Having long hair, I find that ties get tangled up and a lot of the time they just annoy me. A button felt like lower maintenance.

This cute ceramic flower is from Whim Wham Buttons. I’ve had a few over the years and choose very carefully when I use them because they’re so beautiful.

As well as the same button fastening on my second Sagebrush, I braved a new skill – making piping! There are lots of tutorials online but I used this one to guide me. I saw a piped version by jenlegg_teescreative and was determined to take inspiration from her. If you’re putting off making your own piping, please give it a go. It’s nowhere near as tricky as I had built it up to be in my mind.

I had a scrap of nondescript white crepey/viscosey/drapey fabric that matched perfectly so made a length of piping that was slightly longer than the front yoke. I then used the Closet Core Patterns Carolyn pjs instructions to help me attach the piping neatly. I didn’t trim the piping until the entire front bodice was constructed.

I’m so pleased with the finished result. With the dotty fabric, I think the ruffle might get lost without the piping drawing attention to it.

Thanks for reading :o) Just for giggles, here’s the outtake reel!

Knitting · MakeNine2021

Kew Fingerless Mitts

17th Jan 202122nd Jan 2021 yorkiemouse1 Comment

Hello all. I found a new app this week which makes photos less square/oblong. Prepare yourselves for a lot of hexagons…! I’m going to continue to experiment with the app so the look of my blogs may change for the next few until I settle on a style that I’m happy with.

Back to business…there’s a new pattern company in town that I want to shout about. West Beach Knits released a series of patterns in the run up to Christmas and I was drawn to the Kew Fingerless Mitts.

The ‘working from home saga’ has rolled into 2021 and sitting at our dining table was becoming increasingly chilly. Rather than sit on my hands to warm them up and attempt to type with my nose (there’s an image for you), I spotted saw this pattern release and bought it in the first week.

West Beach Knits have released two mitt patterns (so far) but the Kew was blissfully devoid of any cable knitting. I just can’t get on board with cable stitches – I constantly drop them, can’t get the abbreviations into my memory and become increasingly grumpy!

A yarn pause…

Before I get into the pattern detail, a pause to appreciate more purple yarn. I think I’ve mentioned before that my husband is fairly convinced that yarn only really comes in two colour variations – purple and teal. I’m very drawn to purple, which might be because it’s my Mum’s favourite colour. A basic look at colour theory told me purple can represent creativity, independence and “is the favourite colour of adolescent girls”…..I’ll take the first two but pass on the third!

This yarn is from Beehive Yarns and is the Barbarella base in the “Dear Prudence” colourway. As well as being a mixture of gorgeous purples, the name reminded me of Miriam Margolyes’ character in Miss Fisher’s Murder Mysteries so it makes me smile when I see it because I think of Aunt P being generally exasperated with life.

Thumb wars

The pattern has a lovely texture to it. It includes K1below, which I hadn’t come across before but YouTube helped me out. Once I had the pattern figured out, it was like knitting a sock cuff without the worry of the impending heel and gusset.

That said, my first ever thumb was an eventful process. Thanks goodness for lifeline yarn! As it was my first thumb, I left the scrap yarn whilst navigating the process so I could rip back if necessary. I ended up ripping back 3 times before I mastered the first thumb. I found a VeryPink Knits clip which helped a lot. They have a lot of slow-motion tutorials, which are excellent for learning new techniques.

The pattern instructs to 3 pick up stitches but I ended up doing 3 on either side of the gap to make sure there was no hole. I then used k2tog and ssk to decrease to the required number of thumb stitches on the first round of the thumb. this is the approach I take with socks which strengthens the join and minimises the risk of a gap.

I’ve been wearing my mitts most weekdays since they were blocked and dried and they’re so cosy. As I have tiny hands, I think I could do with the mitts being about an inch shorter at the bottom but otherwise they’re a perfect fit.

Thanks for reading :o)

Sewing

Christmas Day Fleetwood

8th Jan 2021 yorkiemouse1 Comment

Greetings! Today I’m taking you back to Christmas Day 2020, which feels like months ago. For as long as I can remember, I’ve enjoyed ‘dressing up’ on Christmas Day. Even on a beach in New Zealand I wore a sundress. With all of the uncertainty surrounding Christmas 2020, I committed to making myself a new frock and wearing it come-what-may.

2020 summed up – slippers and an office chair constantly in the background

Splash of colour

I bought this amazing “Amarchi Art” cotton lawn from Sister Mintaka and love it so much. It’s so colourful and changes in different light. I’ve kept all scraps bigger than 2″ square because I didn’t want to part with them.

