muck muckin’.

My brother loves to muck around. Along with his wife, my sister-in-law, he just moved to Vancouver Island where the weather is colder than here on the mainland – mostly because they protect us from the Pacific Ocean storms! I decided that for Christmas I would knit him a simple sweater vest for when he’s working on those projects outside that he needs a little extra warmth without the bulk and annoyance of sleeves.

Pattern: My own inspiration based on more-than-I’d-like-to-admit photos of men’s sweater vests online.

Yarn: Cascade Ecological in various colours from my stash

Needles: 6.00mm

I love stripes but I decided to do big block stripes instead of 2x2 striping (or some variation of 1-3 rows before changing colours). I like and dislike the results. Because I made the vest a typical mans length (15”), I was only able to work one blue stripe. Maybe it looks like it was meant to be that way?

Unfortunately, this is too big for my wee brother who seems to have lost weight. I knit a 40” chest but it’s about 3-4” too big. Lets hope he bulks up again in the Spring when he can get out and bike!

Can you believe that the most difficult thing about this sweater was the v-neck? And it wasn’t the actual working of the v-neck that was difficult but the exact placement!

Many of the men’s vest patterns start the neck shaping at the same time as the armhole shaping but when you look at commercial sweaters (Banana Republic proved a timeless resource!), the neck shaping starts about halfway up the armhole to create a smaller opening and a more classic fit. I decided to follow this approach and I’m really glad I did!

The neck opening is neither too big nor too small. Thank goodness!

Overall, I am really happy with how this turned out. I hope it sees at least some wear! I’ve promised him another sweater that he and K saw in a window while they were travelling … they’ve taken a photo for me to design off of and I’m looking forward to the challenge. It even has a zipper! I’ll keep you posted ;)

Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year, dear readers!

rain rain, go away.

Come again another day!

But if it is going to stay … which it tends to do here in rainy Vancouver … then I may as well have a super cute jacket, yes?

It came together beautifully – I couldn’t be happier. The Minoru Jacket was definitely challenging but I enjoyed every minute. Although there was re-sewing in a few instances, it was definitely not outside my skill set … which is pretty limited when it comes to sewing.

I think what I am happiest about is that not only does it fit me … it fits me perfectly … ZIPPED UP!

I cut out the size 12. Reveal time! I am a 42” hip and 36” bust so I was nervous that the jacket would be too big in the yoke and too small in the hips – my complaint about every single jacket I have ever owned.

BUT! (no pun intended) this was not the case with this pattern! It fits in both areas perfectly. Win!

The only two modifications I made to this (I was not about to start mucking around with this pattern) was:

• Lined the hood, and
• Lifted the elastic line about 2” to hit my waist. I have a long torso and after doing my muslin, I knew I would probably have to raise it. My waist is 28” so I did have to cut off 5” of the elastic after I thread it through the casing – there was not enough shaping in the waist otherwise.

I found a water and wind resistant outdoors 100% synthetic at a local fabric wholesaler. It is quite stiff so yes, working the gathers was a little difficult. I had second thoughts about my fabric choice at that point but I’m really glad I persevered. This feels and looks like a real rain jacket – it is definitely outdoor wear. And the gathers actually turned out quite nicely considering it is stiff fabric:

I didn’t interface anything. As you can see, there was no need! If I had interfaced the front plackets, I think it would have made the jacket so stiff that it would have been lifeless. Instead, there is some movement but keeps its structure.

The pockets. I wasn’t sure what to do about pockets. I wanted them … but I didn’t. If I didn’t put pockets on, the utility of this jacket would have decreased a huge amount – I need somewhere to put the truck keys when I’m managing Tiny Tuna! So … I made simple simple simple pockets with buttons from my stash:

They are 5” wide, 6” deep at the long side and 4” deep at the short. I’m really glad I added these and I think for what I was looking for in the jacket, they finish it nicely.

While I was sewing, I decided to do a little math once I finished to explore the ‘cost’ of making pieces of clothing like this in comparison to buying them. If I had bought this jacket, it would have saved me time but would it have saved me money? value? What was the true sewing value of this item?

