Seamwork Joss Pants and Purl Soho City Gym Shorts: These are a Few of My Favorite Things!

The world has turned, hasn't it? To make myself perfectly clear, before I jump into the sewing: I believe that Black Lives Matter, and I am committed to doing the daily anti-racist work that I believe will move our society forward to greater freedom for all. I am incredibly humbled by the public, consistent dialogue and action that the last few weeks have brought, and I am committed to being involved.

Sewing and knitting and crafting doesn't happen in a vacuum. Outside events trigger changes within our internal worlds, and that effects how we express our selves. Crafting can be an activism all by itself, depending on your intentions and the mindful way you attack it. It can also be a way to center yourself and calm your anxiety, and that's ok, too. 

So here I am in a pair of shorts made from an old sheet. I've been spending much more time at home since March. Like, entire days in my apartment. Really unbelievable when you consider that my life used to take place almost entirely outside of my apartment. But come March 2020, I went behind closed doors to snuggle with my cat and work from home and flatten ye olde curve, as they say. 

I didn't have much to wear. I had one pair of comfy sweat pants and some pajamas but I didn't have a ton of options to putter around in. A few house dresses - I think this summer is really going to see the resurgence of the house dress!

But I did have time to deep clean my closets. That was when I discovered this pair of City Gym Shorts that I had cut out of an old sheet about two years ago. They were just missing a waistband and bias tape edging. I still had the sheet (which I found when I ruthlessly cleaned out my fabric stash), so cut out the missing pieces and I vowed to put together these shorts ASAP. Because I needed to wear them, like, now. 

This is actually my second pair of these shorts but I cut a smaller size for the first pair and they are tragically too small. I recently cut those tiny shorts apart and made them into a pair of face masks. But it's a delightfully easy little pattern, once you get past the inconvenience of making your own bias tape, and there are a million inspiring versions on Instagram, so this might not be the last pair of these shorts you see. 

It's certainly not the last garment made from an old sheet you'll see. Seamwork is clearly run by a coven of witches, because they released the Joss pants pattern just as we went into lockdown. Spooooky how they knew I would need a very comfy pair of pants for my days at home. This is a pattern intended for a woven fabric, and that would probably be awesome, but once again - I made them out of an old (jersey) sheet. 

I had this fitted sheet in the linen closet, which is also the fabric closet, and it just yelled at me that it wanted to be a pair of pants. And I have no regrets - I have worn these a minimum three times a week since I finished them in March. I used the pocket hack Seamwork lays out here, and they are truly a size too big. Which is totally fine in terms of lounge-y comfort, but because they are a knit cotton jersey, the fabric is heavy and I couldn't walk without them falling down.

So I added a waist tie! I actually really dig the look of the tie and I think it would be cute on a regular, not-made-of-an-old-sheet, pair of Joss pants, too. 

So there we have it: two old sheets, two new garments. And no fabric item in my house is safe from the sewing machine. I'm eyeing the curtains. 

PS: My cat, Pickle, LOVES crashing photo shoots, so please enjoy the two Pickle Bombs in this post, and if you need more of that, I made him his own IG hashtag.

All the Ripples: An Ode to Jessie Maed

Oh, hello. Welcome back to the blogging, Katie. 

I know a lot of us never left, and more power to you, but it's been a year and some months since I last blogged, and the world has been through a loop. (Future Katie: this means we've been in lockdown for over two months because there's a global pandemic and you are living alone with your cat, Pickle.) I'm definitely returning out of a need to write and share and reach out in more-wordy-ways. As with most types of blogging: I've got feelings and I gotta share 'em.

The feelings are mostly about crafts but I can't make any promises other stuff won't sneak in here.

I'm not going to do a recap of the last year and a half for you in any concise way. I'm taking a page from Jenny & Aaron's book and getting on with it (but please go look at their new post about making over a doll house, because it's adorable and I wish we ALL had tiny doll houses to make over). Let's focus on the here and now! 

