Vintage Pattern Give-Away

This isn't the first time I've started learning to sew. Far from it. My mom has taught me the basics at least two other times that I can remember, including once in grade 6 (I made a green and pink floral skirt with an elastic-waistband, but never finished the bottom hem) and once in 2005 or so (I started making a sundress while hanging out at my parents home recuperating from a break-up and the sting not getting into grad school).

Over the years, I've bought lots of the supplies needed for sewing, mostly at thrift stores, with the vague knowledge that I'd use them someday. As a result, I have a lot of supplies for someone who's just learning (albeit for the third time). I have a stack of patterns that I'm pretty sure I'm never going to use, so I thought I'd give you guys the chance to use them. Most of them are totally untouched.

1. McCalls M4369 size BB 8-10-12-14 (new)



2. Simplicity 7025 Miss size 12/bust 32 (vintage dated 1967)



3. Simplicity 5924 Miss size 12/bust 32 (vintage dated 1965)



4. New look 6402 Misses size 6-16 (34" bust to 41/5") (new)



5. King No. 2058 Crocheted Capes (vintage, undated)



6. Butterick 6899 size 12 bust 34 (vintage, undated)



7. Simplicity 6065 Crocheted tops bust 31.5"-40"



So here's the deal: leave a comment on this page between today and April 14. Make sure you leave your email address in the comment form (it won't show in your post). I will enter everyone who comments into a random draw on April 15.

Yes, you might end up with a leaflet for ugly crocheted capes, but you might also get a pattern for a sweet little shift dress from 1965! And since I'm paying for postage, you really have nothing to lose.

How to read about fashion and not be annoyed

I like reading about clothes, but I don't like fashion magazines. I don't want to be told what I can, should or mustn't wear. I don't care about most famous people. I don't like the constant assertion of beauty-industry breakthroughs and revolutionary products (has there even been a revolutionary product since the invention of permanent hair colour?)

So here is my very short list of fun, light, yet actually readable books about fashion. Things you can read while drinking coffee on a Sunday. Like the style section of the New York Times, but less inky. I suggest getting them from your public library:



Eccentric Glamour by Simon Doonan
Simon Doonan's love for fashion is palpable and irreverent. This books blends personal anecdotes with tirades against the "the ubiquitous cheapness and tackiness which currently passes for personal style," as well as interviews with such eccentric dressers as Tilda Swinton and Dita von Teese.



The Cheap Date Guide to Style by Kira Jolliffe & Bay Garnett.
This book is a little light on text, but it contains lots of great quotes and good advice, like 1) buy things you like, 2) buy them from thrift stores, and 3) Don't read fashion magazines for style ideas -- watch films and visit museums instead. Many short interviews with interesting fashion types, as well. I'm always happy to read Vivienne Westwood's thoughts on cardigans.



Meaning of Sunglasses by Hadley Freeman
A book of funny little essays structured like a dictionary. Freeman writes like a normal, educated person who happened to be employed in the fashion industry (probably at a magazine) for a few years, but miraculously didn't lose any critical thinking skills. Her observations are frank and not particularly shocking (i.e. "Choosing a dress isn't rocket science"), but in a field as full as meaningless noise as fashion writing, a little sardonic honesty goes a long way. Freeman, like Doonan, is not afraid to bite the hand that feeds her, but it's really just an affectionate love-bite.

I'll post more as I find it! In the meantime, there's always the annual style issue of the New Yorker ...

7 sweaters: what worked and what didn't

Since the fall of 2008, I have completed six cardigans and one sweater. Most people say that you shouldn't expect much from your first sweater. I agree with this wholeheartedly. You learn a great deal when you make your first big project, and a lot of that learning gets embedded in your work (often in the form of mistakes). But what about your third or fourth sweater? What do you do if those aren't particularly great, either?

Apparently, if you're me, you just keep going.

If I look at the numbers, I have a high ratio of failed garments. This was especially true in the early days, when knitting a sweater took me 3 or 4 months at a time. But the funny thing is, at the time, I didn't feel like I was churning out one badly-flawed garment after another. I felt like I was slowly gaining the type of knowledge you can only learn from practice.

A person's relationship to clothing is highly emotional, ruled by gut-level likes and dislikes. I thought it might be fun to look at the sweaters I've made so far, and try to figure out the reasons why some work and some don't.

18 months of sweaters: what worked and what didn't



1) Green short-sleeved Liesl
This was the first sweater I ever made. I think I've worn it twice. The pattern gets extra points for using a very small amount of yarn -- I think this took about 300 yards of worsted weight wool.
Pattern: B. It's cute, and I appreciate the instructions for variations, but parts of the pattern were a little sloppy.
Workmanship: C-. I didn't know how to cast on stitches under the arms, so I chose the easiest cast-on method I could find. It stretched out, distorting the lace, and looks pretty terrible.
Fit: C. Not great. The sleeves end at strange almost vest/not quite cap-sleeve point, and the loose fit in the torso obscures the better parts of my figure. (It only looks good in this photo because of the angle).
Colour: B-. I like the gold-green heathered wool, but I'm not sure about green lace. Frankly, I feel a bit hobbitish when I wear this. Or like someone's hippy mom.
Final verdict: Unsuccessful.
Next steps: Frog and knit into a hat, because the colour's good next to my face.



2) Green Capelet
Another short-sleeved green cardigan. Poor yarn choice on this one: a mohair/wool blend that is slightly itchy even over a cotton jersey turtleneck.
Pattern: B-. It's not really a pattern -- more like a recipe. Approachable for a beginner but not a flattering garment on most people. Also, as a cropped short-sleeve cardigan, it kind of fits into that category of clothes that don't really accomplish any function, like cropped vests and hoods on t-shirts.
Workmanship: A. It looks fine. I learned how to do short rows when I made this.
Fit: C. It looks okay, but it's too tight under the arms! Between this and the itchiness, I never wear it.
Colour: A. A pretty emerald green.
Final verdict: Unsuccessful, because I never wear it.
Next steps: Frog and make mittens.



