Refashion: Scarf to Skirt

Hello again! As much as I'm genuinely loving all of our wintry, stormy weather at the moment (truly!), I can't help feeling a little bit excited when I look outside and see definite hints that spring is just around the corner. And that's got me looking at my project queue and rearranging it a little bit - right now I'm wanting to sew up a few transitional garments, rather than strictly cold-weather gear. (Although I think I can just about squeeze in a cosy, long, shawl collared knitted cardigan before the weather really turns...wool is on order!)

With that in mind, I dug out a scarf that was given to me by a friend at work. (Now that people know I sew, I think they're starting to see me as a kind of unofficial op shop...and I have no complaints with that!) I thought I'd taken a before shot, but I can't actually find it, sorry...

It's (or, it was) an Indian cotton rectangular scarf, with a border print running along each edge. Being cream with a black print, I thought it could be paired with cooler or warmer layers fairly easily. By a very happy coincidence, the width of it (plus a very tiny seam allowance) was exactly my hip measurement. Win!

There's no shame in a fourth Ginger skirt is there?! Because that's fast becoming my go to skirt pattern. It's certainly paid for itself, anyhow :). I used this as a base, and made an underskirt of some black voile I had. I cut the ends off of the scarf to the length of the pattern, and created darts at the waistline, leaving the sides straight from the hip point and open from about midway down. (I needed two sets of darts on both the front and back.) This meant the border print was doubled at the side seams, which I liked. The middle piece of the scarf had just enough border print either side to be used as the waistband, which I narrowed to suit.

At this point I had to veer off the pattern: the A-line underskirt sticking out the sides made the scarf look like an apron. Not the look I was going for. So I cut down the sides to be a straight skirt, and squared off the hem also. I left the sides open at the bottom (from memory, about 15cm), which was about half the measurement of the overskirt split. I used an invisible zip on the side seam, so as not to break the pattern on the skirt back. (Back not photographed, but honestly, it pretty much looks exactly the same as the front. Blur your eyes, look at the second photo above and pretend :) )

I'm happy with how this one turned out - it's already done duty as a milder winter skirt (with tights and boots, that is), and I think it'll work equally well with a tank top and sandals in summer. Transitional garment: tick!
I'm not sure how much I would have worn it as a scarf, even though I love the print, because I usually find I look better when I wear a bit more colour near my face. But I think I'll get plenty of wear out of this one :)

Aren't Indian prints wonderful, by the way?? I have an emerald sari I found on ebay in my very small stash that I've wasted far too much perfectly good sewing time just stroking and gazing at it. But I think I've just found the perfect pattern for it, so once spring really kicks in properly, that may need to be the next refashion on the list...

What are you working on the moment? Are you planning for the next season yet, or simply enjoying sewing for this one?

Have a wonderful week :)

Danielle  oxo

It All Depends On How You Look At It....

It's been a longer time between posts than I intended - I think after all the documenting of MMM I was ready to take it easy on that front for a bit. Plus life got very busy for a few weeks there, nothing dire or crisis-ish, just one of those times where it seems like everything's happening at once.

As a result, I've either been extremely lazy, or rather productive, depending on how you look at it. Sewing-wise I think I've lost my mojo a bit. I have three things cut out (the worst part!) and ready to go, but the last two makes have left me a bit despondent, and so I've been avoiding my sewing machine. When I actually think about it, I shouldn't really feel so blah - they weren't complete fails. But does anyone else ever have something turn out not quite right, and then, even though you know it's only going to take a bit of concerted tweaking, still feel like it's all a bit too much effort? It's not admirable, I know, but I'm not the only one, surely??

I'm curious - what do you do? Do you set it aside and go on with something else? Or do you grit your teeth and wrestle that thing into submission?

Me, I found something else to do. I always feel like breaking out the knitting needles once the weather turns wintry. There's something cozy and comforting about curling up in front of the fire with some woolly goodness. Plus, it lends itself to company better than a sewing machine.

So, here's what I've been up to lately. Mind you, my camera hasn't caught the colour of any of them all that well...

 First up, a little Korrigan cardigan for a friend's baby girl.

The actual colour of this is a lovely soft yellow - the camera's made it look bleached! This is a really sweet little pattern, knitted all in one piece from the top down. I used Bendigo Woollen Mills 4 ply cotton, which worked nicely for a Spring weight cardi, but if I ever knit it again, I think I'd use a wool with a bit of a halo (is that the right term? It sounds more impressive than "fuzziness", anyhow) - some of the increases around the cables look a little bit 'holey'. I think that would be avoided by using wool. Must remember that. This was the last of the four queued projects I pledged to finish for MMM.

Next up, another Merlia scarf, this time in Cleckheatons Country wool. (See previous one here.) I knew this wouldn't photograph well, being at night, but this was a 'true' red, without orange or blue tones to it. This was for my son's teacher, who is as lovely and gifted a teacher as you'd ever meet. She pours so much love, time and effort in her class - way over and above the call of duty - and I wanted to do something for her that reflected that. I think it's the first time I've repeated a knitting pattern - it's so much quicker the second time!