So here's to two of my most recently completed knitting projects: My Little Secret Crop and the Ripple Bralette DK, both by the queen of knitting design simplicity, Jessie Maed. 

Jessie released MLSC as a free *mystery* knit-along just as most places in the US went into lockdown. I was finishing up a Lengthy Secret Project, as well as a few commissions, so I missed participating the revelation of the mystery, but I benefitted by watching the amazing finished tops rolling in. As soon as the Lengthy Secret Project was finished, I cast on for MLSC with the most ubiquitous of stash yarn, Paton's Wool Worsted, in a gorgeous blue-green-teal color. Really not the choice for a very small tank top, and yet, I LOVE the way it turned out. Is it thick? Yes. Is it warm? Yes. Is it just the thing for those weird overcast mornings in LA in May/June? Also a yes. 

It works, and the fit is beautiful. Honestly, the fit is beautiful for everyone. I've never seen garments that fit so well on literally everyone as these ripples. And yes, ripples are just thick ribbing but I like that Jessie calls them ripples - makes me think of chips. And I also love chips!

I knit the size Large and I knit it an inch or so longer than called for because I'm a DD cup and I needed that extra inch. Also my gorgeous repro jewelry is from Bow & Crossbones and they deserve a linky because they make beautiful vintage reproduction things that you might also want to put on your body.

Now, on to the second course. I have been filled with anxiety and knitting these little ripple fantasies has been a soothing balm. For a good 8-9", you don't have to really think. You just knit knit knit on those ribs until you're getting *really* tired of knitting ribbing and then it's time for some shaping and it's done! So I needed more. 

On to the Ripple Bralette in "DK." That gets quotes because this is knit in a really strange non-wool tweed yarn that has been in my stash for probably 10 years without a tag so I have no clue what it actually is. Here's another super appealing thing about these tops: they only take a few hundred yards of yarn (instead of a few thousand), so you can knit up all those weirdo yarns that you didn't buy *quite* enough of. In my defense, I think this one was gifted to me, but still. So I had this strange yarn, and I thought it should be a bralette and it started weird but it turned out GREAT.

Mostly because I knit this one a size bigger than the last one. Jessie gives a ton of recommendations for sizing and she is smart so you should listen to her first, but secondly, you should listen to your yarn. If your yarn has no stretch, knit the size up. And if you start knitting the smaller size that you knit when you were knitting with wool, and then you go to try it on and realize you cannot pull it over your boobs.... rip it out and cast on again for the larger size. It's worth it and knitting these ripples (like chips) is meditative and that's not a bad thing. 

The size I settled on was the 5th size, however you want to call it, and yes, I once again added an inch or two to the body, since I wanted it to be more of a top and less of a bra. But FYI - the bottom ribbing is tight, as it's meant to be supportive. This works on my body because it hits on the smallest point of my waist, but could be uncomf for others. 

So here she is. Weird stash (maybe cotton blend?) yarn into a comfy delightful summer top with a little bit of personality because who makes a non-wool tweed yarn? I sewed this skirt last year, it's just a gathered dirndl skirt, and although I didn't wear this ensemble for longer than it took to take some photos, I wish I had somewhere to wear this right now! I'm feeling the monochromatic look.

And... Jessie just released a new *mystery* pattern today, the Summer Secret Crop. No ripples, but I might have to give it a go after I finish my Beauty School Top. Ok, I'm off to eat some chips! 

Faded Adamantine

Oh, this sweater. This one was a labor of love. 

This year I have been trying to shift my focus. I want to knit high-quality, slow-moving projects. And all around, less. Cause let me tell you: there's only so much room in my little apartment. And I want to love the things I knit. That may seem like a no-brainer, right? Why would you knit something you didn't love?!

Here's some reasons: because everyone else is. Because someone from a theater/church/hiking group gave you the yarn. Because you want to try out a new technique. Because you're bored. 

