Making Memories

Mindful Knitting

By Jan | September 7, 2013 - 4:50 am |September 12, 2013 Knitting

(Woke up with a medium-sized headache, and lay in bed with my iPad surfing sewing and knitting blogs.) Boy, can I chew up a lot of time on the Internet reading what other people are doing and creating?! So let me tell you about my latest creation…

For our vacation last week, I chose the Spud & Chloe Bulky Baby Blanket. The colors I chose were Wave for the Outer and Grass for the Sweater. I opted for the garter stitch version, as I’ve been asked by several people if I could teach them to sew, and I think garter stitch is the place to start.

The Outer yarn is soft and cushy and wonderful. But before I discovered that, I started with the Sweater yarn. Follow your guts, people. If it seems to you like something’s wrong, it probably is!

I had knitted a couple of cotton washcloths on the trip, so was in knitting mode and anxious to get started as we headed from Portland to Boothbay Harbor. I reached into the Jimmy Beans bag and pulled out a hank of yarn, balancing it around by knees to wind it into a ball. I didn’t think. I didn’t look. I just did! Mistake!! My lovely ball of lime worsted weight wool/cotton was ready to go, and so was I. I pulled out my size 15 circs and started casting on. I knit about 6 rows, and thought, “This isn’t right. I must have cast on too loosely.” So I unknitted the whole thing and tried again. Crap. Same result. Over the next two days I picked it up and added a few more stitches. “It must be the needles,” I thought. I really don’t like bamboo needles.

As I mentioned in the trip post, I made a new friend who ~~suggested~~ insisted I visit Halcyon Yarn in Bath, ME. I walked in and asked the helpful salesclerk if she had any Addi 15 circs. “My bamboos just aren’t working for this project.” She didn’t have Addis but had Knitter’s Pride interchangeables which I happily took off her hands – both 15s and 13s and a 40″ cable.

Back in the car, the Jazzman drove toward Freeport and I quickly pulled out and assembled the 15s and started casting on. Again I knit several inches before thinking there must be something wrong with the pattern or the yarn. (Certainly not the knitter. God forbid!!) I reached into my bag to pull out the size 13 needles. Maybe if I used the smaller needle the gauge would correct itself. As I blindly felt around in the bag for the other needles, my hand touched the soft and cushy Outer yarn. The yarn for the blanket itself, not the yarn for the edging. Huh?

I pulled the bag into my lap and pulled each item out, mentally cursing my stupidity. The blanket is knit with Bulky weight yarn on 15s. The edging is knit with two strands of Worsted weight yarn on 13s. Dumb. Dumb. Dumb!

Extracting the needle from my third try with the Sweater, and opening the first hank of Outer, I frogged the Sweater and rolled it back into a ball, then balanced the Outer on my knees and rolled that ball. I cast the Outer onto the 15s and began knitting. Like buttah. Like lightning!!!

I added a few rows to the blanket over our two days in Massachusetts, then whipped through the other three hanks with only about six rows left to knit by the time we reached home on Saturday evening. The next morning, between trips to the basement to do the vacation laundry, I finished the Outer, changed needles, and started the stockinette stitch border.

I had never knit a border like this in my limited knitting life (Limited, relative to every other knitter I know.) I wasn’t really sure where it was going until I finished the purl row and the succeeding knit row and then started trying to logic it out. Aha! You fold at the purl row and knit the edges together. Brilliant!

But, again, something didn’t feel quite right. At this point I had finished nine of the ten rows that comprise the border (each row has no fewer than 240 stitches). I looked back at the instructions and realized the increase rows said “k1, make 1 right …, make 1 left, [repeat four times]”. Repeat the k1 four times also, Dummy, not just the make 1s! The mitered corners that should have been beautiful were a knitted mess. Sad face. Very sad face!

So I put on a two hour movie and started frogging. Yes, I could have taken the needles out and just started over from scratch, but I thought this was better, not realizing I was going back to the first row after the picked-up stitches around the edge. Ho hum. (By now you’re saying, “This girl has a lot fewer brains than I credited her with.”)

So, as I was saying, I pulled out each of the double-strand stitches, keeping the strands together and letting them pool in the “cup” created by the circular needle around the edge.

