October to December 2023 roundup

Happy New Year! As I thought, my non-crafting project is taking much of my time and energy. (It's going well, though). So the sewing machine is only coming out occasionally. Betty (the Betty Foster master pattern mashed up with Burda 8957) has been put away till I can give it proper attention. 

The somewhat tested Successful Sewing 8 SS8 joggers pattern was tweaked again and make up in red fleece as Tai chi spares.The test wear was a success, the pattern retraced, and they have been worn often. So comfy in these winter evenings. To be made again in better fabric in the spring. 

Quite a lot of knitting, as it can come out and about with me. Bigger projects come out in the evenings, and at knit and natter. Small handbag size projects are for trains, lunch breaks, whenever I have a few spare minutes sitting. 

Teal Hermia summer cardi. Couldn't get a yarn order with the same colour, instead added more of the light stripes. Used every inch and it's still shorter than my preference. But it's done, my best fit at shoulders yet, and will be lovely with dresses next summer. 

Finchdale jumper. This wasn't as far from finished as I'd thought . Cuffs and 2.5" hip ribbing with side slit were (re)done this quarter. Also reknit neck ribbing with fewer stitches and smaller needles.  Have set the sleeves in and sewed in all the ends this afternoon, so it counts as a 2023 finish, right? As usual, it's way better at waist, high hip and over bust on me than anything I can buy, but I can quibble with neckline, shoulder width and lower ribbing width. Only quibbling - I'm looking forward to wearing it. 

Lots of small portable projects. I'm finally confident to use real wool for me, for family and for close friends who will care about the difference...

Blue merino legwarmers for a September birthday.

Kandinsky sock wool wristwarmers - for me. 

Reknit rainbow sock yarn mittens with less ease - for me.

Cherry tam for me. Ancient stash yarn, high percentage of wool. So cosy. As a bonus J gave me a Robin brooch, which perches beautifully on the fold line. 

Matching cherry legwarmers - needed to add green stripes  to eke out the length. By chance, H gave me a cowl a few months ago which goes well with hat and legs. 

Attempted tiny wristbands  with the last of  pale blue merino. Bother, they kept coming off with coat or jumper, so unpicked them and used the yarn to extend similar-coloured wristwarmers - for me. 

And for donation, mostly acrylic ...

Blue baby hat. 

Coffee and white preemie hat. 

Playfood egg salad - an unexpected group project at knit and natter. A thank you to the lovely cafe owners who plan a teddy bear picnic display. 

Crochet baby booties in pink/salmon/purple. 2 classic pairs done, and one toe up. Purple pair started, classic construction but some details which are new-to-me. Another rabbit hole to fall down while I see which construction works best - for me making them and my best guess at good for the baby and parent. 

Rainbow  crochet baby hat made with rainbow mitten leftovers. This was sock yarn, unlikely to felt, so I've risked donating it to the baby bank. 

Repairs 

2021 green joggers needed cuffs or similar. These had shrunk about 2" in length, and were a little draughty to start with. They're so  much warmer now. Comfier to sleep in too, because they don't creep up to my knees. Bonus, the green and blue trial tee, Freya v5, looks and feels good with this. 

2023 Petrol blue cords - taken in a bit more.

My shrunken rainbow legwarmers, 2018?, have had a few rounds added in Terracotta chunky wool. Bother, one hid in a trouser leg and got tumble dried. The Terracotta is necessarily the ankle end now. 

Fixed popped seams on cycle shorts (worn as an under layer in this weather) 

My non-crafty project probably goes on till Easter. So, while I fully intend to keep making things, I probably won't blog about them for ages. 

All the best for 2024,

Mouselet.

    

September 2023 roundup - fitting and knitting

We had two family trips away in September, the first to the Midlands, the second to Scotland. Which took me away from my sewing machine, but did encourage me to knit something portable. 

The legwarmers weren't quite finished by the end of the month, but were nearly there. It's getting cool in the evenings now (despite the unseasonable 30° earlier in the month) so these will soon be appreciated. 

No progress on the Teal Hermia summer cardigan. I didn't want to make an Internet yarn order till we came back, none of the physical shops visited carry that brand of merino. And now we're home, that colour seems to be sold out on the UK sites. Guess it will be unpicking time - serves me right for dithering so long. 

Sewing, I carried on with the Betty Foster toile (muslin). Three interesting things I've learned:

It hadn't occurred to me before to measure overbust when sitting. It's much bigger than when standing.

This design had a horizontal and a vertical bust dart. Given the flare in my ribcage (or is it the front of a swayback) I didn't need to stitch the vertical one. That explains why I can get away with about a 1" horizontal dart despite my C cup fitting. 

The shell has a very high neckline, elegant when tunic length. I was surprised it was quite comfy. Only need to drop front neck an eighth or a quarter inch. In practice, I'll probably go a bit lower and wear a scarf in the colder months. 

Non-sewing

A project arrived, which will take much of my time and my  space for a couple of months. So the good fabric has been put away till new year.

Repairs

Restored the  unpicked topstitching on new-to-me blue/black waistcoat (not quite enough fabric at hips to be worth taking up at shoulders) before donating. 

2023 Petrol blue cords, new-to-me, taken in at waist and back rise shortened. After a couple of of wears it seems I'll need to take another half inch in both places. 

Two tees let out at overbust height. This year's Freya v1, and 1995 black tee. All my long sleeved tees now have enough movement ease to sit and type without becoming painful at the underarm. Note to self. They had already been let out at the back of the sleeve cap. I need both adjustments. 