As soon as I finished, I decided to calculate my estimated cost, price and value of my Minoru. This is how it all broke down in the end:

Cost: $79.39 (after tax, CAD)

Price: $145 (after tax, CAD) (this is the cost of the same jacket that I originally wanted from Mountain Equipment Co-op)

Value: $261.91 (after tax, CAD)

So, ideally cost will be lower than price will be lower than value. That is certainly the case here. My jacket, to me, is worth a lot more than it would have cost me to buy it outright … that’s pretty cool in my humble opinion :)

All-in-all, regardless of the numbers, math and money, this was an awesome project. Thank you Tasia, for a wonderful pattern for the pear-shaped ladies out there!

What have you made that fits you perfectly? or a winning pattern you’d make again? I’d love to hear about it!

ps. Yes, we took these photos in the rain for authenticity! M kept reminding me that the camera is not waterproof. Who knew? hehe

a little Christmas blessing.

A very close and dear friend of mine welcomed their first child into the world last week after a harrowing few hours. Thankfully, baby and Mom are doing wonderfully. The family will be spending Christmas at home with their family in a town in South-Eastern BC called Cranbrook. It’s a gorgeous town that thrives on resource-based industry nestled in the Rocky Mountain trench. So it is cold. Very cold. Beautiful. But cold.

I couldn’t send little Kate home with her dear parents without a new winter toque to brave the snow and ice! What kind of a friend would I be?!

Pattern: Alfalfa Baby Hat by Kate Gagnon-Osborn

Yarn: Malabrigo Yarn Rios, colourway 139 Pocion

Needles: 4.00mm

I just love this toque. I still think it looks like a gnome hat – it is just so adorable. TinyTuna’s head has grown since I made his but the toque still fits (although snuggly). It will be a little big on Kate but she’ll grow into it very quickly – she is the same size Tiny was when he was born (and the same length, weird, huh?).

The Rios is perfect for this pattern as it is interesting enough too highlight, rather than detract from, the pattern of increases and decreases. You can see in the two photos below, if you read the pattern and study the photos carefully, that I changed the decreases slightly and worked them as follows:

Knit to 3 stitches prior to marker, ssk, K1, sm, K1, k2tog.

I did this because if you look at my original toque, the ssk and k2tog pull apart when they are stretched over the baby’s head. It is not terrible but now that he has grown, they pull apart really profoundly. I do not like the look of them so I thought adding the 2 stitches between them would help with ease.

As you can see in the photos, it worked perfectly:

I will mention, though, it made working the decreases in the crown a little tricky as I had to move things around a little bit but I will definitely work this the same way next time. I have one more half-skein on Rios in my stash that will become a second slightly bigger alfalfa for Tiny. I am thinking about knitting it on 4.5mm for the extra room he now needs.

weekend glory.

We have had a difficult weekend. Early Saturday night, after Christmas party number 2 (of 4), I came down with the stomach flu. Unfortunately, I haven’t fully recovered. M came down with it last night almost immediately after his final exam, which finished his semester (yahoo!) – we should have been out celebrating tonight … but we ended up giving the tickets to my parents. Thankfully, TinyTuna did not get a bad case of the flu – he only vomited a few times on Saturday and that was the end of it. He was back to his cheerful, although tired, self yesterday.

We did make it to 3 of our planned Christmas outings … it was fun to get dressed up & have some nights out just the two of us - my lovely parents babysat! Bless them! What holiday festivities are you enjoying throughout the month? I hope you stay happy, healthy & enjoy the season!

gathers & cuffs.

Part of learning to sew again means there are hiccups, re-dos and frustrations. It helps that the whole time there was a light at the end of the proverbial tunnel because every time I put the jacket on my dress form there was nothing but good things. I’m so glad I did a muslin first!

The first hiccup was the zipper in the collar. I don’t know what happened, but my zipper window came out about 1.5” longer than needed.

 

I had more than enough fabric to redo the collar and lining. The second time I measured twice and cut once:

Although my zipper window when finished was far from perfect, it looks ok and is not so bad that anyone would notice … unless they are closely inspecting the zipper in which case, they are probably standing too close :)

Hiccup #2 … Can you tell that my hood lining is darker than the collar lining? Yup. They are different polyester linings. One is slightly more purple, the other is bluer. I didn’t have enough of the main lining to line the hood as well. In my effort to use up my stash of fabric, yarn and various other things, I decided to use what I had rather than buy more. Now that the jacket is finished (yup, you’ll have to check back for the finished product), you wouldn’t be able to tell they are different unless again you are standing too close :) hehe

Not to give away too much for the finished project but I will mention the fabric I used. As you can probably see, it is quite stiff. It’s a water resistant polyester that was a bolt end at a local wholesale shop. I paid $9 per meter. After looking into it, I decided not to waterproof the seams since the fabric is only water resistant. The cost would not have been worth it! An idea for a future jacket I think …

While basting for the gathers I was having second thoughts about my fabric choice. I worried for no reason – it was perfectly fine. The fabric is a medium weight so the gathers were stiff and hard to even out but in the end, it was worth the added effort for the water resistance. There’s not point spending the time working on a jacket like this if it is not water resistant since it rains here a lot. Oh Vancouver … I both love and hate your weather patterns.

