October 2018 – Dramatic Lyric

Wild West Vest

I recently started wanting a few nice vests to wear to work both as a fashion layer and a warmth layer. You may remember my black vest and my Ruana that I finished earlier this year. This time I wanted something a little more tailored, so I chose view C of Butterick B5359.

B5359

As shown, the V-neckline is somewhat curved, but I wanted a straighter neckline, more like a men’s vest, so I modified the shape when I cut it out. I had 1 1/2 yards of brown woven 2-way stretch fabric as well as about the same amount of quilting cotton for a lining. The pattern has instructions for the vest to be fully lined, but I decided just to line the front. Originally I planned to sew the entire thing by hand, but after a while this started to suck the life out of me, so I took a friend up on her offer to use her sewing machine and serger. It is amazing how much more quickly you can make garments when using a machine!

I had a hard time with the fit of this vest. I generally find that home sewing patterns run large, even when I am careful to check the pattern measurements. Knowing this, I chose a pattern size smaller than the measurements suggested. Even so, I ended up taking the vest in 4-6 inches total to get a tailored fit. I know using a stretchy fabric (with the stretch going around the body) made a difference in the fit, but I also think part of the problem was with the pattern. Despite the fit issues I am interested in making this pattern again, possibly using View C again, but I’m also interested in the other views to get some different silhouettes.

There are 2 things that I am super proud of with this vest:

Except for the 2-way stretch interfacing (which I didn’t know existed before this project), everything I used for this vest came from stash. I’ve been on a stash-using kick recently, and it is exhilarating to be able to make things from what I have already.
My friend doesn’t have a buttonhole attachment for her machine, so I sewed the buttonholes by hand. I’ve never sewn buttonholes before, and I’m so pleased with how these turned out!

An Afternoon Cap

October has arrived in all her multicoloured glory. This has long been my favourite month of the year, not just because of my birthday, but because this is when Autumn comes in full force. I love the colours of Fall and the lovely warm foods – soups and pies warm the soul as much as the body. October also brings the recognition that the Holidays are almost upon us, and as a crafter that always gets me started thinking about gifts. If I was a little more organized I might start my gift knitting earlier in the year, but most years that just doesn’t happen.

I recently finished the “Texture” issue of Ply Magazine (If you are a spinner or want to become a spinner you need to read Ply. It’s fantastic!). Each issue focuses on a technique or wool breed or a spinning style and includes instructions on spinning specific yarns for patterns that are also included in the magazine. This is perfect for all of us spinners who finish spinning a yarn and then wonder what to do with it. The very last project in the Texture issue was for an intriguing slouchy no-sew Saori cap. It took me a few read-throughs to really understand what needed to be done, but once I understood I realized that this would be an excellent stash buster!

saori no sew hat

I chose harmonious bits and bobs of colours from my stash – blues, teals, and greys – in a variety of weights (fingering to worsted) and randomly warped the full width of my 15″ Cricket loom, sleyed the reed, and tied on. Since Saori is about weaving what you want and how you want, I didn’t adjust my warp tension before beginning weaving. Whenever I accidentally skipped a warp thread or 5 I didn’t go back to fix it – I just kept going. Weaving in this way was so freeing and joyful, and I soon had enough fabric to go around my head. I cut the fabric off the loom, making sure that I had about a foot or so of extra warp length on each end. Now I was ready to start the adventurous part – the making up!

saori no sew hat

I am a very visual person – I do best when I can read words and study diagrams. The Ply instructions had written instructions, but no diagrams, so I’ve drawn a few for you in case you want to make a similar cap.

Step 1: pull the first and last weft threads tight to gather the width of the fabric on both ends of the hat. This is a good time to try your hat on to make sure the fabric is the right width. Ideally the fabric will be 1/2″-1″ larger than your head circumference (Reminder: woven cloth doesn’t stretch like knitting does!). If your fabric is larger you can pull on some of the warp threads to gather the fabric to the correct length.
Step 2: Pull the last 3 warp threads tight on one long side of your fabric. You are scrunching this side of the fabric up to be the crown of your hat.
Step 3: tie both ends of your 3 long warp threads together. Tie or braid your many weft ends together in a way that pleases you and secures your hat.
Step 4: Wear with panache.

saori no sew hat

I made my hat from start to finish in an afternoon. I don’t like to leave anything to chance, so I tied my weft ends together in bundles, French Braided them down the hat, and then finished them off as a humongous tassel. I happened to be at the yarn store when I finished the hat, so I gave my cut weft ends to a friend to use as stuffing. This means that my project had almost no waste, which pleases me greatly. I found that there was a decent sized hole where I had done the warp gathers, so I tacked it down over the top of the braid, which also neatened that bit up and helped the hat to lay just that bit more nicely.

saori no sew hat I imagine making a whack of these in different colours with different finishing treatments would be an entertaining project, and perfect for gifts.

Vintage Damask

As a designer I always have too many ideas and not enough time to knit them. This also applies to all the patterns that are already written – I want to knit them all, but I have limited time and yarn money. About a month ago as I was scrolling through Instagram I saw the most beautiful cowl. Annie Lupton of Boho Chic Fiber Co. was looking for test knitters for her new pattern, the Vintage Damask cowl. I immediately emailed her and felt so lucky to be chosen as a test knitter.

20180901_123035

My original colour combination didn’t work as well as I hoped it would. Medium grey and burgundy just looked like a sad rainy day, and this pattern deserved better than that (Pro tip: swatching is not just to check your gauge – it’s also a chance to make sure your colours/yarns work well together). I rummaged around in the stash a little more and unearthed this beautiful skein of hand-dyed yarn that looks like the sea. Perfection.

knitted cowl

I happily began knitting, making sure I left my floats loose so the cowl wouldn’t be too bunchy (this is only my 2nd time knitting colourwork). Halfway through the pattern I realized my gauge was off. Instead of going up a needle size from my swatch I had gone down. The cowl fit over my head, but it was not the intended 24″ that the pattern stated. I frantically emailed the designer to see if it was ok for my cowl to be a bit smaller (when you are test knitting a design it’s important to follow the directions to a T and not make alterations). Annie was so nice and said that as long as I was happy with the fit, there was no need to change it. Whew! I happily finished the cowl and was so glad that when I blocked it the cowl grew a little.

20180922_125100