P4P White tulip tee (2021?). Used the last scraps of thick white jersey to replace the neckband. Much more stable and comfy now. It stays on my shoulders again. 

2023 August roundup. More tees and some learning.

Knitting

Teal Hermia summer cardigan. I have only enough yarn left for about 3 rib rows and I need 6-8. Three options involve lots of unpicking, curses, alternatively buy more yarn, probably online. 

Another blue baby hat finished, one more knitted from crown to rib. Trying a broken rib this time, but it's difficult for me to see to read the previous row. Would try the stitch pattern again knitted in the flat. 

Have had another request for legwarmers for a September birthday. Unlikely they'll be finished in time, but I have sorted out yarn, needles, and a plan (a combination of patterns) 

Sewing

Freya 2023 v5 from green French terry and blue floral leftovers. A can't spoil um project. It's just the right length and weight in this grey British summer, though a tad tight at the upper arm. The fabrics are ok together, the solid is a close match for the leaves. But the colour combination doesn't go with any of my trousers. Chosen often if I get changed once I get home. 

Freya 2023 v6 from duck print and white jersey leftovers. Not yet perfect, but definitely wearable in public. I still enjoy the duck print, so I'm glad it succeeded. 

Spent some time with scrap materials (from a damaged nightie) adapting the NS258 trousers to a simple skirt.  However, the intended wearable reclaimed fabric (from a black maxi skirt) was too narrow for any flare at all. And so near to the end of warm-ish weather, I decided not to make the pattern up in decent fabric this year. The flat pattern will feed the hip area of a woven top. 

Started fitting the woven top again. Remembering a long-ago comfy bodice, I dug out the Betty Foster master pattern. Any UK readers remember her from the seventies? It has narrower shoulders than 'usual' and a rounded shoulder alternative with the same 1.5" adjustment I need. So little change for me to the armscyes and above. Decades after I first tried this, I now have a better idea how to fit my high-hip area. So far, I've been playing with old damaged sheeting, and have a reasonable fit. Must remember I need more ease than standard at underarm, even if it looks loose when standing - I measured overbust when sitting and got a shock. Still to decide on initial style for neckline and cuffs, uncluttered for a busy chicken print poplin, compatible with some of my current warm layers, and ok to wear with scarves.  Then the plan is to merge the pattern with my intended Burda 8957 and make again in one of two plainer fabrics. 

Repairs and alterations

2023 fish scarf, added a button, less bulky than tying it. 

Added a lace modesty/sunburn panel for striped lawn overshirt.

Popped seams on green joggers and paisley stretch trousers. Ah, same place on both, so more thigh circumference another time. 

Popped seam on original duck print tee. Stress point at front armscoop. Again. 

Two pairs of new-to-me trousers shortened. 

Attempted refit of a new-to-me waistcoat abandoned, not enough fabric at high hip, so will stitch back on original lines and donate. 

Household repairs

Fixed damaged paintwork from leak in the winter and from maintenance work in winter/spring. Various small odd jobs, e.g. draught-proofing outer door, are finally off the list. 

Other sewing related

Wardrobe architect. I have reread this series, now on the Seamwork web site, and have redone the 2014 worksheets. Also looked at other planning capsule and SWAP resources, before summarising my preferences. An interesting exercise, which will inform future makes. 

Thinking about waistbands (after reading several articles about TDCO Top Down Centre Out trouser fitting). I've already used the idea of keeping a suitable band (reclaimed) for the skirt fitting, as well as putting some preference notes in my diary.

Experimented with horizontal seams in stretch fabrics, how to avoid overstretching. Partly I should 'let the feed dogs do the work', and partly the feed dogs can't work with too narrow seam allowances. I can use a more stable fabric direction on the underneath section, and if necessary use an additional stabiliser of some kind. 

2023 July roundup. Mostly tees

Not much knitting. The teal Hermia summer cardi is progressing slowly, four more rows to go, and then button band and ribbing. Cast on another baby hat for a short train journey, it's done from crown to start of the ribbing. 

But lots of sewing 

NS258 pleated trousers - sage linen. Added a pocket, and it's now a popular choice. 

Freya 2023 v3 from blue flowers and dots. Different fabric handling - keep mouse paws behind the needle when stitching for this cotton/lycra mix. Quite a few pattern tweaks such as adding sleeve cap ease for using standard furniture (too tall for me), and adding a centre back godet to try solve high-hip fitting problems. Worn several times already. 

Freya 2023 v3a. Instead of the planned matching skirt, the blue flowers and dots jersey became another tee. Remeasured myself, included the godet in the back piece, and did a small sway back adjustment. Still want to tweak the ease at underarm though. Tidy and comfortable. I like wearing this one. 

Freya 2023 v4 from reclaimed pj trousers. Some difficulties because fabric was well used and needed piecing. I'm happier with the front yoke (less ease), the front drape (bigger darts) and the abdomen ease (more and better distributed). In the first days of August, I tweaked the sleeves and overbust, but haven't retested the flat pattern yet. 

Repairs:

Replaced damaged button on red linen trousers.  

Button on DH's trousers.  

Coral double gauze overshirt, remove torn collar and used some of the fabric to reinforce the inside collar stand. 

Not done. Adapt men's trousers with damaged back hem for me using front hem to add to front rise. Oh dear, these were 34" waist, and, while I could fasten them, I would need another 2" to get the waistband to sit horizontally, plus at least 1" extra height in the front rise. Given that the pocket fronts are about to fray too, and the knees are distinctly pale, I simply salvaged the zip and binned these. 