Two hours and more than 2000 stitches later, I began row two again. Friday night, the Jazzman out drinking with his buds, I watched crap TV and knitted the stockinette border. I noticed my yarn dwindling. And when I got to about the 170th stitch of the bind-off, I realized I was out of yarn.

Pulling the doubled Sweater yarn from the cup of spaghetti in my lap, rather than having rolled it all back into two separate balls before restarting the border, made for a looser knit. And made me run our of yarn about 3 yards too soon.

Extreme feeling of despondency.

This is not cheap yarn. The yarn alone for the blanket was [please don’t tell anyone that I spent that much on a project just to satisfy my own curiosity and keep myself from being bored on vacation!!!] I would now spend another $17+ for a hank of yarn to knit about 70 stitches.

Thankful feelings for books like “One Skein Wonders.” And a second thankful feeling that lime is my favorite color, and I’ll have about 157 yards of this lovely superwash wool to play with. Maybe I can even take it on my November trip to Europe as an antiboredom project.

Orrrr, I could buy four more hanks of Outer and one more hank of Sweater and do it correctly, from the start, this time!

A Study in Stretch

By Jan | August 21, 2013 - 12:46 pm |August 21, 2013 Garment Sewing

4 Comments

This pattern, Katherine Tilton’s Vogue 8817, has become a favorite TNT (Tried ‘n’ True) for me. I love both views—View A/B, the T-shirt with a back inset, and View C/D, the tunic. When I saw the delicious colors of this poly/lycra reptile print at Gorgeous Fabrics, I grabbed it. I actually grabbed enough so that DGD could also make a top for herself out of this. And while I was at it, I grabbed some black mesh to use with the ssssnake print on this shirt.

Here are the two interesting lessons learned from this project:

Mesh vs. Solid: I used the mesh in four places on this top: In the inset on the upper back; for a ½” embellishment in the underbust seam; in a band about 1″ from the bottom of each sleeve; and for the neck binding. Click on the detail photo at the right to see a close-up of these embellishments. What I love the most is the neck binding. You notice—on all the photos—how it doesn’t scream *b*l*a*c*k* at you? The mesh in two layers over the base print just creates a subtle “here’s the edge of the neck” delineation. Subtle. Chic. Love it!
Changing the amount of stretch: I cut two pieces crosswise—the lower front and the back inset. The stretch on this knit, as on most knits, is crosswise. When you cut a pattern piece crosswise on a knit, you’re robbing yourself of the stretch around the body. So the lower front piece having less stretch meant that piece would hug my body more than the side pieces would. And this shirt would be snugger than a similar shirt with all pieces cut lengthwise on the fabric. Look at the two other shirts out of this pattern: Poster City and Love at First Sight. I don’t know the exact percentage of stretch in the other two knits, which are rayon rather than polyester. Ann Steeves at Gorgeous Fabrics lists this fabric as having 40% stretch. I didn’t take the time yesterday to dig back through my scraps and compare the other two. But I love how this shirt fits. I wore it for a quick Nordstrom-run to Cleveland yesterday, where three sales associates admired the shirt. (“Thank you. I just finished it this morning.”)

I’m normally loathe to buy polyester, but one hears so much about the new polyester knits now available on the market. I loved the print so much, I just had to try it. I’m so glad I did—as is DGD, who can’t wait to get started on her new ssssnake top.

A Top to Bring Fall Into the Picture

By Jan | August 18, 2013 - 6:19 pm |August 19, 2013 Garment Sewing

3 Comments

Most of Katherine Tilton’s patterns have appeared in Vogue Patterns until this past spring, when two new patterns were published in Vogue’s sister publication, Butterick Patterns. When I saw Katherine’s new top with vest and jacket views, Butterick 5891, I ordered the pattern immediately and started imagining how I could decrease my fabric stash with this pattern. First I made the jacket view in a hand-dyed silk shantung, but I’ll tell you about that another day. Today we’re going to talk about the vest.

Before deciding what to do with the pattern, I read the six reviews on PatternReview.com. Several people complained that the pattern had 15—count em, 15—pattern pieces. And while I agree that it is a pain to cut 15 pattern pieces for one little vest, the result was definitely worth the effort. I love this garment beyond words!

