Tag Archives: KTFOs

2019: My sewing year in review

by
My Sewing Year in Review: all the Fen mods

Any year that includes that magical striped dress up there is a good sewing year, in my book. But I think this was easily my most successful — if most myopic — year as a sewer. I sewed 12 things, some of which were never blogged but all of which are pictured here. Every one of them was completed during my Linenpalooza of summer-into-fall, fueled by the actual and neurotic need for suitable clothes for my India trip. (Although not all of them went with me.)

I think I mentioned before that this came about because I didn’t own clothing that was appropriate. Essentially all of my hot-weather clothes are sleeveless; my dresses are sleeveless and knee-length. It was going to be in the 90s the whole time and we would be outside for most or all of every day — everything I owned that was sufficiently modest would have been suffocating. Buying a whole travel wardrobe was not an option, so I bought some linen to augment what I already had in my stash, and I pulled out some of my tried-and-true patterns and began cutting.

The six garments above are all made from the same two pattern pieces of the Fen top, just modified in various ways: the striped and blurple dresses, the yellow dress, the black top, toffee top and cyan top. The four pants below are all from the Robbie pants pattern I’ve also made (with my modifications) many times before: pomelo, striped, blurple, toffee. The striped and blurple ones were both made from the scraps of the dresses, and I cut both a top and pants in the toffee color. From the scraps of the pomelo pants, I also scraped together the little pomelo top, below, which is from the Hemlock tee pattern (modified along some of the the same lines as before) with the amount of fabric determining the length of the body and sleeves.

Sewing year in review: Hemlock tee and Robbie pants

I had a lot of fun making the matching tops and pants, which can be worn together like faux jumpsuits but which also mix-and-match with the other pieces. And ultimately 10 of the above got packed for the trip, along with one RTW linen top (so I took 3 dresses, 4 tops and 4 pants) plus an 11th-hour surprise, the jacket below:

Sewing year in review: linen Wiksten Haori with travel pockets

The Sunday before we left, as I was neatly rolling my clothes and laying them into one side of my suitcase, I began to get anxious about the flights. And I convinced myself I needed to sew a jacket. I have no fear of heights or flying, but I am a little claustrophobic and I always told myself I couldn’t be sealed in a plane for 14 hours. So naturally when it came time to do that, I decided it would be fine if only I had a linen Wiksten jacket (lightweight! but fends off a/c! doesn’t take up too much suitcase space while not in use!) with perfectly scaled secret pockets for my passport and kleenex and earbuds and phone … . So that’s what I made for myself. And it worked.

.

PREVIOUSLY: 2019 Knitting year in review

Q for You: What’s your strongest knitting bond?

by
Q for You: What's your strongest knitting bond?

I’ll be honest and tell you I debated whether to post here about this precious little cardigan, but the point of this blog for me has always been a shared connection with you: fellow knitters of the world who’ve stumbled in here, being people who understand what a mysteriously powerful thing it is to knit, and especially to knit for others. We often describe it as a hug, but what this tiny sweater has really driven home for me is that to knit is to form bonds — some of them beyond description.

This sweater is for my great-niece, Matilda, who lived only a few days. Before she was born, I had envisioned a future hand-me-down. I wanted to knit a Gramps cardigan (because the only thing better than a shawl-collar cardigan is a miniature shawl-collar cardigan) and had picked out this sweet, soft green yarn for it.* As with E’s sweater, I would have made it 6-12 mos size so she’d have time to grow into and out of it before it hopefully got passed on to another baby. When she died, I still very much wanted to knit it and didn’t entirely understand why, but thankfully her mother still wanted it and so I got to have this unexpectedly profound experience. Time spent knitting it these past couple of weeks has been time bonding with her in a way I couldn’t have imagined. I didn’t get to meet her, and she became so real to me as this sweater took shape. And once it became a keepsake, the shape of it changed — I wanted it to be very specific to her. Newborn sized and a pure expression of love.

It’s a gift I hope will convey feelings I don’t have any other way to express.

I’m making this post a Q for You because what I would love in response to this is for you to tell me about the strongest bonds you’ve formed through knitting — with a family member, friend or stranger; someone you’ve knitted for or with, or who has knitted for you? If you’re willing to share, I’d love to hear it.

.

*The yarn is Bummull in “grass green,” which is a misnomer — it’s more of a dusty mint color, so pretty — and I’ve knitted the smallest size of Gramps on US5 needles with this yarn to get it to be newborn sized. (It’s less than one ball.) I added the garter ridges above the ribbing and did a garter-stitch button band minus the shawl collar, but otherwise it’s true to the pattern.