Not done yet. Burda Easy 8957 v4 in chicken print poplin, planned with a scoop neck and a darted sleeve. I had been looking forward to sewing this, but got pulled into tee-making instead while the fabric was in the washing machine. Partly because, after years looking for a shirt that didn't rub at front armscoop, three came along at once (to charity shops near me). 

Unusually for me, I bought, in a shop, a sunhat with a bigger brim than my own. Saved my skin, literally, on an unscheduled trip. I'm mentioning it because my attempts at weighting the latest tee hem made me wonder whether next year I could try a bigger brim myself and stiffen it a little with binding. I like hats that can be stuffed in a bag, and my current pattern has the biggest brim that two layers of quilting cotton would support. 

What else sewing related? 

In my diary, I reviewed the flat pattern changes I'd made to NS258 pleated pants and changes so far to Burda 8957. It'd be nice to to do the same for my tee against the original Freya from Tilly and the Buttons before I file the pieces away. I'll say again that the original pattern gave me several well-worn garments, and was a useful stepping stone to working out my preferences. However I don't think I'm likely to go back to the negative ease trend, which was very popular when the design was published. 

I chose not to do Make what you need in June, since the last two months have concentrated on polishing patterns for two workhorse garments anyway. But I did make notes in my July diary about hmm... August? Not sure whether my notes are worth turning into a blog post, but it sharpened my thinking about needs using themes of Function, Fitting, Finishing and Fun. I can choose something from the wardrobe holes list for next month. 

Freya 2023 v4. still not a T&T tee

The last of this summer's tees. 

I retraced the v3a pattern ready to file for next time - well the sections were held together with pins and masking tape. Being a good software engineer, I had to make one more tee to test the tracing in case the bits had shifted, and to test taking another 1/8" excess fabric from front underarm scoop. Being a resource conscious human, I reclaimed fabric from a damaged pair of pj trousers (pink background, blue butterflies).  

Yes, I know it's an inch shorter than my preferred length. I used practically every undamaged square inch. And there's excess fabric at the underarm when hands are by my sides. I'd like to nibble it away if I can do it without affecting movement ease.

The piecing needed to reuse fabric tells me I 'need more practice' making horizontal seams in jersey - spot the stretch below front waist. Oh dear, another pathway for interesting experiments. First time using purchased stretch binding, always something more to learn, in this case to put the binding against the feed dogs. 

The overnight test wear tells me it looks better at front yoke than v3, and is really comfy.  No underarm friction sleeping or sitting, and flexible enough to reach the back of the kitchen worktop. Even this test garment, from last-legs fabric, was worth finishing. Hooray! 

EDIT: before I put the pattern pieces away, I compared them with the original TATB design. If I were to nibble away at the cap height as well as the overbust, it brings us closer to the original design, pulling the lower armscye and sleeve cap into the pit more. Maybe do this 1/8" at a time when I make winter/spring tees, so long as it doesn't affect movement ease. I don't dare shave anything off at abdomen height, otherwise the back won't drop again after I lift my arms.

Another EDIT: live dangerously, little mouselet. Since this poor fabric is already bruised and battered after years of use, let's experiment now. Can't spoil um. What I ended up with was taking in the front overbust in by 1/4", scooping a bit more at front armpit, and lowering the sleeve cap. Back overbust is unchanged. Interestingly, the upper arm is now a little tight, not restricted though, since the whole sleeve has narrowed as it moved up. So the flat pattern change was to pivot (a tracing of) the cap and raise the base 1/4". This widened the whole cap 2x1/8" at the base, which I trimmed off. Allowing the front to move in 1/4" each side, fading to nothing between underbust and waist.

And now I still have an incompletely tested flat pattern. Guess I will have to look out some autumn/winter fabrics. 

Still a work in progress. 2023 Freya v3

2023 v3 is really comfortable but not particularly elegant. Despite this being my umpteenth version of this pattern*, I'm struggling to find a fairly fitted version which allows reasonable movement.  The final picture in the collage is shows how I stand when using our kitchen worktop. A standard desk, too, needs a persistent zombie pose when you are 5'2".

 

* The distant ancestor was Tilly and the Buttons Freya tee. At each variation it has become more relaxed and the neckline lower. My earliest surviving version is still working well for formal occasions. It was a little black dress and underdress made for DD's graduation in December 2019. However, as my fitting was far from perfect, its intended negative ease was restrictive when attempting a range of activities.

The front is better than the back. As many people find, tees look fine at the back in the changing room, but ride up on the bony ridge at high hip as soon as you start moving around. This one is a little tight at underarm and bust. And guess what, I'd trimmed seam allowances too much on one of the iterations, so can't fix it on this version. I added a godet to the centre back which helped somewhat. Given fabric restrictions, it is now shorter than my preferred length. It does show my problem of  increasing fast enough as you go from waist to high hip, without letting the draughts in a couple of inches below that dratted ridge.

Verdict: Much comfier after  a round of armscye and sleeve cap changes, but still needs more practice.

I haven't helped myself by using old measurements - even though my weight is a fraction less than six months ago. The original measurements envisaged ease added later, whilst this time I wanted quite fitted. Your silly mouselet forgot to add in the bulk of a trouser waistband, again. On top of that, my posture does vary, depending how my back is doing. 

So... Ready for the next version, I've taken a new set of measurements using my most recent trousers. I used the bottom of this waistband as a landmark. Today the out seam on the trousers is tilting forward (it didn't a month ago, I checked the photos). Confession - I pinned the tee side seams an inch back of the trouser side seams and used them as my fixed lines.  I've added underbust and overbust front and back to my measurement set, which informs how much extra for sticky out shoulder blades due to sway back. This weekend it'll be time to trace the flat pattern and try again. 