(Click on any photo to view larger version.)

Pattern Description: Loose-fitting top has collar variations, side pockets (left side A, B), and shaped hemline. A and B: raised neckline, mock neck/lower bands, front pleated peplum and narrow hem. C and D: folded, single layer collar, and stitched hems. Wrong side shows on hemlines and collar C, D.

Pattern Sizing: Misses 8-24. I believe I cut a 16.

Did it look like the photo/drawing on the pattern envelope once you were done sewing with it? Yes.

Were the instructions easy to follow? Pretty much – there were a couple of times I had to scratch my head and reread a couple of times, but for the most part, if you can apply logic and common sense to a problem, they were easy to follow.

What did you particularly like or dislike about the pattern? The neckline. Wow – how flattering! The subtly asymmetrical hem is out-of-the-box without going too far for my rather conservative tastes. And the off-center back seam is unique and interesting.

I disliked the lack of finishing detail suggestions for the inside. I love creating garments that don’t have a raw edge showing on the inside, and that was challenging.

Fabric Used: A lightweight rusty brown linen that’s been in my stash for about 12 years. Because of the color, I believe I’ll be able to wear this into the fall with the black lightweight t-shirt underneath.

Pattern alterations or any design changes you made: I am 5’8″ tall. I added 2″ to the length on every piece that had “shorten or lengthen here” lines. Next time, I’ll increase that by an inch or two.

I didn’t love the tucks in the peplum when I was almost done and tried it on, so just unsewed them. The peplum hangs down below the top, mirroring the lines of the top.

Would you sew it again? Would you recommend it to others? Yes, I’ll probably sew it again. Yes, I’d recommend, but not to beginners.

Conclusion: An hour after finishing the top, I threw it on over my fave Eileen Fisher silk jersey crew neck long-sleeve top for a quick trip up to Lake Erie for an end-of-summer pot luck with friends. Once we got up there, the weather was warmer than expected, so I ducked inside the cottage and pulled off the t-shirt. I loved the look, whether as a sleeveless top or a vest. I felt chic and received compliments. I had no idea I would love this top the way I do.

I’m thinking another made of a sweater knit or a lightweight wool would be the perfect addition to my winter wardrobe.

Thanks, Katherine!!

Here’s the back. My girlfriend told me to strike a pose before she clicked the shutter. If you like those slacks, here’s their story. Oh, I found recycled plastic buttons, Green Earth, a new line of product from La Mode.

And—oh, my gosh—look at that neckline. I just think it’s one of the most flattering necklines I’ve ever had frame my face. And doesn’t it look great with the t-shirt underneath?

Love at first wearing!

Who Needs NYDJ?

By Jan | August 2, 2013 - 7:26 am |August 2, 2013 Garment Sewing

2 Comments

When you’ve got an incredible pair of skinny jeans that fit like they were made for you (oh, wait …), why would you lay out $120 for a pair of pull-your-tummy-in jeans that include so much architecture that you have to wear a loose top to look good?

These are my new stretch denim jeans that will be perfect for all but the hottest two weeks of summer. The pattern is Marcy Tilton’s Vogue 8859. This is my third take on this pattern (Take 1; Take 2). If you only knew how many pairs of pants I have made over the years in a futile attempt to get something I liked, you would understand how thrilled I am with this pattern. I think Marcy was looking at a photo of me when she designed these pants!

And the fabric. Oh my gosh, the fabric! Ann Steves of Gorgeous Fabrics hit the ball out of the park when she found this lightweight stretch denim. (I’m very sad to tell you this fabric is sold out, but the description to the right is a very similar fabric. Go to GorgeousFabrics.com and search on “stretch denim” to see if she has more. If the description says “5 oz.”, you’re in luck!)

What do I love about these pants? Several things:

Easy and well-placed back patch pockets. They are placed and sized such that they don’t call attention to one’s rear end. (“Do these pockets make my butt look big?” No, they don’t!)
The knee ease in the front pattern piece. March has strategically placed some pleats that give you room to move. I have to admit to having arthritic knees, and these pants do not make me feel hampered at all. I have room to bend the knees and no constriction on my movement.
The elastic application at the waist. Brilliant! You know how tacky elastic-waist pants normally look? Old lady, right? Not these. Marcy designed the waist such that the front is flat, even though it’s elastic. The majority of the give is in the back waist and the front could—by the look—very easily be a waistband application. No tacky old lady pants, these!
The fit. Already described – wonderful!

