Preston Knit Sweater

 When I see wool sweater knit yardage on offer I tend to grab it — especially if it’s a color I like and I have a birthday discount offer. This particular fabric is from Stylemaker Fabrics (sold out now) and was listed as a wool/silk blend. 

It’s been made up in one of my TNT patterns from Style Arc the Preston Knit Sweater. I like the raglan sleeves, with shoulder darts for a bit of shaping, and it’s nice to have pockets - although they won’t fit much more than a hand or a hanky. My only change was to raise the neckline a bit and cut the neckband just a smidge taller. Because I’m always chilly I’ll wear it over a merino turtleneck.

Next up I’m pulling a fabric from deep stash — so deep I don’t remember how long ago, or what I had in mind to make with it. It’s a short piece though, so I suspect it was going to be exactly what I’m planning to use it for now - a vest. Specifically Butterick 6901, a Lisette pattern for a lined vest, shorts and slacks. It needs to be completely interfaced, so I’m going to try using sewn in silk organza as I doubt this metallic fabric would respond well to being fused. We’ll see how that goes.

Playing with ChatGPT

 Once upon a time I had photos of finished projects worn by their recipients - mostly me, sometimes DH, a cute dog and even a couple of headless shots of daughters. We were living in the country, with neighbors not very close by, and more of a chance a ‘photo shoot’ would be interrupted by wild turkeys cutting through the back field than a neighbor passing by to check out what you’re up to. Fast forward to now: urban setting, close by neighbors literally a few feet away, small and shady yard, and an introvert’s desire not to be noticed and you end up with sewing room hanger shots - sigh.

So, after seeing some pics of clothing on imaginary models created with ChatGPT I wondered if I could show something of mine that way - not as a regular practice (‘cause it feels kind of like cheating) but as a one off. Here’s how it played out —

I started out with a shot of my finished Lyon sweater by PetiteKnit. I was hoping it could be shown on a person who had a passing resemblance to me, so I included several features (hair color, hair style, complexion, age range - even style of earrings) that might skew the end result to a more ‘me’ look. I assumed (most likely incorrectly) that the actual sweater proportions would dictate body size so I just concentrated on the face. I asked for it to be worn with jeans (how I will wear it) and also requested a casual pose. And this is what I ended up with —

My twin? Not quite. Obviously AI must think women in the age range I gave all have incredible skin routines (or have had work done) because just look at that firm jaw and non-sagging neck. There are a few crinkles around the eyes - that’s something I guess. Totally got the hair though! 

Body size appears in range, if ever so slightly aspirational.

Casual pose was interpreted as pushed up sleeves and a hand in pocket, so that seems on track.

While I love the idea of showing projects on a human-ish form instead of boring hanger shots, I don’t think it’s necessarily always an accurate presentation of the item. This sweater pic is pretty close to how it looks on me, however other photos I played with were sometimes changed in small ways - a different collar, different sleeve length - things like that. As for getting a reasonable facsimile of a person’s appearance, I suspect you’d need paragraphs of precise physical description to even get close to a passing resemblance.

All in all it was fun to play with, even if imaginary me never returns. At the moment, a free version is available, so yet another rabbit hole to fall down instead of getting actual chores done!

Bit by bit…

 …heading to the finish line. Still one sleeve to do, a few ends to run in, and of course, blocking, but it’s far enough along to be recognizable. 

The Lyon pullover by PetiteKnit - 

I am using Cascade Yarns Cascade 220 fingering weight, which is a non-superwash wool in skeins of 50 g. 250 m (273 yds) per skein. Yarn is held double throughout. Colors used are 8010 (natural) and 2401 (burgundy). I thought using natural, instead of white would give me a slightly vintage look, and that seems to be the case when seen in person.  Although I enjoyed working with Sandnes Garn Sunday (one of the recommended yarns) previously, I wanted a less expensive yarn for this project. I have found Cascade 220 yarns to be of decent quality, and certainly at an attractive price point (for a US buyer) - $5.50US versus 13.50US for the Sandnes Garn Sunday. It also brought the cost down to use 2 strands of the same yarn instead of adding a strand of silk/mohair - that decision was because I wanted nice crisp stripes instead of blurry, fuzzy ones.