Eagle eyed readers may have noticed I bumped the tee up the queue. I'd planned to work on the woven top  OOP Burda 8957 - last version comfy but poufy at the back - but realised I hadn't prewashed the fabric. Glad I waited. The new measurements tell me I need to increase back waist relative to the front. 

EDIT, Friday morning. I'm not allowing myself to cut fabric until the housework is done, but have done the Freya tee flat pattern adjustments. The paper fitting is promising. 

EDIT 31st July. V3a was made in the same fabric, without the godet. In fact, when I'd added a small swayback, the centre back seam was so nearly straight, I got out the ruler. I also moved some wedges of fabric from centre front, where it was pooling, to the sides where it was needed. Not just a successful test wear, it's been first off the dry washing pile to pair with the sage or coral trousers. So good that I retraced the revised pattern and made just one more tee . V4 was made from reclaimed fabric, pink background with blue butterflies. I'm even happier and think it deserves a separate post :)

2023 June roundup

I started June with a tidy of my fabric. There's a cabin-sized suitcase with autumn /winter fabric, mostly inherited but some of my choices, waiting for me to improve fitting and construction skills. A carrier bag with summer weight fabrics, mostly my choices, with a few for H, ready to join the queue. And I'm down to one carrier bag of leftovers, old sheets and garments for resizing, repair or just pattern testing fabric. There's a bulky overflow length, fleece to trial a better cardi or light jacket. Three decent lengths of inherited summer weights, that didn't suit either of us, went to a charity shop. That's about the right size fabric stash for me and my flat - the 'right' collection size is about personal needs and preferences. 

I talked about my summer clothes sort as a time-poor Me Made May in an earlier post. There are fewer garments altogether, fewer so-so items, and fewer orphans than in previous years. I'm very happy about that. 

Sewing wise, it's been an excellent month. One good garment for me, the linen pants in the previous post. A simple top for H, who agreed to let me practice fitting skills on her, and was happy with the result. I forgot to take a hanger shot before giving it to her, but posted a shot of pattern and fabric a few days ago. 

Four improving toiles, wearable as pj's because they are so comfy, but too thin, too print-flawed or too pieced to wear around visitors. NS258 pleated trousers in mint sheeting were v5, and have become summer favourite pj bottoms already. The picture is here, http://little-mouselet.blogspot.com/2023/06/a-tale-of-many-toiles-muslin.html. NS258 cropped island pair v4 are also fine for sleeping, but they're not always warm enough first thing in the morning when I'm doing daily jobs. Annoyingly, I'd already cut the flawed-print leftover of leftovers to trial Burda Easy 8957 v3 bodice, so the remaining scraps aren't enough to reach my ankles. I have a fitting post in mind for B8957, coming soon - it has already passed its night time comfort test and its morning task ease test.

The final toile, a relaxed descendant of Freya tee by Tilly and the Buttons, was a can't spoil 'um project. The bodice was from parts of a woodland print women's tee, with sleeves cut from a thinning man's white tee. It's promising - I've worn regularly as pj's with the mint trousers. However, with so much piecing at the back yoke, it's not a fair test of the pattern. Nor something I want to show off. 

All three patterns are in my back-to-basics list. NS258 pleated pants is ready for good fabric, though I want to retest the waist and and add back the integral pockets. The simplified version of B8957 semi fitted woven top is close enough for good fabric, though I haven't tested the collar/lapels as printed yet, nor frankenpatterned a cuff. The Freya descendant, relaxed long sleeved tee, is worth testing on new fabric now. None of them quite qualify for T&T status (Tried and Tested, Tried and Trusted, Tried and True - depends where you live). We are getting close. 

Knitting, not so much. The Hermia summer cardi is progressing slowly. I have had to stripe in an odd ball of similar weight yarn. One sleeve is done, the second a few inches above the cuff, the bodice down to underbust height. Even when I've carted it out with me, it's hard to pick up something this size for just a few minutes. I need to sort out another portable project. 

   

Repairs:

Zip in H's flowery dress.

Add waistband tucks to last year's summer trousers (and for a linen pair that stretched over the day, removed tucks and then restored them) 

Strap on cloth bag reattached for DD. 

Button on DH's trousers reattached. 

Stitch harvest mouse shirt lapel, to prevent finished inner edge showing. 

Restitched and patched a favourite shopper. Who wouldn't want to keep a mouse/woodland creature bag? 

Made a key leash so that the damage doesn't repeat itself. 

Unblocked the auto-defrost drain on the fridge.

Chose not to do:

After testing out a few ideas. Crochet cuffs in cotton/linen/silk. A beautiful odd ball of yarn, however it wasn't spun tight enough for crochet. Maybe come back to the idea when in the mood for knitting.

Shorten sleeves on flowery pj top. Knuckle length is actually warmer for sleeping with elbows well bent, though a pain in the kitchen at breakfast time.

Wardrobe acquired:

Two scarves from charity shops. One man made but soft, pale colours. one brown and white fish print with buttonholes (what!) 

I think I can say a productive month 

Happy sewing everyone. 

    

Pleated pants NS258

You might remember I posted about multiple attempts at fitting trousers to my tilted pelvis. Not trivial. Well finally I have a pattern that fits, and a lovely pair of linen pants. I chose a pleated style because it provides some sitting ease at the tum, without adding much bulk when I'm standing. 