Lame.

So that brings me to this sweater: Adamantine by Erica Smith. Dude, THIS sweater. This sweater is pure delight. The pattern was interesting (even, dare-I-say, challenging?!), I love the fit, and I went all-out with this yarn (Brooklyn Tweed Loft in Faded Quilt).

I knit this bad boy on and off from February to September, according to Ravelry. I knit this while commuting and while watching Wild Wild Country.  I think this sweater finally taught me to embrace non-monogamy in knitting, since I took breaks to finish two other sweaters and a pair of socks. 

Pulling inspiration from Christina's sweater, I wanted my Adamantine the tiniest bit cropped. Not too difficult, right? Lol, wrong. I knit the back first, and although I attempted to crop it, it somehow came out a full cable repeat longer than the front. After doing some quick fitting (shout out to my Wonder Clips), I ripped out the top of the back and began the repeats for the shoulders lower. And here we are: my perfect length sweater. 

I also made my usual mod of making the sleeve one size smaller than the body. I'm very into the silhouette that creates, with the drop sleeve design. In the end, it all worked out.

My Xmas Outfit (Along) - Julgran Sweater and a Plaid Circle Skirt

Another summer, another round of Andi Satterlund's Outfit Along! 

This is, hands down, my favorite knit-along of the year. What's that they say about creativity thriving when given specific parameters? (That's not really a saying, but...) This project really scratches that itch for me. I love planning a full outfit every summer, incorporating both knit and sewn elements. Although I must admit: I've never knit or sewn the recommended patterns. (Sorry, Andi and Lauren!)

So I looked at my Ravelry queue and my Make Nine 2018, and decided June and July was the perfect time to knit a Christmas sweater. Right? Right. Andi released Julgran last year, and I am totally into it. Just enough Christmas to make it wearable for parties, plus the option to get crazy with "decorating" the tree on the front.

So where did the skirt idea come from? I have a few projects floating around in the back of my head, Things I have Always Wanted, and a plaid circle skirt (with pockets) is one of them. But here's the thing about a simple plaid circle skirt: there's no hashtag for it on Instagram. It's not gonna pop up in my feed and remind me that I want to make it, like the popular patterns that catch like fire on IG and you cannot stop seeing. 

Now my Catholic guilt is telling me to stop and say: I am not throwing shade on those who make those patterns! Quite the opposite. I'm super proud of all the members of our little making community who continue to put out fun, exciting and wearable patterns! You go, guys!

All my shade is reserved for social media and how it seeps into our subconscious and has a way of inspirational-ly distracting us from our original idea. You know?

Any.way. Here's the deets on my Christmas outfit:

I knit my Julgran out of Cascade 220 that I had ripped from my Salal Cardigan. Sadly, my Salal never fit right and I just didn't wear it. I knit that sucker twice, in two different sizes, and it still didn't work out. So it has become a Julgran! 

I made it as written, except for my usual mod of knitting the sleeves a size down, to account for my skinny arms in relation to my insane bust. So the body of the sweater is a size medium (my bust measurement is around 41") and the sleeves are a size small (my arm measurement is around Skinny Noodle).

 

Now this plaid circle skirt. I used this circle skirt calculator to make a template for the waist, and referenced this post by Miss Make to wrap my head around inserting the zipper. And then, I just kinda winged it. 

Of course, in doing that, mistakes were made: My first, sloppy attempt at a waistband meant the plaid pattern didn't line up and I had to completely re-cut and insert it. Whoops. And the zipper I bought was too short so I have to put the skirt on over my head, not over my hips. Whoops again. Also I messed up the pattern matching at the back seam. Whoops x3. But overall, I love the look and I think it's very wearable! 

.... in December. Well, I will wear the skirt before that, but the entire outfit will have to wait for those sweet Christmas vibes. 

The French Boardwalk Blouse - A Poisongrrls Knit

Oh, hey.