Once this is done I hope to get back to sewing. I have a Style Arc Preston top that is waiting patiently for a bit more work and some RTW tops that I hope I can take in due to a weight loss. Fingers crossed, as I like the fabric (wool knit) but I’m a little leery of botching it up.

 

Scrabble shirt

 So, I wanted a long sleeved shirt to wear under my new PetiteKnit Stockholm vest. I had some ideas, but in the end I chose to go with simply changing the sleeves and keeping the neckband only look of the summer shirt originally pictured with the completed vest. 

I used Butterick 6026 once again, but this time grafted the sleeve from New Look 6010 onto the sleeve head of the Butterick pattern to give me the longer (and fuller) sleeve that I wanted.  I gave some thought to a neckband with small ruffle, or a rounded Peter Pan style collar, but ultimately decided to go with a simpler look. For some reason the whimsical print told me it didn’t want to compete with any fussy details.

The fabric is cotton with a bit of Lycra - wasn’t looking for stretch, but I really liked the print so went with it. Fabric is from Mood Fabrics.

Now, all I need is for the weather to cool down just a bit and I’ll be enjoying my new shirt and vest. 

Interesting (to me) side note: I mostly write this as a record of my projects - don’t really promote it or try to build up a following - so my readership numbers are quite modest (and always appreciated). Until, that is, I made mention of PetiteKnits projects I was working on - whoa! I had realized from Ravelry that this is a very popular designer, but had no idea that my small mention would bring so many eyes to my little world. So now, do I dare mention just starting yet another PetiteKnits pattern - Lyon - or does that make me some hits hungry fame seeker? 😀

Celeste

I saw several versions of this Merchant & Mills Celeste top on Instagram and thought it would be a good pattern to try with some lighter weight cotton shirting I had. This was my first go at a M&M pattern and I looked forward to trying it out. 

I was hoping for a transitional top that would work with high waisted slacks or jeans and look casual, but a step up from tees. I changed a couple of things from the pattern - as you do - but I think the pattern works well for what I was searching for. 

Since this is for wearing in slightly cooler weather the first change was swapping out the pattern’s short sleeves. I like the look of fuller sleeves, so I grafted the bishop-styled sleeve bottom from NewLook 6010 onto the sleeve cap of the Celeste. I guess it could be called a ‘cheat’, but I figure why re-invent the wheel? And, although I wanted this top for wearing with high waisted bottoms, I really don’t like tops that are too short so I added about 1 1/2”/3.8 cm length to the bodice. I thought about cutting the waistband on the bias for some added interest, but it’s quite long and didn’t fit well on the yardage I had. Everything else was as per the pattern. I’m happy with the results & look forward to wearing it tomorrow.

And on the knitting front - another simple project from PetiteKnit. Just started the Sophie Hood using Sandnes Garn Alpakka Ull - 60% alpaca/40% wool. It’s an easy knit, but loooong - should be finished soon though.

Thinking Ahead to Autumn

 

Still summer weather here, and it will probably linger, but I always feel better about having a few pieces ready for when it does get chillier.

I haven’t been much of a vest wearer in the past, but I’ve enjoyed  the black linen one I’ve recently sewn, so why not knit a cozy one for autumn?

The pattern is the Stockholm Slipover V-neck by PetiteKnit - a very basic style, but this was my first experience using one of her patterns, so I went with a simple piece. Yarn used was Sunday by Sandnes Garn, color 5591 (Night Sky) held together with Silk Mohair by Isager in color 54. In all the years I’ve been knitting this was my first use of double strands, and I was a bit apprehensive, but it was no trouble at all and was a pleasure to knit with.

It doesn’t photograph well - or perhaps I should say I don’t have the skill to take a good photo - but I really liked the slight difference in color of the 2 yarns. Since they’re just held together, not plied, the lighter color shows up randomly - although probably only to the wearer. I’m sure most people won’t be close enough to see the flecks of color and will see it as a solid dark blue.

Now to decide on an under layer to make. I like the blue/white stripe, but I’d really like a collar and long sleeves for cooler weather. Nothing has jumped out at me yet, but it’s always fun to look!