Cotton lawn is always a dream to sew with because it’s so well behaved. It does require precise cutting and notching though as there is little ‘give’ when stitching it together.

Fleetwood

I bought the Fleetwood Dress within the first week of its release. I had seen teasers of it on French Navy’s Instagram and really liked the look of it. My original plan was to use another fabric but I decided I didn’t have enough to make Version A. I decided this would be a great dress for Christmas Day as well because it’s very “forgiving” around the waistline ;o)

I had read a few pattern reviews that suggested a wide bicep adjustment so I did that before cutting a toile. I ended up doing a second, wider bicep adjustment and re-toiling the sleeve as it was still too tight. Other than that, I didn’t really alter the pattern to fit my frame.

Overall my fitting/alterations were as follows:

Version A. I cut the bodice at Size C, then the whole skirt at Size D (didn’t grade as it’s a rectangle)
Wide bicep adjustment (twice)
Added in-seam pockets using another pattern’s pocket piece
Didn’t do buttons all the way to the top as I didn’t think I would wear it fully buttoned
Shortened sleeve by 1.5″ – this was an error and the 1.5″ is going back on for my next version! More on that later.

The only additional alternation I intend to make in future versions is to lower the neckline by an inch and level the curve. If the dress was done up to the top, it would be too high up/tight on my neck. Even without buttons to the top, the opening was ‘tickling’ my chin so I ended up creating a faux V neck, which I like the look of and was more comfortable wearing. I was too pre-occupied with the bicep fitting to notice this on my toile – lesson learned!

Equal and opposite reaction?

Physics was my nemesis during A Levels and, whilst not quite Newton’s Third Law, the shortening of these sleeves reminded me what a torment “equal and opposite reactions” were during exam time. I decided to shorten the sleeve by 1.5″ but didn’t account for the impact that would have on the cuff’s ability to fasten.

I was so happy with how the cuffs went in that I didn’t want to try and rectify it so a “design feature” was born. In theory, I think I could have unpicked the pleat, created two longer cuffs and dealt with it but I wasn’t irked enough with my error to bother. Style-wise, I flip the cuff up and think it looks fine and is comfy to wear. Plus, two less buttonholes and buttons to sew!

Hexagon buttons

My final comments are about buttons – hurrah! I’ve written of my love for The Swagman’s Daughter before and it will continue for a long time. These little green hexagons are so cute and perfect for this dress. They highlight what is, I think, my first button placket very nicely too.

Also, it has pockets! Thanks for reading :o)

Knitting

Hermione’s Everyday Socks

3rd Jan 2021 yorkiemouse1 Comment

Happy 2021! In my eternal quest for warmer feet, I’m writing about some socks today. I spotted Hermione’s Everyday Socks on Instagram last year and, as a self-confessed Potter nerd, wanted to knit them. They’re a free download on Ravelry and have a really interesting but simple stitch-pattern of knits and purls.

You’ve got a friend in me

I bought the yarn from Botanical Yarn, a York-based lady who also organises the Yorkshire Yarn Festival. This colourway is called “You’ve Got a Friend in Me” and 10% of sales were donated to the Samaritans. I thought this colourway name aligned well with the sock pattern as, let’s face it, Hermione keeps the other two alive for most of the book series!

As well as the name and donation to a great charity, I love the pops of pink that appear amongst the peach and yellow.

Casting on

The pattern instructs to cast on 64 stitches on 2.25mm needles. My go-to patterns (Coop Knits) usually call for 64 sts on 2.5mm needles so I went for those without bothering to swatch – rebel, I know! This was the right decision for the cuff as I have wide calves but they’re quite big on the foot. I was quite alarmed when I finished the first one to see how much bigger the foot looked in comparison to the cuff but blocking levelled it out.

Tricky bits

I found the heel pickup on these socks trickier than usual and I think that’s the way the heel flap is made. It looks fine from the outside but there are a few messy bits inside.

I also found the instructions for the toe very confusing but only because I was using double-pointed needles, rather than the magic-loop method which the pattern is written for. Rather than puzzle my way through and risk ruining the socks in their final stages, I used toe instructions from another pattern.

Overall, I’m happy with these socks. I love the yarn and colourway and I’m pleased that I persevered with the different heel method. Whilst not as neat as I would like, it’s good to challenge myself. If I was to make these again, I think I would drop to 2.25mm needles once the cuff was complete. I need the bigger cuff, but the foot could do with being slimmer.

Thanks for reading :o)