This one could backfire on me. It's the Regular Guy Beanie, done in Cleckheaton Country Naturals. This is for my brother-in-law's birthday, who is extremely hard to buy for. He also says exactly what he thinks, so if he thinks this is rubbish, I'll hear about it! Once I got home from the yarn shop I realised I'd actually bought the wrong kind of wool for this, (8 ply instead of 10) so I had a wander through some other people's Ravelry project notes, and found someone who'd re-written the pattern for 8 ply. There seems to be a lot more fullness in the crown than I expected, but I'm hoping that'll stretch out on his head. Well see!

The actual colour is a bit duller than this, with a bit of a natural fleck to it. Nice for a guy, anyway.

And finally, something for me! This is the Roam Tunic, by Amy Christoffers:

One thing I noticed during MMM was how much I depended on my only knitted jumper, my Beatnik. I've decided I definitely want at least one more before next May, and this is the first. So far I've done the back and about a third of the front, and I LOVE it!. I've wanted a longer light grey jumper for a while, and this is taking the place of my previous, tragic effort. I actually think this would be a really good first cable project; it's just an 8 row repeat with no shaping within the cabled panel at all. Being a thick yarn - 12 ply/bulky - means it's quick, too. Win-win, frankly!

So that's been the last month for me. I think once I get my tunic done I'll go back and try to finish those last two semi-fail sewing makes. (Need that ego-boosting win first!). One of those makes is a pair of slim-fitting trousers, and I'm finding it hard to know exactly how fitted to make them. They're almost there... In the meantime, I'm stalking successful makes by other bloggers. I especially like Fabric Tragic's latest pair of Clovers. 

In the meantime, I'll be in front of the fire clicking my needles...blissful!

Have a wonderful week :)

Danielle oxo

Refashion: Zoe-Style Camisole/Vest/Singlet....And Some Other Stuff

Hello again! We're back to some modern day sewing this week - a Zoe-style camisole/vest/singlet (choose your own preferred name). I say Zoe-style because after I downloaded her fantastic free pattern my computer and printer stopped speaking to each other. (Why does technology hate me? Why??) So rather than spend the day encouraging, cajoling, threatening and shrieking at machines (yes, in that order) I decided to go it alone. But since the refashion itself was totally inspired by her versions, I thought credit should be given where credit's due!

Here's where we started, my 9 year old son's Old Faithful T-shirt:

 Joel has very strong views about pretty much everything. We call him the human version of Kipling's Cat Who Walked By Himself. And one thing he's particularly particular about is clothes. I don't mean he's one of those mini-fashionistas that seem to be everywhere nowadays (and thank goodness - clothes when you're a kid should really only be to prevent pneumonia or sunstroke), I mean he knows exactly what he likes and what he will not tolerate under any circumstances. The clothes he likes he will wear into the ground, or until he can't actually get them on his body anymore . The clothes he doesn't end up being passed down in pristine condition to our youngest, who thinks it's an outstanding system.

I have to admit, I sympathise! I have plenty of things in my wardrobe I've loved for years, and the idea of giving a new lease of life to one of Joel's old favourites really appealed to me. So, despite his initial reluctance ("Can I just take it on camp first, Mum?"), he did give me permission, and off we went.

Until roughly 5 minutes before I suggested he give it to me, the sleeve hem (torn about a year ago) was hanging down in a long strip. He cut it off to try and prove it was still wearable... But Mum prevailed!

A bit of fairly informal measuring (I eyeballed another singlet of mine)  and we were ready to cut into it. It's a bit hard to tell here, but the back is cut higher than the front. After cutting I unpicked the side seams about 5cm / 2", and shaped the sides a little.

I'd found some red folded elastic to use and sewed it along the front and back necklines first, remembering to cut it a little shorter than the fabric length. Then I sewed elastic onto the body starting at the side seam, up past the front neckline, sewing it in half for the strap, and then back down past the back neckline and around to the side seam again. Then it was just a matter of resewing the upper side seams closed again. Here 'tis:

This has become my favourite summer pjs top (Apologies, but I won't be modelling this personally here because frankly after three children going braless in public is unthinkable). I really want to find some red and blue checked cotton to make some boxer shorts to match. Perfect!

Well, almost. The only hicccup with this is that the elastic I used - which I chose purely for the colour - is not, shall we say, of the highest quality. You can see below how it stretched out of shape a little at the back after being sewn. (The front looks like it has too in this shot, but I've checked and it really is because of the way it's sitting here, I promise!) But for around-the-house-jarmies, I'm ok with that.

In knitting news, I've finished the scarf I was working on:

I like this pattern very much. But then I'm a sucker for cables. And the gratifying thing about scarves is that the tension/gauge (again, pick your preferred...) is completely irrelevant, so it's kind of stress-free knitting. Which is lovely after my Still Light epic fail! I'd like to try this one in a few different yarns, I think. Maybe down the track after a few other projects...