3) Blue Liesl
My second attempt at a Liesl. Great yarn choice but poor workmanship means that I really like it, but it has some serious flaws that stop me from wearing it much. Also, it cost me under $10 to make.
Pattern: B.
Workmanship: C-, since I didn't know how to purl properly. As a result, the yarnovers on the sleeves are messed up. Also, one sleeve is bigger than the other! So it streches out and gets longer over the day. Like, three inches longer. However, I need to give myself credit for successfully knitting this pattern in a DK yarn on smaller needles. I just went up a size and it worked pretty well. Also, I did a cable cast-on under the arms this time.
Fit: B. I would wear this more if one sleeves matched. The long sleeves and multiple buttons make this Liesl way more flattering.
Colour: A+. Excellent. Dark peacock blue.
Final verdict: Unsuccessful. But so close!
Next step: put it in a drawer and keep it forever. One day, I'll make a Liesl that works, I swear. Or maybe I should just frog the arms and re-knit them.



4) Charcoal striped sweater
A basic top-down raglan with a slight boat neck.
Pattern: B+. Can't beat a basic, customizable recipe for a simple garment like this.
Workmanship: A-. The matching stripes took care and thought, but they look great.
Fit: A-. I don't love the collar -- it's too high in the front, and too boatnecked. And the sleeves are a little wide. But the waist shaping is perfect, and that's what makes or breaks a sweater for me.
Colour: B+. Extra points for not being afraid to use those wacky Noro colours in the stripes.
Final verdict: Success! I actually wear this sweater a lot in the winter. It's very warm. It's great under my green canvas millary jacket.



5) Garter Stitch Swingy Sweater
This was a disaster from start to finish, which is too bad because the original looks really cute on Jenn Pellerin's blog. I can't even talk about this one. I knit it twice and it still looked bad. It's already frogged, and now I have a million tiny balls of dark purple cascade 220.



6) Mondo Cable Cardi
A fun cardigan pattern that's a little unusual for me: a-line and loose. I do love a stand-up collar.
Pattern: A. Great instructions, thoughtful, unfussy design.
Workmanship: A. No errors, no drama.
Fit: A-. My love for this is a little deflated by the way the collar sags, but I think I 1) should have to knit it tighter and 2) shouldn't use an alpaca blend yarn for things that need to be structural.
Colour: A+.
Final verdict: Success. I'll probably knit another one some day, just so I can get that collar right!



7) Garter Yoke Cardigan
Lesson learned: If you buy beautiful yarn and knit something simple with it, it will look good.
Pattern: A. Simple and pleasing. I'd love a non-boat neck option though. I love boat neck shirts, but not sweaters.
Workmanship: A-. I lose marks for adding a bunch of mods when I didn't need to. If I'd been more thought, this would have fit a little better. But it fits well now anyways. Also, I dealt with some crazy colour variations in an admirable fashion.
Fit: A-. A little big in the armpits. Could have been avoided if I blocked the yoke before I knitted the body.
Colour: A+. Semi-solid teal is swoon-worthy.
Final verdict: Success. I should convert this pattern to a pullover.

Conclusions:

• The ratio of success to failure is 3:4, or 3.5:3.5, depending how I count the blue Liesl.
  
• I should try to knit something that's neither green nor blue.
  
• Green lace makes you look like a hobbit.
  
• Semi-solid yarn is your friend.
• Slightly too big is better than slightly too small.
  

Bird Skirt

I made a skirt!



It's the A-line skirt from the Built by Wendy Sew U book. I bought the fabric at Stitches in Seattle.

I widened the skirt a little to make it more A-line and now it has a slightly exaggerated bell shape. I think it looks fine, but I'll probably make the next one a little narrower.



The fabric is actually half of this Echino panel. I'll probably make a similar skirt out of the bottom half. Or maybe a really pretty bag?

Nimbus Cardigan

I was looking through the new patterns on Ravelry the other day and spotted this lovely cardigan designed by D.C. Boyd:


Photo used with permission.

Umbrella motifs! What could be better for spring in Vancouver?


Photo used with permission.

It's whimsical but subtle. I'd like one in green, one in blue and one in grey, please!


Photo used with permission.

You can buy the pattern for $3.00 at D.C.'s Ravelry page. D.C. blogs at http://www.itsahardknitlife.blogspot.com/

All this talk of umbrellas makes me think of Les Parapluies de Cherbourg, a French musical released in 1964. I haven't seen it yet but it's supposed to be wonderful eye-candy.



Combine dismal spring rainstorms, a new cardigan pattern and a classic film, and you might just have the makings of a great night in!

Getting to know you p.2

Check out my fine lady-ascot:



It's actually just a long narrow scarf made from a half yard of artificial silk I bought for $0.50 at a Steveston thrift store. One side is blue, the other is green.

Not sure if I'll ever wear it, since it makes me look like I have no neck, but it was interesting to try sewing a slippery fabric on my new machine. Practice for sewing linings!

Getting to know you p.1

I'm getting to know my sewing machine by doing small projects. Last night, I did some more hemming:



I bought these grey jeans in November so I'd have something to wear with all the blue sweaters I was knitting. The cuffs were just a bit too long to fold up so they're basically unworn four months later.

I also hemmed a new pair of yoga pants. So far, I'm pleased with how my new sewing machine handles stretch stitches. I must confess, though, that I don't know when I should use a straight stretch stitch and when I should use a zig-zag ...