Scarves, Specs and an Injury

First up, a couple of (somewhat) newly finished scarves. I found some yarn tucked away from long ago and decided it would make a couple of nice little accent scarves. There's the Madrona Lace Scarf by Evelyn A. Clark, knit in Blue Moon Fiber Arts Socks that Rock mediumweight, color: My Wild Irishgirlie. 

I didn't have enough beads to use over the entire scarf, so I just placed them at each end (where they are pretty much invisible, sigh).

I also turned up a skein of the same yarn in a lighter weight, color: Firecracker, and used that to knit up the Cassis Shawlette by Petit Bout de Moi.

The pattern called for nine repeats of the border -- I did eleven -- but it is still rather small, so this will be a little dash of color around the neck rather than a full-fledged shawlette. I'll probably fasten it with a small pin so as not to lose any length to a knot. Made as per pattern, with the exception of a picot bind off along the inner neck edge.

This too has a bead detail (square bead at each point) also invisible unless you are right on top of it. Oh well, it was practice with placing beads.

I finally made it in for an eye checkup after putting it off for so long during the pandemic, and what do you know?, I needed a stronger prescription! I've needed progressive lenses for a while, but never wore them because I found them hard to know where I needed to focus, but there was no escaping it now -- I just need to wear them and get used to them. I still like to have separate glasses for close work, so I went with RED. Classic shape, and the red is clear so it doesn't shout RED the way matte does, but they are cheery and make me smile. 

So now I won't get them confused with the progressives (which are pale blue). I may have also gotten some peacock green cats' eyes for close up work too -- don't judge! 😀

And the injury? Freak tripping incident that left me with a sprained wrist -- dominant hand, naturally.  It's taking a while to get better, but I can now sew again, so there's that. The up side? So many drudgery tasks I couldn't do, plus tasty delivered meals -- back to real life now though!

Shoulda Known Better

 I’ve been sewing some things for my ‘at home’ autumn/winter wardrobe and checking out a few fabric options at various sites — as you do.

This led me to a vendor I had previously ordered from and was on the fence about the quality of their fabrics. BUT, they had a buffalo check cotton/Lycra knit! Just the thing for an autumn cowl neck top! I wanted it! It was on sale — under $7 US — what a steal!  That should have stopped my fabric lust immediately. There may have been a time that $7 could get you a nice cotton knit, but that time isn’t now.

The fabric was listed as ‘medium weight - 10 ounce’. It may be 10 oz (per yard, I’m guessing?) but medium weight it is not. It’s thin, and about the weight of cheap multi-pack underwear t-shirts sold in discount stores. The only real heft to it is the solid black squares which have been heavily inked (printed) and have a stiffness to them. After washing it was very skewed. Sigh. My own fault for being blinded by a print I wanted. I didn’t want it to be a total loss, so I did the best I could with it, but it really is no better than a RTW fast fashion item and will be worn as an under layer for as long as it holds up.

I’m not mentioning the original retailer, as I accept full responsibility for choosing a fabric I really should have known would not be up to (my) standard. However, I see it is also carried by fabric.com for $13.37 and $14.04 ( different colors — why do they do that?). Still labeled as ‘10 oz. ‘— but now also called “heavyweight “! Uh no. I see not much is left, so this may be a useless buyer beware, but nonetheless…

Next up I’m trying a new (to me) pattern line using the French terry I got from Stylemaker Fabrics. More later.

A Few New Fabrics

 Category 2 - casual life outside the house. I haven't done an inventory, but this is probably the largest category of clothing I have. Clothes that look good, feel good and work for many situations -- casual dining, museum visits, movies, brewery or vineyard tastings -- all the things put on hold for so long. Since most items here haven't seen much wear lately, I really don't see a pressing need to replace anything. I did purchase a navy sweater blazer on sale as it seems like a versatile third layer.  I'll make a few new things -- just for fun and a little mood brightening -- and because I keep buying fabric.

I found an interesting ponte at Stylemaker Fabrics:  

It has a napped, almost wooly feeling outer layer and a tweedy reverse side. It would make a nice jacket, using the reverse side as a contrast. I made pants however (Style Arc Barb), so only used the herringbone side. Love the way they feel and I hope they won't be prone to pilling due to the texture. I got the black/grey colorway -- they may still have the black/white and black/burgundy options.

Also from Stylemaker Fabrics -- how about an animal print French terry?  Love that it's grey (and not brown tones) -- at the time I bought it a couple of weeks ago they also had it in two other background colors.

The version I chose was the Cozy Animal Spot French terry cream/grey.

My original thought was to use it for Simplicity 9275, but when it arrived I felt it was just too drapy for that style. Instead I'll happily use it for a cozy cowl neck, or perhaps Style Arc Verity Knit top.

Since my autumn/winter neutral colors are black, grey and navy these two fabrics will work with many items already in the wardrobe.

I also picked up a navy/grey stripe shirting fabric (100% cotton) from Fabric Mart and will make a long-sleeved shirt from that. The stripes are not evenly spaced, so that should provide an opportunity for some creative pattern placement. 

So, a few new things to brighten up the wardrobe, but no real needs. I should have plenty of time to devote to sewing for my last category -- at home wear. This is an area that really could use a large dose of style -- am I up to the challenge?

Planning takes a detour

Planning continues, but now with serious intent. Instead of just pairing up fabrics/patterns I want to answer: "What do I already have, and what do I need for the life I actually lead?"