I'm describing them as sage, because they read as green in some lights, grey in others. It's a beautiful heavy weight fabric bought on Leeds market at least 5 years ago, that has been waiting for me to acquire the skills to do it justice.

Apologies that these are not properly pressed. Photos were taken before the test wear, so I hadn't confirmed the final stitching lines. They were fine. 

I'm at least the third custodian of the pattern, out of print News of the World 258. Does my garment look like the envelope picture? Well as close as someone with my proportions ever will.

What changes did I make? 

Design wise, I widened the legs for summer comfort, and have replaced the pockets with a patch pocket (not yet attached) to simplify the fitting process. 

Fitting wise, I need a shaped waistband, changed leg angle, different crotch curve, widen side seam especially at mid/high hip. Replaced back dart with two much shorter ones. Widened back thigh for sitting comfort. Small dart over front hip bone. There's a fuller list in my sewing diary. You'll get the picture that I'm nowhere near a standard shape, even though I believe I'm not unusual. 

Here's my pattern pieces overlaid on the original, folded to size 14. The angle on the centre back seam is from a previous fitting attempt, at the position of a knobbly vertebra. 

You'll see that I needed three shorten lines, 4" altogether. There's one stupid mistake - that somewhere during the trial process I lost part of the fly facing - which I had to work round. But mostly the differences are the sticky-out bones at front high hip, and the bony ridge at the same height all round the back. The sticky-out tum is mostly a consequence of sway back. I angled the zip to make room for it, rather than insert into a curved line.

At the end of all this, and after a full day's test wear, I'm really pleased that I can stand, sit or stroll in these. Yes, all three!

As a bonus, two of the toiles (muslins) are fit for pj's. The mint sheeting pair has been a favourite while we've experienced two hot weeks. That's probably the British summer for this year. 

Hope you're comfortable where you are. 

Things I chose not to do this June

Sometimes it's interesting to think about what projects and tasks you choose not to do, as well the ones you tackled. Some are turned down when your materials aren't quite right (no crochet cuffs in a lightly twisted yarn). Some you realise why they don't need fixing (unusually long sleeves on a woven pj top can stay, for warmth because I sleep with arms crossed ).

There were some chunky challenges I fancied doing this month, but settled for a fraction of each. 

Me Made May 2023. Considered doing this with the same theme as last year (let's assess). I was still in the cool weather clothing till the end of May, though. And when the sun arrived in June,  I realised that the verdicts would be much the same as last year. The smaller thing worth doing was a summer sort. I got rid of a handful of items, including (sadly) the two peach and white raindrop print tees which were Very Regularly worn. And I've put something in my detailed notes about the odd new item. 

Sew What You Need in June 2023. This challenge sounds like the perfect follow up to Me Made May. But bother, I have too many things in progress* to take it on. I am, though, working on basic necessaries: woven trousers that fit when standing, walking and sitting, fussily I want comfort all the time; a basic tee with the right amount of movement ease for me; and a semi-fitted woven long sleeved top. The trousers and tee are at the confirmation test stage, maybe needing 1/8" tweaks. The woven top will need at least one more toile (muslin) before I use good fabric.

* You'll have to wait for month roundup to find out how I got on. 

Great British Sewing Bee. I've often fancied taking on the construction challenges as a skill builder. Not in front of the cameras, and not under that time pressure. In my fantasy, these fit H who is petite but needs few other fitting changes. I did manage a boxy top for her, reading the instructions and taking no short cuts. The trial garment would have been good enough if it hadn't been made of worn-out sheeting. She was happy with the real thing (seabird print quilting cotton, K6217). Success! 

Is anyone else tempted by month long challenges? Do you ever try to do something even when you choose not to do the whole thing? Do you count it as a small success? 

2023 May roundup

Managed to stay in my own nest a bit more this month. That means less knitting and more sewing. 

The main project has been many toiles (muslins) in prep for some summer trousers. Two of the five have been good enough for pyjamas. The final one is also fit for pj's, and is close enough to transfer final changes to the flat pattern and make a good tracing. 

The Teal Hermia summer cardigan has moved slowly. I didn't have enough yarn after all, but the contrast stripes look good on the sleeves. One cuff, one quarter sleeve, and the lower quarter bodice to go. 

The cheerful Teddy was finished, and is looking for a home. A baby hat just needs casting off, when I dig out an odd bigger needle to do so. 

Repairs. 

Removed the wobbly patch from the event shirt, it needs a firmer fabric anyway. 

Stitched down the sleeve ties on a rtw dress, they'll never stay in place otherwise. 

Adapted the old sofa throw for the new sofa, which of course is a slightly different shape. 

In the household, yet again I cleared out all the small stuff from my living room/work area whilst a job was done. But this time I'm not allowing myself to bring anything back until it has been assessed, cleaned, and has a proper place to live. There are still a dozen shoe boxes to check, however the task is mostly done. 

A tale of many toiles (muslins)

Fitting a rump is hard! For comfort, the trousers have to fit both standing (without sagging) and sitting (needing extra ease). 

Two tips I wish I'd known earlier. Put a temporary button and loop on, rather than trying to always pin in a consistent place. And stitch unadjusted seams with a toning thread, but put changes on with a contrast thread - so that I can undo the change, or bring it forward to the next version. 

Version 1 and 2 happened in April - starting with a skirt, adding leg extensions, and refining. Version 3 was cut calf length, blue ex-duvet cover leftovers. It sagged and bagged, but has been worn comfortably as pjs. Version 4, leftovers from the island dress, is less baggy and has been worn once comfortably as pjs. Both of these are only calf length, due to limited fabric, but are long enough to test with bended knees. 

