Knitting while the weather is warming up seems a bit silly,
but I do love my cotton sweaters.
And I absolutely adore A Stitch in Time. Wouldn’t it be fun to knit and crochet my way
through the entire collection? Now that
there are two volumes, it would probably take the rest of my life, but it just
might be worth the effort. And I am not sure I would ever get any use out of a knitted swimsuit, but you never know . . .
For me, the scariest part of knitting sweaters is that it
takes hour upon hour, and there is no real way of knowing if all that work is going to turn out to be wearable. If the darn thing
does not fit properly, there is not a whole lot to be done. There is no trimming down of seam allowances
with a knit sweater.
I cannot for the life of me read lace patterns when they are
typed out. I need a diagram with symbols
or I inevitably lose my place and get extremely frustrated. To save a lot of tears, I have started making
my own diagrams – and it works brilliantly.
My yarn choice this time around was a bit too thick for the
pattern, so instead of ending up with negative ease, it is on the large side. And the sleeves ended up being a bit longer
than I would like. I may try my hand at
shrinking the cotton, or I may chicken out and leave it as-is.
The skirt was another attempt to make more wearable items
for my wardrobe. That is not to say I am
going to stop making my fancy frocks.
But on those lazy days, it is nice to have an easy fitting skirt to
throw on.
I already made this particular skirt in wool using Vogue 2885, and
decided that this floral fabric (another fantastic grab from the Sew Weekly Swap)
would be perfect for a summer version. I
am unsure of the fabric content. It is
one of those mystery fibers and I cannot decide what the heck it is made
of. I was worried that it was polyester, but after
wearing it all day, with no static cling whatsoever, I think it must be some
sort of rayon/acetate blend?!
I may never know what it is made of, but I can say that it is yet another successful garment made from swapped materials. How fun is that?!
Sweater: Made by me,
“Such a Debonair Little Jumper” from A Stitch in Time, Volume 1
Skirt: Made by me,
Vogue 2885
Brooch: Gift
Earrings: Macys
Shoes: Colin Stuart
for Victoria ’s
Secret
So pretty! I just love seeing your knitted creations as well as the sewing!!
ReplyDeleteYou make such pretty things!
ReplyDeleteI love this sweater, it looks great and I like the band at the bottom. So nice!!
ReplyDeleteThat soft sage-jade shade is so sweetly lovely - as is your whole outfit. Wonderful work on this sweater, it's such a charming gem.
ReplyDeleteWishing you a marvelous Sunday,
♥ Jessica
Lovely work!
ReplyDeleteSo pretty! I am so jealous of all the things you knit! :]
ReplyDeleteI have noticed recently sweaters that are knit from the neck down on circular needles. The increases are worked in, and once you reach the shoulders, you can theoretically slip the stitches onto spare yarn and try the sweater on to check the fit. It sounds like a marvellous idea and I have a pattern I am going to try this on, next in my queue of things to knit. I found the technique described well in this video. There are 7 videos and I did watch them all, I found it fascinating. I have noticed many sweaters that I love on Ravely are knitted with this method.
ReplyDeletehttp://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qYJ_x091htc
I have just about finished this jumper and mine seems to be a bit big too, serves me right for not knitting a tension square. I love the colour you have chosen. I am having a dilemma with mine, do you ever knit something and get most of the way through and wished you had chosen another colour? I think the jumper still looks great even if it is bigger than that in the book.
ReplyDeleteI think after staring at the same yarn for months on end, one is bound to get a little tired of it, no matter how beautiful the color.
DeleteMy major problem is knitting something, only to find I have nothing to match back to my new sweater. Really silly, right?!
Lovely! The sweater and the skirt are beautiful together. I'd love to get around to knitting a full sweater one day, but I love looking at all of the creations out there.
ReplyDeleteI'm sorry, but who would spend months knitting a sweater, but not first spend two days experimenting with generous tension squares in order to check/adjust the gauge?? (Lizzie! Please.) To me, that simply makes no sense. I could never enjoy making the sweater if I didn't feel confident about the tension/needle size/gauge/fit. WTF, ladies.
ReplyDeleteI did knit a tension square, but it can be hard to tell what the fit will be like until the entire sweater is finished. And at that point, it is usually too late to go back.
DeleteI like the way the sweater fits, it looks just right. I have been reading the reviews on Amazon for the stitch in time books and it is mainly people saying the patterns are full of mistakes. Have you found this? I would love to use the books but not sure if I would spot or be able to rectify any mistakes.
ReplyDeleteI would agree that there are quite a few mistakes in the first volume. That being said, I think that the huge number of spectacular vintage patterns makes up for this. (I should also say that I like to use the reprinted vintage patterns as opposed to the "updated" versions made using current yarn choices so perhaps I have avoided some of the misprints that others have come across.)
DeleteThere is a wonderful Ravelry group devoted to the books with helpful erratas, and a group of people who love to help when anyone gets stuck. http://www.ravelry.com/groups/a-stitch-in-time-susan-crawford-vintage-designs
So I would say, go for it!
Thank you, These will be going onto my wish list.
DeleteThank you , these will be going onto my wish list.
DeleteI think it's a lovely sweater, and quite flattering as well. I've been crocheting for a number of years now, and have never had the courage/patience to attempt a sweater. Perhaps someday...
ReplyDelete