Stitchcraft January 1961 - Snowflake Sweater

I am just going to start by saying I really love this jumper!  There is always a fear when I knit that I'm going to hate what I make, or it won't fit properly.  I think this comes from the extra time invested in knitting rather than most of the sewing I do and also the inability to fit as you go along and adjust as one can with a sewing machine.  I know these are things I could learn but for me knitting is something I primarily do whilst watching television at the weekend.  It was my first hobby, started when I was 5 and picked up at various times during my life and as such will always be something I turn to, but I don't pretend to understand!

Being a leftie and taught to knit by two righties (my Granny and my Mum), I knit in rather an odd fashion with one needle held up by my leg and because of that I really hate knitting anything in the round.  So what better project than one with a circular yoke!   Because I don't like knitting in the round a lot of modern patterns are out for me (unless I ask my Mum to knit them for me) so I buy a lot of old Stitchcraft Magazines as they are all written to be knitted flat.  My favourites are the 1960s onwards as before that I find the sizing a bit small (unless I choose a plus sized pattern!) and multiple sizing is more common.

This pattern is from the January 1961 edition.  I bought this magazine as part of a bundle off eBay for not very much money at all and it was this pattern that I wanted.  The yoke is actually supposed to be knitted flat and a zip inserted at the back neck, which could have looked quite striking but I felt for comfort I would leave this out and knit the whole yoke in the round and omit the last few rounds of colour work.  My only negative about this jumper (and it is a very small one) is I cast off too tightly and the top of the neck has a tendency to fold inwards.  Since I can't see it this only bothers me when I look in the mirror (seldom, my house is lacking in mirrors) or at photos.

The wool I used is Cascade 220 Superwash from Wool Warehouse.  I used Cascade on my last cardigan and am so pleased with it I used it again.  I didn't do a swatch (never have, naughty!) and it has knitted up perfectly.  I haven't tried washing it yet though so I don't know if the superwash bit holds true!

I have signed up to A Stitching Oddyssey's and Kestral Makes' Vintage Pattern Pledge this year.  I wish I had signed up last year but I didn't have a blog back then so didn't feel it was worth it (so should have anyway!).  This is my pledge:

I, Jenna of justsewjenna, pledge to sew 3 items from my vintage patterns and knit 2 in 2015. Excited!!

So although I started this in 2014 I am counting this towards one of my 2 knits I have pledged to make.  I am so excited about this challenge, as I am sure a lot of people are.  I have a serious vintage pattern habit because I love the artwork but end up buying newer patterns so hopefully this will nudge me into getting my vintage patterns out of storage and actually using them!

I am so pleased with this jumper.  Having fallen out of love with knitting due to a few failures in a row, I am now very much back in love with it.  I have started another jumper for me so I can take part in the Instagram #sundaysweaterkal and am halfway up the back so I hope to have that finished before spring appears!

Marilla's Alice Tights!!

I made some tights!!  Tights!

The pattern is Marilla Walker's fabulous Alice Tights/Leggings pattern.  The pattern has three options; view A is for a two piece leg with a heel turn piece, view B is for a one piece leg and view C is for leggings.  She has also made socks using the pattern - amazing!

For both my pairs of tights I made view B, being very lazy I didn't want to do more cutting than necessary and after making and wearing my first pair for a whole day and finding them extremely comfortable, I decided to do the same for my second pair.  They are so quick to make up, the second pair took me 30 minutes in total including cutting and getting my machines out.

Marilla has provided a lot of information on the right fabric choices on her blog and in the instructions but she was actually kind enough to send me the fabric for both these pairs, lovely lady that she is!  The colours have come up really badly here, probably due to my choice of wall, but the first pair is a really lovely coral colour which coordinates perfectly with my Jenna cardigan.  This fabric is slightly thicker than the mustard ones with a textured surface.

The second pair are actually mustard (Marilla has made an identical pair here).  I didn't actually remove any length although Marilla suggested it for extra stretchy fabrics.  So far they are fine but if they stretch out at all I will adjust them slightly using Marilla's suggested method for altering bough tights.

I am in love with my new tights, and can see this could get very addictive!  I was in need of new tights at the moment, all mine are full of holes so I have plans to replace them slowly with home made ones.  I have just ordered some stretch lace off eBay for my next pair!

