31 Outfits #3

This top is made for hot weather and is perfect to wear this week.

It is crocheted from an unusual yarn made in Italy. The contents are linen, viscose and polyamide. It is what is called a "thick and thin" yarn, which gives an unusual texture. There are about 3 inch sections of pure linen and then the same amount of the shinier and thinner polyamide.

The linen pants are sewn from a basic Vogue pattern and the mauve under tee is a rayon knit also sewn by me.      
    
You may have noticed I have changed my Challenge name from "31 sweaters" to "31 Outfits". That is because I've seen lots of knitted/crocheted dress and skirt patterns that I am anxious to try. It will also give me a more varied wardrobe than 31 new tops would!

31 Knitted Sweaters Challenge-#2

This crocheted warm weather top is made from the Gedifra yarn "Satata". It has cotton and polyamide fibers which are braided into an interesting texture. I used a plain double crochet and then added the flower motif in the front to echo the pattern in the pants fabric.

The off-white undertop is made from a linen knit----too flimsy to wear alone but perfect with it's breathability for underneath.  The pants are cotton, made from a basic Vogue pattern, using a Burda crotch line.

My 31 Knitted Sweaters Challenge--#1

After participating several times in the "Me Made Months" sponsored by Zo of  Zo's Blog where I wore items I had sewn every day of the month, I decided it would be a fun challenge to do so with my handknitted/crocheted items.  Of course they take much longer to complete than sewing does, so I am giving myself a year, til May 31, 2014, to see if I can complete this challenge. Actually I have MANY things started so my only rule is that I have to actually COMPLETE it during this year. 


   I'd like to use unusual patterns, yarns and techniques and I really have enough yarn already in my stash to complete this challenge, so it will be a way to use that up too. I particularly like the many summer yarns, which are now made with many kinds of materials. I have linen, rayon, bamboo, milk protein , stainless steel and soy yarns and hope to use some of each.

Here is a portion of my stash with summer yarns only:

So, without further ado here is my project #1, a crocheted overtop made with Louet Euroflax linen.

 I love linen yarn as much as I do linen fabric. It takes dyes wonderfully and is cool to wear in summer. The  holes in the fabric made it too bare to wear alone, so  for modesty's sake I sewed a simple tee to go underneathe. The denim pants were sewn by me too, and overlayed with crocheted motifs and sprayed with bleach, thus the tie-dye look.

So 1 down and 30 to go! On to the next project!

Italian Graffiti Fabric

I have had this cotton fabric with what I THINK is Italian writing on it for a long time and had almost given up on finding something I wanted to make with it. Then I read Marcy Tilton's blog post on all the printed pants she saw in Paris paris-trend-pantalons-des-celebrations and decided it was perfect for that.

I know that tight pants are in fashion now but because of my figure and this particular fabric I decided to go with what Marcy calls a "soft" pant.  Though I like my pant legs roomy I do NOT want them to look like long wide bags and found the perfect pattern in Vogue 8499, which were designed by Marcy herself.
                                                                        

These were just what I wanted for several reasons.
1.The 4 pattern pieces for each leg allowed for gradual tapering at the bottom.
2. Both the side pockets and horizontal darts near the knees gave some extra shaping to the pants, and added some interest to the length.

Needless to say, I didn't even consider trying to match any of the writing on the different pieces!

I drafted a basic top that would echo the irregular shapes in the print, but that would be short enough in the front to show the top of the pockets.

I had a hard time photographing them so that the print showed very well but here are several attempts with different lighting.

Since I don't read Italian, I am wondering what the writing says? Hope it's not too bad!

ORIGAMI and sewing

I am so glad warmer weather has arrived! Most of the winter found me with an ongoing cold/cough, lying on the couch reading and knitting with skinny yarn that took forever to evolve into a finished object. (how's that for an excuse for nothing to show?)

