Monthly Archives: February 2014

Three Very Different Winter Scarves

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I still have three scarf projects that have not been shown on my site. The first is a yummy combination of Shibui Knits Cima and Silk Cloud held together.Shibui-Cowl-no20-FMweb The colors are luscious and it was a very easy knit. My husband stole this one as soon as it came off the needles! It has taken me a while to get it back from him for photography. The pattern is Shibui Mix No. 20. Other than changing colors and stripe direction it’s simple knitting. I was able to knit the whole project during all of those movie explosions my husband loves to watch.

Qiviut-Scarf-FSThe second scarf is also for my husband. I mentioned to him that qiviut (remember this word Scrabble players) is even softer than cashmere, but VERY expensive. He insisted on searching out some skeins on Etsy so he could have another scarf. Qiviut, in case you are not familiar, is the soft under fur of the musk ox. Shed each season, the wool is collected off the tundra and rocks in northern climates. While I’m not sure it was worth the price (around $180 for the two skeins), the scarf of my design did come out well and he is wearing it a lot.

Deconstructed-Scarf-FSThis last scarf, knitted for a friend over a year ago just needed finishing. The pattern is Les Miserable by Cynthia Parker and knit with Classic Elite Yarns Silky Alpaca Lace. All I had to do was full (felt) the scarf by hand so I procrastinated until last week. As it turned out the hand felting recommended in the pattern wasn’t working for me, so I threw it in the washer. Felting in the washer is so easy, but I thought it would be too strong of a felting. The resulting scarf is cool and if I had only known, I would have finished this project last year. Procrastinating to this level has taught me a lesson…Just Finish It!

Shirt Refashion #2

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I mentioned on my first men’s shirt refashion that it came out a bit more formal than I had intended. While I loved the result I really wanted an everyday shirt for spring. This shirt is going in the right direction.Yellow-Shirt-FS

My BSF Debra and I got together to each make another refashioned shirt. She is still promising photos of her pieces, and as usual our two projects look nothing alike!

I started with two of my husband’s shirts that are too large for him. I liked the fabrics, but was hesitant about the color. Shirt-Refashion-2-FSI have red hair and brown eyes unlike most redheads with blue or green eyes. Fall colors look best on me. The light blues, while pretty just looked like an anomaly in my closet. In the end I put the shirt in a marigold dye bath and the result works better for me.

 These shirts are so much fun to make. All the hard parts like the collar and plackets are already finished. The final shirt just needs the panels added to the sides and some details to add some interest.

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Yellow-Shirt-Sleeve-Buttonholes-DNotice that the side panels still have the buttons and buttonholes! My BSF gave me that idea from her first shirt.

This shirt looked baggy around my waist, so I added a fabric tie belt. Yellow-Shirt-BSThe pocket is a nice addition for everyday wear. I try to add pockets whenever possible.Yellow-Shirt-Pocket-D

Valentine’s Vest and Tunic Top

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Vest-and-Tunic-FMwebI bought this cool fabric from The RainShed back in September when I returned from my Diane Ericson retreat in Taos. A fellow sewer, Gwen was making a cool vest out of the fabric, which is grey wool laminated to a black knit. Both sides are attractive and the fabric does not ravel so Gwen was cutting holes out to add interest to her project. I had to try some of this fabric!

Finding the right pattern for me took a while, but I finally settled on Vogue 8932, since it has so many panels to show off both sides of the textile. I like to wear layers so a vest is perfect. I added 2” to the length of the pattern and eliminated any facings. Frankly, I think the final vest looks more like the photos on the pattern cover and it would have felt too short if I had not added the length. Instead of facings a knit stripe finishes off all of the edges.Vest-and-Tunic-BMweb

I added the cut outs to emphasize the lines of the front,Vest-Cut-Detail-DSweb and placed a few appliqué pieces to carry an asymmetrical line on my left.Vest-Detail-FS-copy The piece needed a little sparkle so I added a small triangle of metallic paint to each of these larger triangles. Just one triangle brought the design to the backside.Vest-Detail-BSweb

 Finishing the vest left me with the question of what to wear underneath. I had pulled out a number of coordinating knits when deciding on the edge treatment. Since several of them went well with the grey/black fabric, I decided to whip up a knit top to wear under the vest. Vogue 8952 is so easy and only took about 2-3 hours to cut out and put together.Tunic-Top-FMweb

I can’t wait to wear this on Valentine’s Day! Hmm…red pants might be a fun look.

First Shirt of Summer – Men’s Shirt Refashion #1

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I am so pleased with this project I can hardly believe it!Shirt-Refashion-1-FHMy BSF Debra and I got together to refashion some men’s shirts. She is going on some warm vacations so needs some new spring clothes now while it is still cold. After looking through our stash of used men’s shirts, I chose a linen shirt. In addition I added a frayed pair of black linen pants and a pair of linen overalls that had never worked for me. While not an absolute necessity, both Debra and I like to include a touch of black in our projects whenever possible to go with our favorite black jeans or leggings. Including your favorite neutral makes wardrobe management so much easier.

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I owned a white shirt that had a square poncho shape instead of sleeves. We both used it to get our basic idea for the refashion.Shirt-Refashion-1-BM I promise Debra is going to get me pictures of her projects soon. No one will believe how different our two projects ended up this day!

The men’s shirt is in the center with trim from my black pants and sleeve panels made from the legs of the overalls. Shirt-Refashion-1-FD2The bias tape decoration is made from the overall straps that I just left hanging instead of cutting. Shirt-Refashion-1-BDStill not done, I added some Diane Ericson stencils to one sleeve for balance.Shirt-Refashion-1-FD

While it ended up dressier than I had ever imagined, I am very happy with the end result. So much so that I have already made a second version that is not photographed yet. I usually hate summer clothes, but have high expectations for my warm weather wardrobe.