In these uncertain times, I've narrowed my needs down to 3 categories: 1) life at home 2) casual life outside the house and 3) business suitable. At present there seems to be no need for formal party attire -- should it arise it would most likely be dealt with by a RTW purchase.

I start with the smallest category - 3) business suitable.  I am a woman of retirement age, so no need for a daily professional wardrobe. However, at times I find myself in settings where I am more comfortable looking more pulled together than usual. A classic blazer would work well for this, but I don't find the look to be that flattering to my shape. A tailored pant suit is taking 'business' a step too far. Instead, I've gone with a RTW sweater jacket in a black/white check. The knit fabric softens the look, but still gives a more polished third layer.  I recently received a 'you haven't shopped with us lately' offer from Talbots, which combined with a sale and a free shipping offer, offered up this merino sweater jacket at a very nice price. 

Black slacks and a white, jewel-neck top will be the other 2 components of this look.Those will be sewn by me. 

I have a nice black knit from Gorgeous Fabrics, (Italian viscose doubleknit) for the slacks. My go to pattern is Style Arc Barb, but SA Linda would work too.

For the top I’ll go with a fine gauge merino jersey. I hope to be able to get this fromThe Fabric Store in NZ. Pandemic lockdowns appear to be affecting their shipping of some items at the moment, so we’ll see how that goes.

I’ll use my TNT top pattern from Pamela’s Patterns - The Perfect T-Shirt, altered to have a slightly raised neckline, long sleeves and a straightened hem.

So, two easily sewn and already fitted patterns to complete Category 3. Should be very do-able. 

Next time: Category 2) Casual life outside the house. Here’s hoping there will actually be a need for this grouping in the coming months.

Planning for autumn

 

I’m not entirely sure that it pays to make many wardrobe plans this season. The resurgent virus makes it unlikely we’ll be doing much more than last year it seems. Ah well, might as well plan for a mostly home-based lifestyle I suppose.

My first garment for the cooler weather is yet another Toaster sweater from Sew House 7. It’s a style I find comfortable and suiting my casual life. I shorten the cowl collar a bit, and lengthen the body so the front and back are one piece each instead of them having a deep ‘cuff’. This works for me when sewing with heavier weight fabrics as I don’t have the bulk of an additional seam. Also it’s a blessing when sewing a plaid.

Fabric is a cotton/poly blend from Fabric Mart — probably no longer there though. I used the reverse side for the collar and sleeve cuffs. I love when a fabric has two attractive sides!

Well, it’s a start anyway — now to figure out what’s next. 

Taking a Beading Break

 After sewing up a bunch of tees and a pair of wide-legged pants (Style Arc Fifi), it seemed time to take a break from clothing and try a beading project.

Most of the things I do with beads are off-loom weaving using Peyote stitch and brick stitch and most of the projects are earrings. Two reasons really -- I wear earrings daily, and an earring project is small and manageable. I have several bracelet bodies laying around, but somehow have never gotten around to actually finishing them up with fasteners. OK, the sensible thing to do would be to finish up one of those, but nope -- I felt the need to start something new.

I decided on a design by Deb Roberti -- Parquet Band. It's a modified square stitch pattern using Tila beads by Miyuki. Her instructions are very clear and very beginner friendly. Although I've been playing with beads for a while, I don't do it often enough to have everything be second nature and I really appreciate thorough instructions.

So, my version of Parquet Band:

Fun with a collar frill

My phone has decided to be uncooperative with photos, but let's try this anyway.

Another stash fabric goes under the rotary cutter -- this one a lightweight seersucker. It was originally white with a brown stripe. After a dip in the dyepot (Rit indigo) it is now a color much more flattering to my silver grey locks.

I used my shoulder princess seam shirt block and decided to give it a little lift with a ruffle on the collar stand. I wanted to try something a tiny bit different though, and have the center back of the ruffle be higher than the front edges. Sort of a 'popped' collar look? 

So, I took a collar ruffle from a pattern I had and redrafted it to be 1 inch higher at the back, which I thought would be a small, but noticeable, change.

I thought the seersucker was light enough to allow me to have a doubled ruffle (i.e. no hemmed edges showing) but that may have been a slight miscalculation. Although the fabric itself is light, the texture of the weave gives it more bulk, so a single layer might have been a better choice. Live and learn.

More learning -- the pattern I borrowed the ruffle from had the ruffle continue around the curved edge of the collar stand. I found that a bit tricky to neatly distribute the gathers around the edge, and even after redoing it's not my best work. It's a cotton, everyday shirt though so I'll live with it. (shrug) When I do this again though I will either square off the top edge of the collar stand, or see how it looks with the ruffle started after the curve.

And yet more learning -- the higher the back is made the more it will tend to droop without reinforcement. This is one case when a stiffer fabric is needed. I'm fine with it, but I do wonder how interfacing it might have helped.

The sleeves were hemmed at 3/4 length, which is my preferred summer length. I didn't like the width of the lower edge though --I should have tapered them in a bit. Well, might as well try an after-the-fact taper, so I made four small darts around the sleeve opening. If I had made them a bit larger I think I would have gotten a nice lantern effect, but I was worried about making the opening too small, so...

All in all, it worked out to be a wearable everyday shirt. I learned a few things, and I got another small fabric cut out of the stash and into my closet. I'm calling it a win.