.

PREVIOUSLY in Q for You:

Pure wool sunshine

by
baby Anker's cardigan sweater (knitting pattern) with Jen Hewett x Fringe Field Bag

When I asked you all for baby sweater pattern suggestions back in October, reader Dianne inadvertently reminded me that I’ve had Petite Knit’s Anker’s Cardigan on my own wishlist for ages and that there’s a baby version, Anker’s Jacket. My niece had asked for a baby sweater in the same goldenrod Germantown yarn as the mini Sólbein — of which I had plenty left over! — and Anker’s seemed like the absolute perfect use for it, as the two little cardigans would have some design resonance. Perfect tiny sister sweaters.

But really, I couldn’t have imagined how darling this would be. And again, it took barely more than a skein of yarn! (Which means I still have enough for 2.5 more, lol.) Rather than worrying about pattern gauge, I went with the gauge I had gotten on the sister sweater — 4.75 sts and 6.5 rows per inch on US8 needles — and knitted the 3-6 month size, knowing it would come out more like 6-9 months. I never buy newborn sized clothing as they tend to outgrow it way too quickly, and definitely didn’t want to knit anything that would last so briefly. It came out at about a 21.5″ chest circumference so she’ll have some room to grown into it. I just hope she doesn’t grow into and out of it in the middle of Texas summer next year!

baby Anker's cardigan sweater (knitting pattern)

Apart from gauge, I made very few departures from the pattern. I knitted the sleeves flat and did only one set of sleeve decreases along the way, with the rest on the first row of cuff ribbing, so the sleeves are a bit more balloon shaped. And I did garter-stitch bands (on US6) instead of ribbing because I’m still really into garter-stitch bands.

I bought the little felted animals in India, and while I thought I had once put together the cutest baby gift I ever would, this one made my heart impossibly melty. I hope Baby E and her mom both know how much I love them.

(Buttons, Jen Hewett x Fringe Field Bag and Lykke needles from Fringe Supply Co.)

My little black cloud

by
My little black cloud

Not all black clouds are gloomy, it turns out. In fact, this little cloud I’ve made to line my neck with is just the opposite!

Several months ago, as previously mentioned, I cast on an unknown object in the dreamy Woolfolk Luft I had originally acquired for another project. I knew I wanted it around my neck, but not what form it might ultimately take. I simply cast on 3 stitches and began knitting a garter-stitch triangle à la Purl Soho’s Triangle Garter Wrap, but with an undefined end goal. Along the way, I’ve imagined it growing into a giant triangle, a square (with or without some variation in the stitch pattern), a large rectangle on the bias … Basically, I was waiting for it to tell me what it wanted to be. Meanwhile, it’s been handy to have lying around for those nights when you can only manage a row or two of knit stitches … and then may not touch it again for days or weeks.

As it reached a certain mass and I took to wrapping the super-soft WIP around my neck, I was reminded of the little kerchief I knitted for my mom many moons ago when I was a brand-new knitter. I’ve always wanted to repeat it for myself, and given Luft’s extreme lightness and softness, it seemed like it might be just the thing. Rather than leave it at pure garter stitch, I knitted a wide 2×2 ribbed edge, which gives it a little more grip, less slip. And I ceased increasing when I started ribbing, as I am not fond of the pointy ends on triangle shawls/shawlettes. It may block out a bit bigger, but at present it’s 18″ x 36″, and used 140g of Luft.

In the end, it’s a little gem of a thing and I can’t wait for the first day cool enough to leave the house with it draped around my neck.

.

PREVIOUSLY in Finished Objects: A Fen for Faux Fall

A Fen for Faux Fall

by
A Fen for Faux Fall

I’ve been referring to my summer sewing extravaganza as Linenpalooza 2019, but it could also be called Fen Fest for all the Fen mods I’ve sewn. This (last?) one is the most straightforward, and a great transitional piece for Faux Fall dressing given the dried-leaf color (the same as my toffee Robbie pants).

A Fen for Faux Fall

For this one, I cut a size 12 with the same hemline mods as my blue striped one a couple years back, but I also moved the neckline in 1″ at the sides for a less-wide neck opening. I gave it a center-front seam (looks great, saves fabric, win/win), did the prescribed Fen neckband, and added a chest pocket to give it a little more of a t-shirt vibe. It gives me a hint of that Fall feeling for now and will be great for layering if it ever starts to cool off.