Bluegingerdoll Bonnie Sweater AND Tilly and the Buttons Delphine Skirt!

I was going to split this into two separate posts, but since I made these over the course of two evenings and wore them out together yesterday I thought they could share!

 

Having seen Handmade Jane's Bluegingerdoll Bonnie Sweater I knew I had to make one, then Amanda at KitschyCoo got some lovely stripy sweater knit in stock, the planets aligned and a top was born!

The pattern is marked as beginner which is perfect.  I didn't use the instructions as it is a lovely straightforward make.  I did change the pattern slightly, I made view B but then I lengthened it a bit.  Unfortunatlely I can't remember how much I lengthened it by because I traced this at my parents house a few weeks ago!  I did lengthen/widen the bottom band also to make up for the added width around the bottom but not by enough so it looks a bit puffy. However, I like it like this so I won't be changing it!!   I also added cuffs onto the sleeves just because.

I really love this jumper, it is so comfy but (hopefully) stylish, if I can find some more lovely sweater knits I am totally going to make more of these!

The skirt is completely copied from Marilla!  She very kindly sent me some of her fab yellow denim and what else could I do with it but copy her skirt, so now we are skirt twins!  Except I was a bit lazy and didn't add pockets, or finish off the seams beautifully like she has done.

I am so pleased with my skirt though.  I have made the Tilly and the Buttons Delphine skirt before and I love it so much, I must wear it about three times a week.  I also have some blue denim in to make another one!  For me, it is the perfect skirt to wear with tights and boots in the winter.  My only slight (very slight) regret with this one is I didn't line it and I did find it was sticking to my tights a bit yesterday.  It will be fantastic in the summer though, and I will just wear a slip underneath it until then.

I am so pleased with my new outfit.  It is always my winter wardrobe which looks bare and I end up wearing the same few skirts and tops in very short rotation so I am very pleased to have something new to add into the mix.

Jenna Cardi for Mum!

This is the last of my Christmas sewing which luckily I finished just before leaving to come and stay with my parents in Switzerland for Christmas.

I saw the jersey in Stone Fabrics and immediately thought of Mum.  Her favourite colours are bluey greens and turquoise and she loves interesting fabric (she has a degree in textiles) so this is perfect for her.  The fabric is fabric is described as vintage, which actually describes it quite well.  It has less stretch than the fabric I used for my Jenna Cardi but it works really well and I think will be lovely and warm.

The ribbing has been sat in my stash for quite a few years but I only had enough to the neck, bottom and button bands.  I didn't realise as I was making it but I should have taken a bit off the length because it has gone frilly around the bottom.  I offered to take it all the ribbing off and change it for main fabric binding instead but luckily Mum likes it how it is.

The pattern is the Jenna cardi from Muse Patterns which I have used before for me, and which I won in a giveaway from Rachel at House of Pinheiro.  I made the size 38 this time and the fit is pretty perfect for Mum.  I made option without the gathers on the front and I really like this.  When I made another for me I will try this view.  As before it sewed up really well and without problems, and because I had made it before it went together really quickly.

As before I got some pretty awesome poses off my Mum, so I thought I would leave you with a selection!!  I hope everyone had an amazing Christmas and are looking forward to a very happy New Year!!

Christmas Crafting Part 4 - Christmas Wreaths

Inspired by Marilla Walker's Christmas decoration swap, I made some Christmas decorations!

The first is a knitted wreath that I decided to make on a whim.  I really fancied doing some colour work and wanted a small project after finishing my last cardigan, however this backfired slightly as it took waaaay longer to knit that I first thought it was going to!!  I used a chart I found on a scarf pattern on Ravelry which was actually too wide but I had already started this before I realised and just continued!  I also knitted two rows twice, possibly after a glass of wine, and decided to leave it in as a design detail!  

After I finished knitting the right length I sewed the two ends together, wrapped it around the wreath (found from Minerva Crafts) and sewed the edges.  Because it is knitted it moulded quite nicely to the shape of the wreath.  I finished it off with some satin ribbon I had removed from a cardigan and some beautiful decorations I bought when I went to visit the lovely Portia a couple of weeks ago.