I did have the energy to experiment with my new "folding" habit, which is a term Origami enthusiasts like to use for their art.  It is quite a steep learning curve but here is a pic of some of my beginner projects
                                      

I've found that origami gives me some of the same satisfaction that sewing an intricate pattern does, so it is reassuring to find something else I like to do---plus it costs a lot less.  I finished all the models in the book on the left below and now consider myself an "advanced beginner". I'm working through some of the intermediate patterns in the middle books, and dreaming of the day I'll be able to fold some of the models in the Robert Lang book on the right.         Just like fashion, different designers use different techniques and Origami enthusiasts talk about "folding a Lang".  LIke most arts, there is an interesting history surrounding the different techniques that are done in different countries and it's been fun to read about those.

Stayed tuned, because I am suddenly really ready to SEW! I'd also like to include some summer weight self-knitted and crocheted tops in my new outfits.    Sewing Room here I come!

Plans for the New Year

While other bloggers are spending today summing up their year's activities, I'm trying to plan what I will be doing for the next few months when we move to South Carolina for the rest of the winter. This is a yearly trek, part of the benefits of being retired, but becomes a problem for a hobbyist like myself who needs lots of raw "provisions" to work with---fabric, yarn and books!   We live in a much smaller space down there and though I do have a dedicated sewing room, it is much smaller than the full basement I spread out in in the warmer months while in PA.

The other problem with my hobby supplies is that they must fit in 2 cars, along with our clothes and 2 cats. My poor husband is used to not having much room for his stuff!   SO, I am thinking over what I really want to do and make for the next months.


SEWING--I want to keep working through the "Pattern Magic for Stretch Fabrics" book that I am enjoying so much  

The stretch fabrics for that don't take up a lot of room IF I plan to make the items just for my half-scale model. Though she is half as long in the body, the fabric needed is only 1/8th as much and usually just scraps suffice.  However I wonder if I am missing something by not enlarging the pattern and making it for myself as I've done in the past???

Here's an experiment with my last creation from the book making it for the model only.    It is called "Peas in a Pod B" and like the A version is made from 2 identical pattern pieces, but with one twice as large as the other.      In this case the pattern was 2 T shapes put on the fold.

Here are my pattern pieces and how it looks put together.  The bigger piece is gathered up to fit the smaller one, different straight portions become the arms, bodice and neckline, and looks like this.

And here is my model's verion----It was really amazing how it all fit together!

I was going to ask my readers if they had seen enough of the pattern on the model without seeing a version on me!   BUT, I think by writing this I have answered my own question.    I am too curious to see how this amazing pattern works to not make a version for me and am heading down to the sewing room in the basement now to make one!  So stay tuned for more.

So, you can see how my allowed space in the cars fills up fast!  This means I better take lots of knit fabrics when I head south, enough to make each outfit for us both.   The picture at the top is only a small portion of my colorful knit collection, so I will have to select carefully.

I realize that I haven't even begun to talk about my knitting and reading plans for the winter, so will continue more about that soon.  

  I will add pics of a new Origami book I got for Christmas that i hope to work from.     I've always loved the folding process and consider the activity much like sewing up unusual patterns to see how they will come out.     Plus, the materials won't take up much room!

These are some of the more complicated designs towards the end of the book.  Mine will be much simpler, while I figure out if it gives me the same satisfaction as sewing complicated patterns.

Wishing you all a Happy New Year and lots of creative activity in 2013.

"Pattern Magic" for the Holidays

Since I have all my holiday fabrics out,  I decided to sew one more thing with them from my "Pattern Magic Stretch Fabric" book.    This one is called "Crescent Moon" and is related to the one I just made called "Full Moon" in that it is made from 2 circles of fabric.      However in this version the 2 fabrics are different colors and it is put together differently.    

            

Here are the pattern pieces and made-up version from the book. As you can see there are 2 offset holes, one for the head and one for the waist. The circles are sewn together  with 2 openings in the outside circle for the arms.

  Here are my unsewn pattern circles and how it looks on my half-scale model.

And here is MY version.  It can really look different depending on how it is twisted when worn and is a very comfortable extra layer for a casual holiday look.

On a more traditional note I made the long version of Vogue 8422 to go in my holiday "collection"  . It is out of print so I can't find a pattern picture but it is 3 versions of a wrapped tunic.  I decided to try the longest version and like wearing it with my skinniest pants.

That definitely is the END of my holiday sewing!   Well, except for a New Year's oufit I have in mind. |As always, more later!