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!

sew renfrew.

You know when you finish something and your husband says, “Wow, you made that?” that you have a winner. For the first time in a long time, I have impressed him! haha

I decided a while ago that I wanted to start sewing again but I had a couple of concerns about this:

1. That the patterns wouldn’t fit (a memory I have of patterns I used to make when I was in high school),
2. That the fabric would be really expensive (I want good quality but not stuff that’s going to break the bank!), and
3. I wouldn’t enjoy it (I remembered finding sewing very fiddly when I was a teen but having nothing wearable at the end).

I have been following sewing blogs for a long time and buying Sew News but I have only been dabbling in projects (like the cloth diapers and diaper bag). In an attempt to figure all of this out, I decided to buy the Renfrew Top from Sewaholic and give something simple a go.

I’m hooked. Not only did it satisfy my need to craft and work on something, it was quick. This is particularly important right now as I only have snippets of time here and there to be selfish and craft. I love the marathon of a large sweater project but it’s hard to keep the rhythm of knitting a long a row with interruptions :) I’m not complaining at all – I have been looking to expand my crafting for a while. And sewing seems to fit the bill.

Pattern: Renfrew Top by Sewaholic

Fabric: medium weight knit (65% poly, 35% cotton, 3% spandex)

Version A with version B’s neck … or Version B with version A’s sleeves :)

After some deliberation, I decided to cut out the size 12 which when I am finished breastfeeding, will be 3” of positive ease. The hip measurement gives me about 1” of positive ease, which is perfect while I’m losing the baby weight. I’m not sure I would cut out the 10 in the future as I am really liking my clothes a bit looser these days but time will tell.

Because working with knits can be a little frustrating I decided not to stress about matching up the stripes since this is dark anyhow. You’d have to really inspect to see that they don’t always match up along the side seams. Also, I used a walking foot to keep the top and bottom tension even – this worked like a charm! I didn’t do any seam finishing yet as my serger is not working. It hasn’t been used for SEVEN years … so I guess that’s comeuppance for its neglect. Both my sewing machine and serger are booked in for a tune-up next week. For anyone planning on working with PUL fabric (used in the cloth diapers) – it does a number on your machine so plan to service it after or spend some time giving it a good clean out. Also, use Microtex needles – they are super sharp and work like a charm to pierce the fabric.

I’m really happy with how the neckline turned out. The stripes didn’t match up perfectly but I’m just happy it looks as clean as it does – and I only had to redo the center front once!

Based on the photo on Tasia’s blog, I did a very small zig-zag around the neckline. I love this detail. It finished it very nicely. I think next time I’ll just do plain topstitching to see what that looks like.

Lastly, the cuffs at the sleeves and waistband finished this perfectly. I love everything to be long so the sleeves and length of the shirt itself are ideal.

I will definitely be making many more of these beautiful shirts! I’d love one in mustard yellow … and grey … and navy blue … and ….

a not-so cardigan.

Those of you who know me, or see what I post about and knit regularly, know that I never knit pullovers. I actually don’t know why – I just love cardigans. They are the reason I knit – some people are into shawls or socks … I like cardigans :)

But then I fell in love when Veera published this:

Pattern: Gathering Stripes by Veera Välimäki

Yarn: Phildar Preface in colours 36 (grey) and 35 (navy)

Needles: 4.00mm circs and DPNs

A very quick knit, I kept putting it down so it took me a while to complete. I started it in April and finished now … in late June. I made the 38” bust knowing it would be too big but I wanted 3” of positive ease at least. This also means I can wear it for the rest of my pregnancy (which isn’t long but that’s ok):

Modifications:

• Lengthened the body to 19” since my torso is so long.

• Instead of 10 stripes, I did 14.

• Rather than seaming the hems, I left them. I quite like the casual effect this has on the overall look of the sweater.

I have to say, I’m really happy with this sweater. I think it’ll see a lot of wear. While I was knitting, I was torn about choosing the blue versus some gorgeous rust that I had in my stash but I’m glad I went with the blue. And it’s soooooo lightweight! Perfect for cool summer evenings, which we see a lot of in Vancouver :)

ETA: I backed the wooden buttons with small, clear buttons from my stash to give the collar a little more structure as it was very floppy. I’m really glad I did this & would recommend doing that if you’re having the same problem :)