I hope everybody had a terrific Halloween. It was raining here 😦 but we still received some trick or treaters and decorated the house with spooky style.
Muffy, my socks are itchy!
This year, Kitty dressed up as a dashing 80s preppy boy and wore a hand-knit sweater vest that his Gramma knit for him (thanks Mum!!) His argyle sweater vest was completed with a prep school sew-on crest (from 1987, of course).
You can get the free knitting pattern here from knottygnome crafts. Now, if you look carefully at the sweater, you can see something special about the Argyle pattern.
It looks slightly askew compared to the regular diamond pattern of argyle, yes? No! Look closely. They are fish!! And, because they are knit in gold yarn, they are goldfish! I KNOW! I died. Then I came back to life and died again. 😉
Where is my polo shirt?? Maybe I’ll rough it this weekend in my khakis and madras.
Anybody have The Official Preppy Handbook from 1980 and did you follow any of the ‘rules’, however satirical they may have been? Come on, you can tell us! For those of you still preppy, the author has a newer book out: True Prep: It’s a Whole New Old World, 2010.
-New Feature on the Blog-
I have recently added three new sections to the blog! At the top menu, there is a drop down menu labelled FREE PATTERNS/BOOKS/RESOURCES.
Well, since barely anybody else has sewn this pattern (Burda Style 7221), I thought it only appropriate that I sew it twice (first time sewing a pattern more than once!) I made version B, the tank top. To see version C, the dress, go here.
The upper bodice is a lightweight quilting cotton and the lower bodice is a striped silk in different textures that I purchased at a thrift/op shop. I loves me a thrift store and always find such sewing treasures there! (I’ll be writing a blog post on my haberdashery and sewing book thrift-ed finds soon).
I used the same front and back upper bodice pattern pieces that I used for the dress version. I had already altered them before sewing the dress, so I ‘knew’ that it would fit. Right?? WRONG.
When I sewed the upper part in the quilting cotton, I did not take into account that it had a vastly different drape, hand and thickness than the white rayon-blend fabric used for the dress, and the fact that this version was sleeveless. And… it did not fit. At all. The neckline gaped considerably in the front and back (forgot to snap a pic, sorry). Thing is, I had already completely sewn the entire top (and it is self-lined) so altering it became something of a creativity contest.
This is what I did: I added a long dart in the centre front and centre back, ending at the seam that attaches the lower bodice. Then, I pressed the darts open, not to the side (without cutting them first, so that everything was still finished off inside). I then hand sewed the top of the darts to the bodice. It worked beautifully! Who knew? Although, it may have slightly altered the straightness of the empire waist seam. Since the darts extend the length of the upper bodice pieces, it looks like a 2-piece bodice with CF and CB seams.
I sewed darts into the CF and CB, then pressed them open. How would YOU fix this fitting issue?
What would you have done? What would the sewcialists / spoolettes do? (#wwtsd) (Besides, of course, the obvious of re-fitting before sewing).
Hi Kitty! “Off to my catnip garden…”
One thing that did not go unnoticed was how easy it was to sew with 100% quilting cotton. It’s such a breeze to put together, but obviously doesn’t have the same drape and qualities that you might want in your finished garment. This poses more questions for you:
What is your favourite fabric to sew with and why?
What is your favourite fabric to wear and why? (They can be the same fabric or not).
I’d love to get an idea of who is sewing with what, discover any fabrics I may be missing out on and perhaps I will even generate a chart (CHART!!!!) with the results. Thanks for playing!
OOOOOOOH, I GET MUCH BETTER CELL PHONE RECEPTION IF I MOVE MY GIANT HAT LIKE THIS!!
That was Neil Armstrong observing the Earth and finding it blue. February was #BlueFebruary around the sewcialist world where we had to sew with the colour blue. Blue is the favourite colour of all people. This is not surprising and likely why I found it so easy to complete this challenge. I would be stunned if any of you do not have blue in your wardrobe or fabric stash. But, there must be at least one, so go ahead, stun me!
I sewed the free Tee pattern, Deer and Doe Plantain. And, for the FIRST time, the knit fabric I chose, did not cause me horror, (OH, THE HORROR) and distress. Yippee! Gillian will be so proud, sniff.
The navy/indigo is a cotton knit, thicker than a jersey and the spotty blue fabric is a 4-way stretch cotton jersey, the same fabric I used for one of my Diane Von Furstenberg dresses. I also added sleeve bands, the same width as the neckband and a hem band, double the width, to make it look more like a tunic.
The one issue I did have was with the neckband. I raised the front neckline 1.5″ (4cm) before cutting and, therefore, shortened the neckband accordingly. I also interfaced just the neckband with stretch knit interfacing to try to keep it from stretching out too much. But, when I attached it, I’m not sure why, but the neckband was way too loose. I had to remove it and cut out a new neckband that was about 2″ (5cm) shorter, but same thing. So, I removed and shortened it by 4″ (10cm)! At this length, I really had to stretch the neckband to fit the neckline, but it was the only way I could get the neckband to lie flat. Is there a special trick to knit neckbands that I am missing? Please do share.
Garment Inside: overlocked seams and ribbon stay tape added to shoulder seams.