.

PREVIOUSLY in Finished Objects: That time I crocheted a hat

That time I crocheted a hat

by
That time I crocheted a hat

I’m totally stunned that this worked. A) I’m not a frequent or experienced crocheter. B) I have never attempted to crochet something that had to fit. C) My gauge was totally different from the Wool and the Gang “Joanne” pattern I bought for this, so I had to wing it. But really the most amazing part isn’t that I crocheted a hat that fits — it’s that I made a hat that actually doesn’t look bad on me! Incredible.

This is the second of my three proposed Summer of Basics pieces, following my toffee Grace sweater. The third was meant to be a dress that I don’t yet have the fabric for. But since I’ve made three other dresses this summer (and pants!), I’m calling it a success.

That time I crocheted a hat

(Field Bag from Fringe Supply Co.)

PREVIOUSLY in FOs: Amazing “Grace” and the perfect pants

Amazing “Grace” and the perfect pants

by
Amazing "Grace" and the perfect pants
Amazing "Grace" and the perfect pants

The instant I laid eyes on my friend Denise Bayron‘s Grace pullover in Laine magazine’s IG feed, as you know, I knew it would be one of my three Summer of Basics projects, and it didn’t take long for me to decide to knit it in OUR Yarn, in Toffee. A chunky wool sweater is not on the Approved Closet Additions list, but I’ve wanted a pullover in this single-batch yarn ever since acquiring it for Fringe, and this was the perfect sweater for it — simple yet interesting. My hope was that the somewhat abbreviated shape would make it more wearable in my climate than a more voluminous bulky sweater would be, but that remains to be seen. Meanwhile, I love it.

So this is the first of my three SoB picks to be finished. I’m still hoping to finish the hat before this week is out. And while I don’t yet have the fabric for the dress to complete my proposed trio, I have sewn myself three dresses this summer! So I’m feeling good about that.

But back to Grace: Knitting it in this yarn meant doing my own math, since the gauge is different — I’m at 3.75 sts/inch vs the pattern gauge of 2.75 — but that was easy to do since it’s top-down. (Of course, I bought the pattern — the magazine — to compensate the source, even though I knitted it my own way. If you can’t get ahold of this issue, I believe Denise will be releasing the pattern for individual download sometime in November.) The challenge was only in maintaining Denise’s design details and silhouette while making up my numbers, and the only real trick in that was the neck. I really love the little retro slight-funnel neck, and wanted to preserve it, but more than that I love the way the cable panel not only runs right up onto the funnel but actually spans the full width of the front neck between the two raglans. Since knitting at a finer gauge would automatically mean my cables would be narrower, I had to choose among a few options: widening the cables, increasing the number of cables, widening the reverse stockinette field, or not having it fully span the front neck like that — none of which I wanted to do, but I could live with the first one.

By just slightly widening the cables (from 3 stitches to 4, which does create a different look for the cables themselves, unfortunately) and by shifting more of the stitches into the shoulder tops than what Denise starts with, I was able to preserve that key design detail. I also did an extra set of short row turns for the back neck, and placed them a little differently, given the gauge difference. When it came to the sleeves, in addition to knitting them flat, like I do, I did a thing I’ve always wanted to try, which was to put short rows in at the edge of the sleeve caps. (I’ll post more about that in a separate Details post!) In making my sleeve tweaks, I forgot to look and see what clever thing Denise had done with the decreases, so that part got left out. But otherwise, it’s pretty much as designed!

Amazing "Grace" and the perfect pants

After finishing the sweater on Sunday afternoon, I was dying to wear it (for the length of a photo) with my striped linen pants … which were still just a stack of parts on my table. Thus motivated, three hours later I had these beauties. You’ll recall these (yet another pair of modified Robbie pants) were cut out of what was left of the Merchant and Mills stripe from my glorious caftan, and working out the stripe placement was tricky! I managed to use only the multi-stripe portion of the fabric and was able to place the pattern pieces in such a way that the adjacent black stripe disappeared into the seam allowances at the crotch and outer leg. The gaps left between the stripes at those seams are close enough to the original gap between them, as woven, that I don’t think you even notice! My big concern was how it would look where the stripes collide in the rear, but I figured worst-case scenario I’d have to always wear a long top with them. In the end, the butt is my favorite part! And how often can one say that in life?

.

PREVIOUSLY in Finished Objects: Double caftan magic