Here's another Poison Grrrls pattern by Amy Appel, the Boardwalk Blouse. When Amy asked me to test knit this one, I didn't hesitate. The crop! The stripes!

I knew right away this pattern needed the French Girl treatment, so I set out to knit it in red and white CoBaSi. I did not exactly get gauge, so while I followed the numbers for size large, it came out smaller than intended. A-ok by me, Ms. Negative Ease.

So this yarn... HiKoo CoBaSi is truly amazing. Light and drape-y, but also stretchy. It's dreamy, because I live in LA where it's hot, and we all need knits like this. Plus light summer sweaters are my jam, since I work in a cold office, but somehow still sweat a lot.

Maybe I went overboard with the styling...

But probably not! Because when is a beret "overboard"?! You know who loved berets? Prince. We should all strive to be a bit more like Prince.

Andi's Outfit-Along: My Plans

Another summer, another Outfit-Along with my girl, Andi. I like knit-alongs because they provide deadlines, and I'm a Virgo, so I need structure in order to let my neurosis fully  thrive. Andi has provided us with a double-whammy of deadlines: a time frame in which to both knit AND sew a piece, making a super cute outfit. 

This is only my second year participating (last year I inexplicably gained weight over the summer - not the ideal time to sew myself ANYthing), and I'm super excited to jump in. 

For my knit item, I will be ripping this bad girl:

That's my ill-fitting, never-worn Salal cardigan (pattern by Andi! This entire post is just my love letter to her). I knit this cardigan last fall with a Salal KAL, but had to rip out my first iteration and knit it a size smaller. It's still not working for me. Or the yarn is a bad match to the pattern. Either way, it's getting ripped and re-knit into a Julgran, another Andi pattern. 

Yes, I am knitting a Christmas sweater this summer.

For my sewn item, I'm drafting a circle skirt with pockets and sewing it up in that plaid fabric. 

So there we go: a Christmas in July outfit. 

Autumnal Project #2 - Halloween B5895

What's that you say? It's no longer Autumn? In fact, it's pretty much Summer Time!?

Fine, whatever, I suck at blogging. I, like so many of us, am completely, totally addicted to Instagram. I rely heavily on it to connect me to the online community of makers. But it's June, and that means I just finished Me Made May, an entire month dedicated to wearing one's home made clothes. This year, I dragged it all out - including this seasonally inappropriate shirt.

I finished this baby last October, and frantically wore the shit out of it for the month leading up to Halloween. Since then, it's been languishing in my closet, but I pulled it out for Me Made May, and here we are: older, wiser, redder-headed.

It's my third version of B5895, sewn in a quilting cotton from JoAnn's with no adjustments. Look, I'm not advocating sewing clothing out of quilting cotton, however: if you find an adorable novelty print that you just *have* to wear, buy two yards of it and sew up this pattern. 

I mean: LOOK at those kittens! They have pumpkin hats on!!

I got a few questions about B5895 on Insta, and I will say this: it's not a pattern for beginners. The way the collar goes into the shirt is very finicky, so you might want to start with something more straight-forward. 

I'm planning a fourth version of this top for summer-lovin', sewn out of a palm print with shorts to match. So stand by. I'll try to blog that before 2019. 

Autumnal Project #1 - Anthro-Knockoff-Plaid-Blanket-Cape

As long-time Maker of Clothing, I frequently hear, "Oh, you must save so much money!"

Look, real talk: sewing and knitting clothing isn't cheap. Especially with the madness of "fast fashion," it rarely makes sense financial sense for me to make something I could get in a store. What money I might save on fabric or yarn (unlikely), I lose in time and tools. Luckily, I'm rarely motivated by finances when it comes to my wardrobe, so I carry on!

This Blanket-Cape (Blankape? Clanket?) is the rare exception. I was perusing a certain Fancy-Schmancy Company's website and found myself admiring the Scarves & Kimonos section.