I’m pretty sure you haven’t seen the last of this pattern on these pages. I’m hooked on the comfort and style.

And they didn’t cost me $120!!

Every Musician Needs a [Pure] White Top

By Jan | July 27, 2013 - 2:28 pm |May 19, 2014 Garment Sewing

Katherine Tilton’s Easy-Peasy Skirt

By Jan | July 27, 2013 - 1:30 pm |September 12, 2013 Garment Sewing

1 Comment

Musicians can never have too many black garments, right? I already own four black skirts. Two fit me. None please me. So for my Blossom Music Center performance last weekend with The Cleveland Orchestra and the Blossom Festival Chorus, I wanted a new skirt. I wanted it to be easy to create. And it had to be washable.

Ever since making a couple pair of Marcy Tilton’s fast and easy pants (Vogue 8859 – take 1, take 2), I’ve been wanting to try Katherine TIlton’s pants and skirt pattern, Vogue 8837. It looked like it would go together quickly and be very comfortable for standing and sitting on stage for an hour.

(Click on any photo to view larger version.)

Pattern Description: Skirt has self-lined yoke, overlapped side seams, and narrow hem. Close-fitting, elastic waist, and topstitching.

Pattern Sizing: XS – XXL. I agonized over this. In Marcy’s pants, the size 16 looks like it was made for me. I thought about cutting a L, but was afraid it would be too small. I cut XL, and it’s extra-large on me. (Duh!) When one is working with a knit, tissue-fitting the pattern just doesn’t get it – y’know?! I did not recut or take it in to a Large as this will be fine and ultra comfortable for on stage. I won’t wear it “in public” and will order more fabric to make one in size Large for wearing out to dinner with friends.

Did it look like the photo/drawing on the pattern envelope once you were done sewing with it? Yes.

Were the instructions easy to follow? Yes.

What did you particularly like or dislike about the pattern? Love the ease of construction. Love the yoked waist. Dislike the overlapped side seams.

Fabric Used: Great lightweight Poly-Rayon-Spandex ponte from The Cloth Merchants site. I will be buying more of this fabric!

Pattern alterations or any design changes you made: I do not believe one can fold and stitch the hem first, then do an overlapped seam and get a clean, smooth finish. My logical, programmer’s brain objects. I didn’t like this method, with all due respect to Katherine. I tried different methods on each side seam, knowing I would always be standing at the back of the chorus when wearing this skirt, so no one would see the seams. (The perfectionist in me is cringing.)

Here’s what I will do next time, and what I recommend for a nice clean finish: I would press the hems in from lower dot to lower dot, side to side. I would then stitch the side seams, right sides together from the waist to the lower dot, and press open. Then I would either baste or fuse the hems. Then I’d topstitch with a single needle on the front from waist, down around hem, and back up the other side to the waist on both front and back, and ditto on the back. This first row of stitching would be frac14;” from the seam and from the edge of the hem. I would then do a second row of stitching ⅛” away, duplicating that first row. On the inside, I’d trim the seam allowance to the second row of stitching. I’d also add some sort of reinforcing stitching at bottom of the side seam so an extra long gait wouldn’t rip that opening.

I love the elastic waist with the elastic attached with one row of stitching inside the yoke. This is very similar to my favorite Eileen Fisher elastic waist pants. I don’t know what type of elastic EF uses on those pants—when mine get worn enough, I’ll cut the yoke open and see. Katherine’s pattern calls for ¼” clear elastic. If you rely upon Jo-Ann’s for your notions, you’re out of luck. They no longer carry the ¼”, only a ⅜” elastic. But that worked fine for me. The skirt—even in my oversized version—feels very secure and very comfortable and very easy to walk in when climbing stairs from the rehearsal hall and processing onto the stage.

Would you sew it again? Would you recommend it to others?Absolutely yes and absolutely yes. And the pants in this pattern, also!