And, this is the very first garment I’ve sewn completely by overlocking/serging! I used the overlocker to stitch all the seams together as well as to attach the neckband and sleeve and hem bands and also added ribbon staytape to the shoulder seams. I have to say, it did make things go together very quickly! I made the smallest size with no alterations and added as much length to the sleeves as I had fabric.
Layering Contrasting Banded Plantain Tee with Blue Sweater. Me Likey!
Today’s Blogpost is brought to you by: The Colour Blue. Blue is the coolest colour (as in temperature, not as in happening, hip or groovy) and is the colour of the sky, ocean, sleep, twilight.
You might wonder why the Blue Tee stands out so dramatically against the orange wall.
Blue and Orange are Complementary Colours.
Well, blue’s opposite or complementary colour on the colour wheel is orange, which will make the blue ‘pop’. Blue gives a feeling of distance. Artists use it to show perspective. Blue is sharply refracted by the eyes. This causes the lens to flatten and to push the blue image back. We perceive that blue areas are receding and smaller. It is cold, wet, and slow as compared to red’s warmth, fire, and intensity. (To learn more about the colour red, go to this post.)
“An executive for a paint company received complaints from workers in a blue office that the office was too cold. When the offices were painted a warm peach, the sweaters came off even though the temperature had not changed.” – Pantone
La Vie
The Old Guitarist
Pablo Picasso’s “Blue Period” refers to a series of paintings in which the color blue dominates and which he painted between 1901 and 1904. The Blue Period is a marvelous expression of poetic expression and personal melancholy and also contributes to the transition of Picasso’s style from classicism to abstract.
In the meaning of colors, blue relates to one-to-one communication. Blue is conservative and predictable, a safe and non-threatening color, the most universally liked color of all and is often chosen by conservative people. This is a color that seeks peace and tranquility above all else, promoting both physical and mental relaxation. It reduces stress, creating a sense of calmness, relaxation and order. It slows the metabolism and can suppress appetite.
Positive aspects: loyalty, trust and integrity, tactful, reliability and responsibility, conservatism and perseverance, caring and concern, idealistic and orderly, authority, devotion and contemplation, peaceful, calm.
Negative aspects: being rigid, deceitful and spiteful, depressed and sad, too passive, self-righteous, superstitious and emotionally unstable, too conservative and old-fashioned, predictable and weak, unforgiving, aloof and frigid. It can also indicate manipulation, unfaithfulness and untrustworthiness.
Blue is the #1 favourite colour of all people.
53% of the flags in the world contain blue.
Blue is the most commonly used color in corporate identity.
A dark blue suit is common professional business attire.
Blue is used to symbolize piety and sincerity in heraldry.
Blue jeans are worn all over the world.
“I want to die with my blue jeans on.” Andy Warhol
Greeks believe that blue wards off the evil eye.
The color blue in many cultures is significant in religious beliefs, brings peace, or is believed to keep the bad spirits away. In Iran, blue is the color of mourning while in the West the something blue bridal tradition represents love.
Dark blue is the color of mourning in Korea.
The god Krishna has blue skin.
Blue is for a baby girl; pink for a baby boy in Belgium.
“Prince Charming” is called “The Blue Prince” in Italy and Spain.
Chakra:
Blue is the color associated with the Throat Chakra also known as Visuddha. This chakra deals with communication of how we feel and what we think and rules knowledge, health and decisiveness.
In colour therapy and colour healing blue is used to aid physical ailments such as inflammation, raised blood pressure and infections. Blue is used to treat mental and emotional ailments such as aggression, anger and stress. Blue is also used for physical and mental complaints related to the throat such as speech impediments and throat infections.
Blue in Speech:
Out of the blue: unexpected
Into the blue: into the unknown; not knowing what you are walking into
True blue: to be loyal or faithful
Once in a blue moon: an event that occurs infrequently
Blue ribbon: first place; to describe something as being of the highest quality
Blue blood: an aristocrat, royal or noble in European languages
Blue law: laws about morality issues
Blue comedy: jokes about socially taboo subjects
Blue language refers to using profanity and blue films is used to describe pornography.
Blueprint: a detailed design of an object or idea
Blue plate special: a special priced meal at a restaurant
Bluestocking: a woman with strong scholarly interests
To blue pencil is to censor
Feeling blue or A Blue outlook: to feel sad or unhappy; offering little hope; dismal; bleak
The Blues (music): The blues grew out of African spirituals and worksongs. In the late 1800s, southern African-Americans passed the songs down orally, and they collided with American folk and country from the Appalachians. New hybrids appeared by each region, but all of the recorded blues from the early 1900s are distinguished by simple, rural acoustic guitars and pianos. Most blues feature simple, usually three-chord, progressions and have simple structures that are open to endless improvisations, both lyrical and musical.
Blue Represents:
Communication: Blue relates to one-to-one verbal communication and self-expression.
Peace and calm: The color blue induces calm and peace within us, particularly the deeper shades.
Honesty: Blue is the colour of truth.
Authority: The darker the color blue, the more authority it has.
Religion: Blue is the colour of devotion and religious study.
Wisdom: Blue enhances the wisdom of the intellect.
Put some blue in your life when you want:
calm and relaxation to counteract chaos or agitation
to open the flow of communication
to broaden your perspective in learning new information
Gjeometry 