the forgotten sewing projects of 2017

When I started compiling my forgotten makes and bakes of 2017 at the beginning of the year I didn't think I had much sewing content left to share as I was sure I had blogged most of my projects..... nope! Haha.

First up, t-shirts! The first one was sewn early last year with a fun dinosaur print from MyFabrics, using a lengthened version of the Lady Skater Dress bodice. It's a medium weight jersey, but quite a thick feeling medium weight which makes it cosy and fairly opaque (yay, no awkward "hello there, bra" situation.)

I used the Lady Skater pattern as I liked the fit of it around my upper body as a dress, but somehow I feel it doesn't quite translate as a t-shirt. I'm wondering if it needs the weight of the skirt to pull the underarm seam into place? (If that makes sense?) Anyway, it's perfectly fine, more than fine really because DINOSAURS. It's a pretty cool t-shirt.

Next up is what was meant to be a Jennifer Lauren Gable top made with left over jersey from my green Lady Skater dress. Sadly, this pattern didn't work for me. As much as I admire the high, slash neckline on others I personally found it too strangle-y. The actual neck opening felt quite small too. Clearly I underestimated how much breathing space I like to give my collar bones... and the size of my head?!

Unimpressed, and wow my hair has grown so much since November.

I also didn't enjoy the pdf process as the pattern lines didn't want to match up well (there didn't appear to be a border on all edges to help align pages - unless I printed it wrong?) and I found the fit around the armholes quite tight. In order to rescue it I let out the seams around the armpit and side seams and replaced the slash neck with the front neckline of the Colette Patterns Moneta dress, which skims just under the collarbone. Turning under the neckline and topstitching was my only option as I didn't even have enough scrap fabric for a neckband.

I hadn't realised just how creased this t-shirt was down the middle when I photographed it last week, but surely nobody actually irons their t-shirts?

The resulting t-shirt isn't the best fit but it's perfectly practical and I love the colour. I really like the look of the box pleated skirt which came with the Gable expansion pack so I'll likely try that out sometime with a different bodice.

My final t-shirt was made with the left over fabric from my Marvel-ous Moneta dress. It was way too cool to waste.

There was *just* enough fabric to cut out the front panel then I used plain black jersey for the back, neckband and cap sleeves. The t-shirt pattern is Tilly and the Buttons Agnes top and having made it a few times now, making tweaks each time, I feel I'm close to a TNT (tried 'n' tested) t-shirt pattern. Needless to say, I flippin' love this t-shirt.

HULK LOVE T-SHIRT.

Last up in my garment sewing is my dark green, stretch velvet Lady Skater dress I made at Christmas. This was a trial run for another velvet outfit I had planned (and have since made.) The fabric came from Tia Knights Fabric and has four way stretch so it's similar to jerseys I've used previously. It was a bit of a pain to work with as the velvet liked sticking to itself every time I had to line up seams right sides together, but nothing I (or my machine's walking foot) couldn't handle.

After wearing the dress for a day I decided I wasn't happy with the fit so I went back and raised the waistline by 3/8 inch and graded the waist down a size. This massively improved the look and feel of the dress although I still wonder whether the sleeves need slimming down too. (Perhaps the shiny-ness of the fabric makes any wrinkles look worse than they actually are?) It was also at this point that I realised all my previous Lady Skater dresses are on the big side, but somehow it's less of an issue in casual cotton jersey, and I prefer the neater fit of my more recent Moneta dresses.

Although the dress is vastly improved I'm still not overly enamoured with it. I think part of the problem is the wide neckband and twin needle topstitching as it almost feels too casual a finish for the fabric. I feel tempted to unpick the band and draft a collar to relace it as I think the dress could do with some sort of detail, but further alterations (perhaps including the sleeves) will have to wait. I've faffed about with the dress enough for the time being.

In addition to my velvet dress in December I also managed to sew a few items for Christmas presents. What started as "I'll make a teacosy for this person" turned into a little production line for other friends and family. I've discovered tea cosies are a great way of using up cotton scraps and the perfect excuse to buy those cute cottons you love but know you won't wear. I made 5 in total and managed to make a photo collage on my phone as I sadly discovered PicMonkey is no longer freely available online. (Waaah! So gutted, anybody know of a similar free site?)

I also made a cool Doctor Who themed tote bag for a friend. The bag is gusseted so it has loads of space and I interfaced one side to give the bag some structure. I also used thick webbing tape for nice and sturdy straps. Best of all, the bag is reversible so my friend can decide which side she likes best. I was so pleased with how this turned out and it made me feel all nostalgic for bag-making (I was that teenager who recycled old jeans into funky bags!)

So that's all my sewing for 2017 wrapped up! 2017 was the year of jersey for me which genuinely revolutionised my sewing. I had spent the last couple of years convincing myself that I wanted to wear cute, woven cotton dresses, labouring over bodices which refused to fit me (which became really disheartening) when actually what I wear most and love wearing is jersey. I cannot even begin to express how much enjoyment I get from wearing all my jersey dresses and t-shirts. It truly is the best feeling wearing an incredibly comfortable item made by you, specifically for your shape, style and taste. Long live jersey!

