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. 

The Legwarmers saga

Two different people asked me for legwarmers for Christmas. EDIT: and there was a bonus pair for one of the recipients. 

One pair were in terracotta chunky wool. Single ply, so doable on the 22 peg circular knitting machine with care. As with my last few pairs, I used the train ticket trick to 'add' three pairs of extra stitches for calf shaping. Then decreased two stitches at the top before ribbing both ends on 6mm dpns, (Note to self: Row counts are in diary entry 2022-11-21.) I even took some process photos to share with the discussion group. Then the UK had a severe cold snap, so this pair were delivered early - and welcomed - before I could snaffle them to take a quick photo. Another time I might make them a little longer, but they were definitely good to go. 

I'd bought some gorgeous dk merino for the second pair, but failed to find a suitable pattern.* Ah well, I can work this out with a tape measure and a few calculations. Except: the ankle needs to be bigger than you'd think, to be put on over the heel; and the circumference needs less than you'd think, to stay up nicely. With negative ease, that means more length than you'd think - as you trade width for length when worn. By the time I'd knitted up two failed attempts (way too slouchy) , I'd run out of time before the last posting date, and substituted a different present. 

*Of course, at knit'n'natter a couple of weeks later, someone is wearing a k2p2 tube, no fancy shaping, which fit her beautifully. Far fewer stitches than even my second attempt.

Hey ho, can I use the circular knitting machine and make a pair by mid- January? Ran up a small sample tube with the merino DK, and unsurprisingly it was just spread too thin. . So not with this yarn on this gauge machine (it's good for aran, ok with a soft chunky or a fluffier dk)

What I could do is plan to visit the newly opened wool shop down the train line and get some aran. (Edit: Successful run on Christmas Eve, merino aran in a colour that will suit my friend) And in the meantime try out a flat-panel approach with some leftover thicker grey acrylic dk on the machine. 

First thought was to do the widest flat panel I can (19 pegs) and hand-knit extra stitches, starting with a to be at the ankle, dividing into panels and increasing from three stitches to nine at the calf. Notes in diary entry 2022-12-17. Tried a contrast yarn first for the smaller panel, as a learning exercise. This was a good balance between fast and shape-able. It looked fine on the table - the same join as a ten-stitch blanket was neat and decorative. Not a bad fit when on, either, though I hadn't done the top ribbing yet. Those colours and proportions do make me want to add an animal head (grins) 

stretches to

Replaced the contrast yarn with grey. Don't know if I distorted anything while unpicking. But, when worn, every imperfection in tension or break in the yarn showed. Glad I prototyped this It'd be a good technique for a sleeve gusset, say, but not in this situation. It's the right hand item in the picture, the left is the wider panel worked topdown. 

Next try 2022-12-21, still using the grey prototype yarn, was to move the shaping to the wider panel, start with 13 sts and increase below the calf. The seam now starts just above the rib, rather than working a tube first, and the narrower panel was worked on the machine and mattress stitched in. That's neater, though although I reviewed the video of the increase technique, I'm still not quite tidy enough to want to use it on good yarn. Needs more practice on something with less stretch. 

So the final prototype, and one I'm happy enough with to make a matching pair, uses the same stitch count as last time , but is worked top down and decreases in the lower part of the calf muscle. The shaping again is worked on the wider panel. Note that the top ribbing is worked after decreasing two. The first warmer stayed up through an hour's wear. 

Whilst I'll test the pair for a full day before breaking open the good Aran, and decide whether to decrease four before ribbing or just two., these look good enough, and I'm confident that I can deliver something nice and warm to my friend in the next couple of weeks. 

EDIT New Year's Day. The grey Acrylic pair, photo at the top of this post, were wear-tested by me soon after Christmas, delivered New Year's Eve, and wear-tested in the Pennine foothills today. The recipient grinned muddily when she got home and says they pass. 

The merino wool Aran pair for the January birthday were done without seams on the machine using the train ticket method. They just need ribbing by hand, and I'll cast off two stitches, making 26 on 5.5mm needles. 

2022 November roundup

November has been mostly a knitting month. However two projects-in-progress are Christmas presents and can't be blogged just yet.  J's is duck egg merino dk, H's Terracotta 100% wool Chunky. 

The Finchdale jumper continues slowly - queued behind other promises. The short rows at yoke height worked. Tonight I cast off (bound off) the neckline, and sewed up the shoulders. Without attaching the sleeves yet, it seems better than I've done before. Since there's plenty of yarn left, I can follow the plan of 2" ribbing at the bottom of the bodice, and however much ribbing the sleeves need to fit well (I'm expecting 1.5" to match the neckline ribbing will work)  

The newborn hats have been washed and delivered. 

A few things finished (and blogged) 

To match the barber's pole red yellow dk hat, a pair of mittens. For donation. 

Green/olive stripe yarn for toddler wristwarmers. For donation. 

Earwarmers for DD. 

Repairs - a couple of popped seams, replaced buttons and press studs. 

Fixing up paintwork in the flat. Again.