Now that the scarf and the Sew For Victory challenge is over, pretty much all of my available sewing time is being spent on the King & I costumes. I think I mentioned I've been asked to make the King's outfits, since it's my husband playing that role, which makes fittings easy! It's been a really enjoyable time, since because I'm not in charge of the costumes for this show, I feel like there's no pressure - I just have to follow directions. (But at the same time I've been allowed to play around and do what I think looks best.) And three of the five jackets are already made, they just need to be altered to suit. So I can just have fun with some serious embellishing! Below is a sneak peek of three works-in-progress. Please note the extensive beading on the blue ones - that's mine! I've been setting myself up on the couch of an evening with it and am working my way through all ten series of Spooks. Good times. :) 

The only other news I have to offer right now is that I've decided to take part in the Me-Made May 2013 challenge. So long as I can include refashions and am allowed to sew during the month - otherwise it's a very small pool of possible choices! Although I could just wear my new pj cami/vest/singlet to bed every night...;)  

On the subject of sewing challenges, I've decided that my rule of thumb is going to be Only One At A Time. That should keep me from over-committing - and help me evaluate which ones I really want to do. Sounds good in theory, anyhow!

How are your challenges going? Are you putting up your hand for Me-Made May?

Have a wonderful week :)

Danielle oxo

A Knitting Frenzy!

Hello to you! Sewing has taken a back seat since last post - I've been wielding the knitting needles instead. The current work in progress (posted a few weeks ago) has been bumped down the queue so as to make room for some birthday and baby gifts. So fun!

This was the first, and is a work in progress obviously! This is the Merlia scarf, and I won't say for whom I'm intending it, on the very slight chance that she may read this... Oh how I love a good cable project!

The colour here isn't quite accurate - it's more of a light aubergine-toned purple. I'm using Bendigo Woollen Mills Serenade. It's lovely to use; a mix of merino and bamboo, really soft. And it's not a flat colour, it has that slightly marle effect (what is that actually called??). I like yarn with a bit of texture to it. The charts are a bit involved, since there are a few different cables to keep track of. BUT I learned a trick last year doing my Beatnik that makes the whole thing much less confusing - and quicker. Colour coding! And just look how festive and cheerful my charts look:

Honestly, it cuts out so much checking and double-checking. Love it! I cast on last Friday night, and then woke up Saturday morning with a brainwave. Well, at six in the morning it felt like a brainwave anyhow...

It was a very dear friend's birthday tea on Sunday, and I'd been wishing I'd had the time to make something for her. What with working most of last week though, I'd decided to be "sensible" and go buy something lovely instead. Which felt like a shame, since she's someone who really appreciates extra effort and meaningful gifts, and being pretty darn crafty herself - this girl can crochet like no one's business - gets the magic of a handmade pressie. So, the brainwave? Woke up Husband and declared, "I think I can knit her something!" To his credit all he asked was, "In a day and a half?" then yawned and said, "Good for you." And promptly fell back to sleep.

Not me though! I went straight to Ravelry and within two minutes I'd found this Hermione beanie (I'm sorry, maybe it's because I'm getting old and grammatically anal, but I just can't use the word 'hearts' as a verb. It bothers me almost as much as a misplaced apostrophe...So simply "Hermione" it shall be.)

Luckily I had some perfect yarn in my stash - Rowan's Bamboo Soft. I knit up a hat in this last year and loved it. It's got a gorgeous sheen, feels like silk and drapes beautifully. (I bought some more immediately, planning to make a jumper, then read a multitude of comments by Ravelers bemoaning how it stretched and grew in anything larger than a hat. So this silvery grey has been sitting in lonely state waiting for the perfect project.)

The decreases at the crown were quite different to other hats I've made, but they formed a really pretty 'snowflake'.

And I DID end up finishing it in time - with ten minutes to spare! I'm kind of tempted to make one for me now. Though that'll have to wait a while, since on Tuesday and Wednesday this week two friends have had babies. All very exciting! I thought for the little girl I'd make a Korrigan, and have a pretty yellow cotton yarn all ready to go. Still musing on the perfect little something for the baby boy....

So a pretty full on knitterly week, all in all! I am hoping to do some sewing over the weekend though, because the fabric I ordered for the Sew For Victory project has arrived, hooray! That hooray, incidentally,  is one part excitement and two parts sheer giddy relief. I ordered from www.offsetwarehouse.com, which sells eco, ethical and rescued fabrics. It looked fantastic, but it's always nice to see proof that something measures up to expectations! Plus I noticed - AFTER I'd paid - the disclaimer that "fabric may take up to three weeks after dispatch to arrive". I really must learn to read small print. But all is well, and there's still plenty of time to make the dress. Definite relief!

How are your work-in-progresses going? Or has something more pressing (or exciting!) jumped the queue?

Have a wonderful week :)