Most of the changes were additions to the rump and upper inseam, then removing excess from the outseam. 

I prepped a new pattern from v4 for version 5, but have obviously missed something. Made it up full length, from a slightly damaged mint sheet. I made a quarter inch fisheye dart at the front waist, and added a little more width at lower cb rump. 

As at 31 May, I'm switching between removing 1/4"x2 from the cb seam at the waist, or the same amount split between the side seams. Also considering how much to lift at back waist, and across what width. Think there might be an adjustment at inner knee, too. 

The front is fairly good, the back I feel I'm just moving fabric from one wrong place to another. I hope D comes to knitting club tomorrow - she has a good eye for these things.

Edit 29 June. 

D made a couple of good suggestions. 

Here's photos of v3, v4 and v5

2023 March and April

It didn't feel like I'd done much in March and April. But looking through the diary, I've tackled quite a number of projects in an hour here, an hour there...

What has happened? 

Finished J's second legwarmers in early March, though I haven't yet seen her to deliver them

Blue gingham shirt, much modified Burda 8957. Finished, worn, and let out a bit at the sleeve cap and armscye. I want to make one more of these with so-so fabric before using the two lengths of good stuff (chicken print and sage gingham).

Some Teal merino is becoming a summer cardi. It's based on the top part of the Hermia v-neck raglan from Knitty. Seven balls found in a charity shop, and I'm working top down, sleeves first, to get every possible inch of body length. Just started ball 6, and still think I can reach high hip.

Since I wanted to improve my short row technique, there are two new Baby hats from small leftovers. I failed with German short rows. (Probably user error. I don't learn well from video). I was successful with Tech Knitter's Japanese short rows (good diagrams), so will use that on my next raglan cardi. 

Needed a quick and cheerful travel knit in April, so a simple Teddy is almost finished. Grey yarn, red jumper, yellow trousers. Only one paw left to knit (April 30th). Not sure who will receive this, but I'm sure he'll find a home. 

Experiments. 

Trial draped skirt from worn out man's shirt. Notes in my diary for March. Got a better fit than rtw, although there wasn't quite enough or good enough fabric, so it'd never be wearable. I patterned the yoke shaping, and confirmed my preferred length of 26", worn with top untucked. 

Draped yoke/skirt into shorts. Version one just used cb and cf seams and patched on a suitable inseam extension as a feasibility test. Version 2 was from a two foot strip of old sheeting. It was patterned/collaged from V1, from an ancient pleated trouser pattern News of the World NS258, and from last year's attempt at joggers. As at April 30th, after adding width in various places and changing the leg angle even more, I have a slightly tight and short test garment. I can sit and read comfortably but the tummy seam is likely to pop if I reach forward for a cuppa. The further adapted flat pattern now has front pleats to give me that ease. I'm almost ready to cut Version 3, just need to capture the front waistband shaping as a flat pattern.

What hasn't happened? 

Finchdale jumper is being neglected, again. 

Last year's Talvi Knits Teal jumper has stretched and needs the shoulders and neck reknitting. I have a little yarn left. 

A Tablet cover, though planned, was bought instead when DD borrowed the gadget for a conference in March. 

Me Made March for winter clothes didn't happen - though I did do a sort out, diary entry and blog post, plus a load of repairs and tweaks based on what I found out. 

Repairs and alterations.

Hacked DH's damaged Burgundy Rugby shirt for myself. Took a horizontal seam to cut out the burned area, and shortened the sleeves 4". The rejig at the shoulders much improved the front view, but downrated the back, so I won't bother again. It's warm and now good enough for around the house or for working outdoors. 

2022 green gingham shirt. Widened the sleeve cap and stole a quarter inch from the bodice between yoke and scye base, front and back. Much comfier. 

2023 higher necked Freya had the same treatment. That was better, too. 

Reattached press studs on green French terry top. Again.

Visible mending on old P4P Tulip tee, white long sleeves. I'm OK with this, but not right struck on it. 

Let down shrunken blue grey wool silk trousers. 

Let out Nineties black rtw tee at back armscye. 

Freya 2023 v2 sleeve cap and armscye let out. Flat pattern - kept original cap height, increased width by 1 size front and back. Pattern ready for retest.   

Scooped burgundy joggers (bleach stain, so demoted to pj's). Better, though ankle bands are tight for sleeping in. 

Laela Jeyne Mica tee, tightened V on neckband. 

Llama pyjamas - let out shrunken cuff bands. 

Abandoned plan for Spring skirt from two men's event polo shirts. Bother, can't remove stain from one. There wasn't even enough good fabric to make long sleeves for the unstained one. So just covered the logo with a patch, and will wear over a plain long sleeved tee. 

Couldn't let out tweed jacket at hips, not enough trim, so it'll go back to a charity shop. Shame.

Fixed jammed printer which had fed too many sheets

Rigged temporary support for sofa with broken castor. 

 

    

Attempt at visible mending

A much loved Patterns 4 Pirates Tulip Tee (2021? white long sleeves). Is looking sad. 

The round neck had stretched out, and there are a couple of stains I can't remove. Ah well, I don't particularly embrace visible mending, but will give it a go as a can't spoil um project. 

Cut off the neckband just above the decorative topstitching, to use as applique. (Yes, I did have a couple of scraps leftover, but they are now brighter and thicker than the much-washed tee)

Cut neckband into step pyramids, one large and central-ish over a few small stains, one small over a stray spill. Glue stick to hold temporarily, then machine darned to hold in place and to add texture*. 