The second wreath I made as part of the Christmas decoration swap.  I wound some thick grey wool around and around the polystyrene wreath, which took longer than it sounds!  I then embroidered the writing on some red fabric and attached some pompoms.  Quite simple, but quite effective I think!

Christmas Crafting Part 3 - Last Minute Teacher Presents

This post would not exist if it were not for the extraordinary lack of organisation from a fairly big company.  I ordered some tins of biscuits from an online retailer* to save me the hassle of making teacher presents, and when I phoned up to ask them why they had not arrived a week later (or even been despatched, I'm still waiting for them...) they just said they had been very busy.  Now I'm not one to tell other people how to do their jobs but I reckon I could have told them they may be a little bit busy in December, well in advance!!

Oh well.  So last night I suddenly realised that I needed to come up with a present of some sorts by this morning as it was our last day of term.  I asked the Child what she thought we could do and she suggested fudge (a favourite in this house) and a little bag to put them in.  Okay then.

The Child chose some fabrics from the stash, two coordinating prints I have had since forever, and I made two boxy pouches with alternate fabrics on the inside and outside.  I used a tutorial I found on Pinterest but can't find the same one again, however there are lots out there.  I didn't use the measurements it said anyway, I just read it for the construction.

For the fudge, I made up a new Christmas fudge recipe that I thought others may find useful so have written it down in case anyone else is caught short without a gift this Christmas!

Christmas Fudge
1 x 397g tin of condensed milk
250g granulated sugar
200g dark brown soft sugar
110g butter
150ml milk
1 tsp (or to taste) cinnamon
1 tsp ginger
1/2 tsp allspice

1. Put all the ingredients into a heavy bottomed saucepan over a low heat and stir occasionally until the sugar is dissolved and the butter melted.
2. Bring to the boil and boil, whilst stirring, until the mixture will set when a little is dropped onto a plate.  This should take around 10 mins.
3. Take the pan off the heat and beat vigorously for as long as possible or until your arm drops off.  Less beating will result in a chewier texture. Then pour out into a tin to set.  I use a 18cm square tin lined with foil.
4. Mark out squares before the mixture sets too much to make cutting later easier (I forgot this time and it cracked a bit).  Lick the spoon while waiting for it to set, trying to avoid burning your tongue (voice of experience!)

*It was Lakeland Ltd just in case anyone was wondering

Françoise Mark II

Françoise, meet Mathilde.  Mathilde, meet Françoise.  I think you two will be very happy together!

When I blogged about my first Françoise dress I said I was going to do a proper muslin before I cut into my "real" fabric.  Well, I didn't quite get around to it, I just decided that the fit would be fine and merrily cut away.  And I am glad I did because I am in love with this dress!!

The fabric came from Croft Mill ages ago and is British wool.  I originally bought it to make a pencil skirt with but changed my mind after making a trial version which just does not work.  I have been saving it since then waiting for the perfect project and was just about decided on turning it into a Delphine from Love at First Stitch  when Tilly announced the release of this pattern.  I only had a metre, but that was enough for the dress itself.

There is a lovely yellow check running through the fabric, so I had already decided on pairing it with the Mathilde blouse before deciding what pattern to use.  (There is also going to be a coordinating Archer but that may be a long way off - it's been planned for about a year so far!).  I had plenty of the yellow fabric from the Mathilde left so used that for the bindings and also on the hem.

After checking the general fit on my first version of this, the only thing change I made to that pattern was to lower the bust and waist darts on the front by about 2cm, which I did on my first one too.  Other than that the fit is pretty spot on.  I kept the length as per the pattern and although it is probably shorter than I would normally wear, I don't think it is too short, although I wouldn't wear it without tights.

I really, really love this dress.  I wondered about lining it and even cut out some lining fabric but decided against it on the grounds that I can always wear a slip underneath, and I think it needs one to stop it sticking to tights.  I wasn't wearing one for these photos and I can see it clinging a bit.  Overall though, I am happy.  I am planning on wearing it to a Christmas party this weekend.

I have a few other versions of future Françoise dresses in my head.  I would love a denim/chambray one with a collar, and another ponte version as  my last one is just so comfortable.  I find this style of dress so wearable and customisable that I think there are going to be a few in my future!