You know you're Fancy-Schmancy when you have a whole section devoted to kimonos.

I was particularly delighted by this plaid kimono, but not so much the $90 price tag. "I could make that for much, much cheaper," I thought. My initial plan was to source a more blanket-like textile from the flea market, but then on a trip to Joann's for Halloween fabric, this plaid caught my eye. It's light and drapey and autumnal and a little bit witchy and it was exactly what I needed to make my Blanket-Cape dreams come true. It's about 2.5 yards, or $20 of material with the 40% off coupon, with one cut up the middle, and the raw edges turned under. I kept the lovely selvages at the wrist, and fringed the bottom for about 2". I assume more will fall out in good time, but I got lazy.

This plaid witch is ready for autumn in Los Angeles. 

  

Embracing the Shape - Thunder Road Bolero

So much of what originally appealed to me about making my own clothes was really controlling both the style and fit of my clothing. As a teenager growing up in the Midwest, I was obsessed with vintage styles, but unable to find anything in stores that approximated the look I dreamed about (think Natalie Wood as Maria in West Side Story or Grace Kelly as Tracey in High Society). No capri pants, no fitted sweater or cute flats.

So I started sewing for myself, and later knitting for myself, attempting vintage styles and collecting vintage sewing patterns from thrift stores. Most of these sewing patterns have never seen the light of day, but I love knitting modern, vintage-inspired patterns. For one thing, they work better on my ample-bosomed, 5'8" frame, and modern patterns are very clearly written, easy to follow and fairly fool-proof. And flattering. Let's all just knit things that are flattering, and make us feel good, right?

A few months ago, I stumbled upon this design, the Thunder Road Bolero, from Amy Appel aka PoisonGrrls. Amy's patterns are a delight to knit, and produce very wearable, vintage-inspired knits. This was the first of her patterns that I queued, and a quick, little, 2-week-long knit in navy Paton's Grace Cotton. It's just the thing to make dresses and sleeveless tops work-appropriate. (Not that the look above would be one I'd wear to work...)

Who's Afraid of Ripping?

 

This beautiful baby is a sweater that I ripped out. I cast on this second iteration of Cafe Au Lait at the beginning of the summer, along with Andi Satterlund's Outfit-Along. I had a mysterious, sport-weight, probably-mostly-cotton yarn in my stash, and I wanted to use it. A finite, but undetermined quantity, and I wanted it all. gone.

Maybe it's because I live in a rented apartment, and therefore my living situation is, by all definitions, "temporary," but I do not like to have yarn stashed. So having a sweaters-worth of this mystery cotton laying around, when I could have a sweater laying, felt unacceptable.

I cast on this tried-and-true pattern. The grey version of this sweater is a staple in my wardrobe, and the combination of cables and lace are a delight to knit and wear. I blissfully starting knitting the back, from the bottom up. I knit the entire back of the sweater, which probably took 15 hours... and then quickly realized I would not have enough yarn to finish this sweater as-is, and I threw it in a corner, giving up on the Outfit-Along.

But the knitting community is nothing, if not motivating. The FOMO of Instagram led me back to another knit-along, this time Shannon's Summer Sweater Knit Along. And I packed this half-knit sweater and took it on a family trip to Rhode Island. The focus of travel knitting and the motivation of my fellow SSKAL-ers led me to rip out most of my progress, and reknit it again, with a shorter body. Yarn problem, solved. 

I probably spent upwards of 50 hours working on this sweater. When I posted a photo on Facebook, a family member asked, "How much could I pay you to make me one?" The honest answer is something along the lines of, "30 hours wages times mystery yarn cost." Or "a bottle of whiskey and three new episodes of Game of Thrones," aka the time and encouragement it took to rip out hours of work. But I won't quote anyone this price (or really any price), since I didn't knit this for money. 

I think this means I have become a process knitter, right?

After a few wearings, I think I will rip out the cuffs and re-knit them smaller...