I want to turn the neckline over. However there are a couple of neckband millimetres trapped in the top stitching, and I think they might literally come out in the wash. So do that later. 

I'm OK with this experiment - rustic rather than grungy - but it feels a bit young in style for me. Nevertheless, I'd rather wear this than something that looked unwashed. 

* Did I say that this year I'm leaning towards more texture than pattern or plain. Especially in the 'dribble zone'. 

Not 2023 Me Made March.

Although I told myself last summer that I'd do a sort of Me Made March, 'pledging' to wear the cold weather clothing and assess it,  that just isn't going to happen. However on the last day of the month, I did a pre-run on the warm weather changeover. On the fly, trimmed various loose threads, assigned a few garments for recycling, put aside a couple of items for stain treatment (now done). Grabbed some easy alteration candidates, namely a pair of trousers to lengthen, a long-sleeved tee which rubs at front underarm, and an unlined jacket which I can probably let out at high hip. 

I didn't try on anything this run, but did take group photos whilst everything was out, to remind me what I have (after various acquisitions and discards last year), and as a memory jogger for what I think can easily be improved. 

I have worn the winter clothes at least once, all except one formal jacket (liked, but a wardrobe orphan) and the ice spike overshoes (luckily not needed). The everyday items are in regular rotation, chosen according to weather and activities for the day. 

Yet again, the summary is:

You have plenty of winter clothes, my mouselet, but they don't necessarily work with each other. 

There are no too-small items, and little winter formal wear. Excellent! 

Some items which don't suit me or fit me well have nevertheless been worn a lot. What they have in common is warmth, movement ease and sitting ease.

Too many old favourites are looking grey, pilled or otherwise tired. Some can still be enjoyed secretly as underlayers or pyjamas.

I need to think what can be given a new lease of life, and get rid of anything really unsalvageable. 

2023 February roundup

February has also been a quiet month, craftwise.

The second revised TATB Freya (slightly lower neck, a 5/8" neckband) is finished and in regular wear. I would like to make more of these, but also want to revisit a drop shoulder tee and/or try a v-neck version. Decisions, decisions. 

I returned to the woven shirt pattern, a much altered Burda 8957, which I'd used for Mrs Mole's fit-a-long. This time in blue gingham salvaged from a man's large shirt - and so only the lower sleeves were finagled rather cut out properly. A much smoother process and an even better result. I'm still tweaking, those last eighth-and quarter-inch changes, to balance a more fitted look and enough movement ease. Almost ready to finish the hem before a day's test wear. 

Not much knitting done. The final legwarmer is in my daybag but not getting much attention. 

DD and I made paper chickens together. Crepe paper and cardboard, from an Ann Wood pattern. A lovely afternoon. 

Repairs and alterations? Fixed a torn placket on a rugby shirt, a couple of popped seams and  missing buttons. Added a tiny key pocket to an unpocketed pair of joggers. Added a triangular gusset to the neckline of a rarely worn tee - it's friction at the underarm again - but haven't done an all-day test wear yet. 

Next month there are some non-crafty projects, so I have left out materials for hopefully quick and easy makes. 

2023 January roundup

A quiet month, craft wise.

Finished and delivered the Aran merino legwarmers for J's birthday. She wore them first for tea and cake in another town with someone we've been friends with for decades. Railway heating can be unpredictable. Sorry, no photos before they were posted to her. 

Picked up the sewing baton for a few days, retraced the TATB Freya tee, and applied what I'd learned in the fit along.

A few tweaks letting out at various seam allowances. I'm pleased to be homing in on a better fit.

I even cut out a second tee after adjusting the flat pattern by 1/4" here, 1/8" there. The main change will be to remove the collar and drop the neckline half an inch. Even though this is half the height of the original, my neck is still too short for this style. 

Repairs? A couple of popped seams fixed for DH. Also repurposed a much-reduced Santa sack as a laundry bag. (Our old one was beyond another salvage). The sack was turned inside out to the plain side, and French seamed for added sturdiness. It's now tidy enough for the bedroom. At some stage I'll add tabs to fit it onto the old metal frame. 

However, some household projects and a small software development task have jumped the queue, and the sewing machine is back on its shelf for now. 

So, apart from an odd half-hour hand-knitting on the ribbed DK legwarmers, that's it for January. 

2023 plans and thoughts

 

Having realised there is no plan yet for 2023, I've dug out the 2022 plan. And guess what? The themes are similar.

Every year I aspire to complete items from the queue, polish my techniques, improve my fitting, and learn lots of new things. These are not SMART goals, but saying them out loud helps me choose projects that will take me in the right direction.

Sewing machine. The engineer has been unavailable due to health problems, so it has been making do with regular cleans. Haven't yet got to play with the new feet I was given last autumn.

Using up, adapting or finishing off:

Bonus legwarmers for the friend who had to wait till mid-January for her first pair. These are just k2p2, 40 sts on 4.5mm needles. I'm getting bored with them, however they are a good project to take to knit and natter, or for a regional train journey.

The Finchdale jumper. Sleeves are too tight, and I may consider a higher neckline. Good job I crocheted the sleeves in to test the the fit. 

Still too many odd balls of yarn, though these are now big enough for toddler-size rather than newborn projects

Revisit the fitting project, which got put down in order to knit for the winter.. I haven't even made another woven shirt from nicer fabric, despite having a much much better pattern now. I have used what I learned on the Tilly and the Buttons Freya tee, but haven't blogged it yet. Both of these patterns will replace worn out garments.

Finish summer handbag from 2021 course. If I think I'll be going anywhere to use it...