Conclusion: Highly recommended skirt and pant pattern from the brilliant Katherine Tilton. Try it; you’ll like it!

Okay, the top picture is frumpy. But when you’re of a certain age and have arthritic knees, you wear frumpy shoes. These Naots are frumpy and absolutely the most comfortable shoes I’ve ever had on my feet. There are four of us in the chorus who wear these shoes. They are not cheap, and they’re worth every penny. I’ve worn them all over Europe on three trips, and wouldn’t trade them for the world.

And I posted a second picture for you showing the skirt with heels. Isn’t it lovely? No frump involved! If I were twenty years younger, I would wear these pumps for performances. Alas.

Thanks, Katherine, for this great design!

Would you like to know how the orchestra and chorus did last weekend?
Review in the Cleveland Plain Dealer
Review at ClevelandClassical.com

Another Summery Top in a Southwestern Print

By Jan | July 24, 2013 - 3:15 pm |September 12, 2013 Garment Sewing

2 Comments

When ordering several pieces of fabric for tops recently from Emma One Sock, I fell in love with this print. The EOS site describes it as “a soft and buttery, very lightweight rayon/spandex jersey.” Buttery. Absolutely. There’s a sheen to this fabric makes me think it’s silk and spandex, not rayon and spandex. Soft. Like buttah!

I decided to make it in Vogue 8831, which allows me to fit for cup size. I chose View A for the cap sleeves, and decided to just to a neck band rather than the voluminous cowl. I had just made this pattern (not yet blogged) in View B, with long sleeves, out of a rayon/lycra blend I picked up at Jo-Ann Fabrics. I ~~needed~~ wanted a new top for the Cleveland Orchestra and Chorus performance at Blossom last Sunday, and had a Jo-Ann’s coupon to make it an inexpensive top. However, the cowl was overwhelming. I pfitzed with that cowl all day in the heat and humidity. The size of the cowl and inherent heaviness (with that amount of fabric) make it not ideal for a lightweight fabric.

For the neckline, I cut the pattern an inch higher at center front, then curved out to the sides of the neckline. I measured the neck opening and consulted Marcy Tilton’s excellent Threads Magazine article, “Not Your Ordinary T-Shirt,” to determine how long to make the neck band. I cut the band on the cross-grain to pick up a row of green figures in the print. Marcy says to cut ¾ to ⅞ of the neck measurement. I took into account the lack of stretch on the crosswise cut, and—for a 33.5″ opening—cut 27 or 27.5″, which comes out to about 82%. I seamed it, folded it in half, and sewed it to the right side of the opening, then turned and top-stitched from the outside at about ¼”.

The lightweight fabric was rather delicate to work with. I sewed all the seams slowly and carefully, then zipped through the second row of stitching. (The instructions call for double-stitched seams.)

The more I touched the fabric during construction, the more anxious I was to finish the top. I left DSO sitting in the upstairs family room after dinner last night while I stitched the hems. Then I raced upstairs to slip it on, and immediately began frowning. It looked awful on me!!! This from a pattern I’d made, now, three times and with whose fit I was very happy.

Evidently this particular knit has more stretch than the cotton and rayon pieces I’d used for the previous tops. (Number 1) I needed to remove an inch on the front and back of each side seam—a decrease of a total of 4″ around the body.

After running lots of errands today, I came home, removed some topstitching, and resewed the sides, starting at the seamline at the waist and tapering in to the 1″ mark at the armhole.

Run to the mirror. Slip the top on. Very. Big. Smile.

Success!

This fabric calls out to be all sorts of things, not the least of which would be the yummiest sleepwear you can imagine. I’m so sad it’s sold out! I’ll keep watching the EOS site to find a similar lightweight knit. It will be worth the weight!

The pants in the picture are an Eileen Fisher washable stretch crepe similar to this. However, the elastic in the waist is about ½” rather than 2″ as in the description in the link.

The shoes are Mephisto Uldina, in their Mobils collection. Ultra comfortable to walk in.

The quilt on the wall behind me is by my friend, ultra-talented fiber artist Mary Lou Alexander.

Summertime!

By Jan | July 23, 2013 - 2:00 pm |July 23, 2013 Garment Sewing