I chose not to interface the collar due to the stiffness of the fabric – I’m really glad I chose this route. The collar is soft but stands on its own perfectly. And I loooove the size. Very cool.

Lastly, the cuffs proved to be a little challenging in this stiffer fabric. I ended up re-doing them with 1.5” elastic instead of 2” – this made it easier to deal with when sewing them to the sleeves. It also proved to be helpful when I sewed on the lining using Sewaholic’s method rather than slipstitching by hand.

Check out that perfect match-up :) That you can stand too close to admire!

I shortened the sleeves by about 2” based on my muslin – I’m really glad I did. I have long arms but even these were a little too long for me.

Once we get some photos of the finished jacket, I’ll share. I hope your crafting is taking you on new adventures (and that no one is standing too close to see your ‘learning’ hiccups either)!

scholarly.

He is not particularly scholarly at this point as most of the time he is more interested in his hands and toes … and trying to eat them … but this is one gorgeous cardigan never-the-less!

Lisa has done it again :) I had the pleasure of testing this sweet little cardigan over the past couple of weeks and enjoyed every minute of it.

Pattern: Storytime Scholar Cardigan by Lisa Chemery *pattern to be released soon!

Yarn: Cascade 220 Heathers in colour 2452

Needles: 6.5mm for the body and sleeves, 6.00mm for the collar and button band

This is a very sweet little cardigan. I love the colour on him, too. The length is perfect for the cooler weather as well since everything rids up on him at this point.

Can you see Charlie’s nose there in the corner? I am not sure if he was busy sniffing Tiny or the newly-washed-in-lanolin-and-must-be-tasty sweater … hmmm

There are a few things about this little sweater that I just love – the garter stitch elbow ‘pads’ are just darling and the 1x1 ribbed pockets are a wonderful finishing touch.

My favourite aspect of this little sweater, though, is the collar/button band – it is the reason I wanted to test knit this for Lisa. I completely fell in love with it at first sight. I just looove the combination of 1x1 rib and garter. What a wonderful idea!

It looks even more wonderful on him! I just love the subtle transition and the perfect shawl collar that it creates:

I know that I will get some questions about the yarn I chose to use. I was stash busting (again) and did not have enough of any Aran weight in my stash. Cascade 220 is a light worsted so the fabric that was produced on 6.5mm needles, while gauge to the pattern, is quite light weight and a little frustrating to seam (there is a small amount of seaming to finish the pockets) – but I expected this as I had knit with Cascade at a loose gauge before. I would have gone down another needle size if I knit this again for the button band as the garter is quite stretchy but other than that I am happy with the finished sweater. The nice thing about Cascade is that while light, it fluffs up nicely when given the chance so it worked nicely for this but if you like more substantial knitted fabric, this might not be the best choice of yarn for your project. It does not get very cold here in Vancouver so this will be perfect for Tiny through his first winter. Right, Tiny?

Right, Mommy!

Finally, here is a photo of the finished sweater minus Tiny:

Next, onto holiday knitting. I`m almost finished! Are you doing any holiday knitting? Have you finished? How is it going?

gnomes.

This is a wonderful and fast knit – especially when I only have 30 minutes here and there to pick up my needles! M is calling this his ‘gnome’ hat – it kind of does look like a gnome shape …

Pattern: Alfalfa baby hat by Kate Gagnon Osborn

Yarn: Malabrigo Rios in 856 Azules

Needles: 4.00mm

Kate’s shaping that she worked into the pattern is amazing – it really fits around his head perfectly. It’s brilliant!

And simple. I knit this in worsted weight as I also wanted it a little bigger – he’ll outgrow it too quickly otherwise.

I had a very grumpy little one on my hands while photographing him – but he likes his toque. He smiles when I put it on him.

I will definitely be knitting this again – probably on 5.00mm needles for a bigger size. He seems to have a big head :)

What brilliant knits have you been working on?