I'm pretty up to date with repairs. Refashioning? I've inherited a handful of event badged polo-shirts. They fit well on the donor. He doesn't often wear short sleeves, so just putting a pocket over the logo won't work for him., Can I refashion them to fit someone smaller? Or make two from three by extending the sleeves?

Wardrobe holes (still):

More long sleeved t-shirts. I'm still tweaking Freyas (Tilly and the Buttons) and the Mica (Laela Jeyne OOP) which has a v-neck rather than a high neck. I might also have another try at Tulip Tees (Patterns for Pirates), which is a good drop shoulder option with little waste.

Formal-ish dress to replace double jersey Freya (now too small)

Another pair less informal trousers. There are some nice inherited suiting lengths waiting. And a shirt length that goes with the linen.

A denim skirt or pinafore - the fabric piece is not quite long enough for jeans.

More cycling shorts as undertrousers, maybe wear them under the denim skirt. I have three pairs, but only one will survive the spring clothing sort.

Pattern test and make up the mouse quilting fabric waistcoat. 

Masks again - rarely worn nowadays, unless there's a prolonged visit to a confined place. However the original batch are looking really scruffy.

Replace at least one pair of tired joggers.

Looking backwards to 2022

In the colder months, I usually knit rather than sew. In 2022, I recorded 32 finished knitted items. A couple of scarves and wristwarmers for me, but the others were gifts for friends or donations to people in need. About half were newborn hats, donated to K's maternity ward. The bonus was that they were nice portable handbag-sized projects. (I'm saying little about the still unfinished Finchdale jumper, except that it's much better in the upper body than my 2021 jumper. Thanks to Mrs Mole.) 

Because of weather conditions - a late cold snap and a mild early summer - Me Made 'May' stretched on for weeks. I succeeded in assessing all the summer clothes and the formal wear. I got rid of some wardrobe orphans and badly fitting stuff, then reluctantly parted with some worn out favourites. It was also surprising how many small repairs happened during these weeks :) Some charity shop finds were adapted during an unusually hot spell in late summer, some of DH's clothes were mended too, a temporary chair cover fitted, and a whole load of things around the flat fixed, painted...

With new garment sewing, my search for well fitting basics continued. All of the following have been much tweaked for my unique shape. Elasticated trousers - Simply Sewing 8 - now good enough. PJ top and derived summer cardigan - traced ancient Rtw - good enough. Cycle shorts as an extra layer - Patterns 4 Pirates Peg Legs - improved. Camisole as an extra layer - So Zo vest - improved. Fitted tee - Tilly and the Buttons Freya - hugely better than Rtw, but needs more work as there's still some friction at the armscye. Loose fitting tee - OOP Laela Jayne Mica - very comfy though I need more practice on the V-neck binding. 

However, the big sewing project was working on a woven shirt/top pattern, semi-fitted but enough movement ease, with set in long sleeves. I'd spent a long time using Pattern Maker 7 software, trying to get suitable measurements and customising the macros to generate a 'fitting shell' with a bit of ease. I felt I'd made good progress and made a comfy summer top with some inherited fabric. Not my colours, but a real step forward. 

Then a great opportunity. Mrs Mole of 'Fit for a Queen' blog, launched a series of tutorials on fitting by reading the lines in a gingham trial garment. Not only that, when I'd asked a specific question, she took the trouble to teach some better ways of measuring, and to recommend some really appropriate pattern adaptations. It's also reassuring that someone experienced knows how to adapt for my own spine curve, rather than expecting 'perfect' posture. It was well worth the number of test-shots to achieve the best fit I've ever had! I shall be using what I learned even more in 2023. 

Top things I learned.

Fitting: I need a bigger back wedge, placed at the yoke line, plus a smaller wedge at front yoke, as well as one above my tum. 

Measuring skills: Use the metre stick to establish a side line. If I'm going to wear an underlayer, I need to measure when actually wearing it. 

Drag lines: Point to the problem. How much adjustment will take practice. 

Fabric choices: 2022 favourite was a low contrast print (the duck tee) which reads as plain-ish from a distance but the texture hides the odd water splash etc. 

Knitting: After trialling different crowns on all the newborn hats, I'm now happy to choose an appropriate one for different size people and personalities. 

Reasons for redoing. 

Apart from brain-slips, size and ease were the main stumbling blocks. 

I can help myself by doing a tension piece in each new yarn. And unless playing fabric Tetris, bigger seam allowances. 

Remember the hip/abdomen area doesn't just need to look good in the fitting mirror, it needs to recover well after reaching up, down or out. More ease or more weight tends to help. 

Techniques

Cutting , marking and stitching are all getting better.

I'm ready to use nicer fabrics for the improved patterns - and I have more enough things to refashion for early trials of other basics when I'm ready. I've learned magic loop knitting which gives me more options. 

    

December 2022 wrap up

Not a lot to say about December that wasn't covered in the previous (legwarmers) post. 

The Terracotta pair for H were delivered before Christmas because of a cold snap. She got a bonus pair in grey acrylic after Christmas as I worked out a panel-based pattern. 

The duck egg merino pair for J occupied a long train journey at the beginning of the month, but were so slouchy they were unpicked and restarted. So I've bought some Aran weight merino so I could get a pair to her in time for her birthday in January. 

The Finchdale jumper continues slowly. After assembly, the sleeves are a bit tight over winter tees. And there's more ease in the front yoke area than elsewhere. Note to self - detailed notes in my diary. 

A productive month in non-sewing terms, though. The flat continues to improve. Pre-Christmas clean done. And lots of nice social things too.