Sewing plans for 2018.... yet more jersey? Hehe. I'd quite like to make a few more plain items considering how much I like wearing my plain Lady Skater dresses and just generally work through my fabric stash. I have plenty of lovely fabric sitting in my sewing cupboard so I just need to decide on a project.

the forgotten knitting projects of 2017

Hi folks, I'm back with my knitting round up. I managed to blog two knitting projects last year, my Blaster cardigan and first pair of socks, but here are the rest. Enjoy!

Steven Seagull

Haha, see what I did there? I knitted this little fella for my Mum's birthday last year for a bit of fun. He was a bit fiddly to make but worth the effort as he has loads of character. Mum has him "flying" from the ceiling on thread. He looks a bit lonely though, so perhaps I should knit another to keep him company!

Sweary mitts

This was my summer knitting project (what can I say, I was being prepared!) I initially followed the pattern for Drunk Girl Designs' "How Cold Is It?" mittens but ended up throwing it to the back of a drawer as the pattern didn't work for me. However I still loved the sweary concept so I created my own chart and followed the pattern for my first mitts as a rough template. In hindsight I wish I'd made them a bit bigger as I'm not convinced with how the lettering stretches across my hands, but I still love them. They're pretty yet subtlely offensive which I find highly entertaining. I'm aware that not everybody shares my enjoyment for foul language so I'm only sharing a photograph with the naughty word obscured.  If you want to see them in full sweary glory then feel free to check out my Ravelry project page.

Slouchy moss stitch hat and matching cowl

Ahhh, the slouchy moss stitch hat of dreams. It's so big and squishy! I can even fit my little pony tail inside this hat and that's impressive considering I have a sizeable head and a lot of hair. However this hat has almost grown too big since I made it in October (the perils of acrylic mix yarn I guess) as it keeps falling down my face unless I have my hair up in pony tail. I might run some elastic through the ribbing to give it a bit more grip if it really starts bothering me.

Oh the glorious cowl, I've worn this loads since I finished it! I've wanted a moss stitch cowl for ages so I'm happy I finally knitted one. It's so cosy and the perfect length for comfortably wrapping twice round my neck.  I also love the combination of the textured stitch with the flecked yarn. It's so pretty.

Subtle festive socks

My second pair of socks! I started off following the "favourite socks" pattern by Voolenvine but ended up abandoning the pattern after the heel turn in favour of a different one as I was struggling with the somewhat vague instructions. The pattern is likely fine to follow if you're familiar with sock knitting, but as a person with little sock knitting experience, having never knitted a heel flap before, it's not the clearest to follow. 

I really love the fit of these socks so I'm definitely a heel flap girl. They have been fantastic to wear over ordinary socks or tights for extra cosiness inside my winter boots.

Hand-dyed socks for Mum

My Mum took to sock knitting in a big way last year (it snowballed from my birthday socks) as she spent most of November and December knitting socks for family Christmas presents. However she never got around to knitting a pair for herself so I sneakily knit a pair for her Christmas.

I also used this as an opportunity to try my hand at dyeing wool after discovering the world of independent wool dyers through YouTube vlogs (Amy of Stranded Podcast being my favourite.) It's hard not to feel excited and inspired by all the beautiful colour blends and effects that can be achieved through hand dyeing.

After watching a *lot* of tutorials on YouTube, I settled on Jacquard Acid Dyes as it's easily available within the UK (thanks, Amazon!) and the stove top method for heat setting the dyes. Top tip for others interested in dyeing: raid the charity shops for equipment. I imagine a lot of people could be put off dyeing by the thought of having to buy new equipment (as you can't use pots/utensils you plan to cook with/eat from due to the dye pigments) but it doesn't have to be expensive. I picked up stainless steel pots for next to nothing!

For my wool I went with my favourite, Jamiesons of Shetland, in their bare wool called "natural white". I was aiming for a variegated effect of soft sea-green/ sand tones and although it didn't turn out exactly as I had envisioned it still looks effective. I've dyed more skeins since then and it is so much fun! I'm looking forward to knitting them up.

The only downside to my yarn choice is that 100% wool isn't the most durable for sock knitting. A little bit of nylon content would make a much harder wearing pair of socks. Although I've worn my wool socks loads and not worn through them, my Mum managed to wear a hole through one of her socks within a month. Looks like I need to learn how to darn!

And that's it! A cardigan, a seagull, a pair of sweary mitts, 3 pairs of socks and a matching hat and cowl. So far this year I've mostly been knitting presents (birthday and new baby) although I've just returned to working on a pair of socks for myself which I started at Christmas. I'm using a fun, speckled skein from Hedgehog Fibres (my first skein of indi dyed wool) which I bought as an early Christmas present to myself in Edinburgh in December. I also purchased a stunning variegated skein of Malabrigo yarn which is earmarked for a shawl/scarf. I'll likely start that after I finish the socks.

What are other fellow knitters working on at the moment?