Purple wool jersey tunic with organza trim, inspired by a Jason Wu design. Fabric from Mood Fabrics, NYC, self-drafted pattern.
It’s the last day of May, and so far I haven’t posted anything for the meme “Me-Made-May” in which lots of sewists and knitters have been showing their own clothing creations each day this month. I have been sewing and knitting, though, so here’s a catch-up post on the projects which have helped me stay sane during this winter and spring.
The recent boom in home sewing and knitting, spurred by online sharing among independent pattern designers, knitters, and home sewists, has been a great inspiration, and a huge help for finding good online resources for fabric, notions, and yarn. I’ve appreciated this especially because local fabric and yarn shops are a lot less numerous than they once were. These days I use some purchased patterns, and want to support these independent designers. I also self-draft some of the clothing I make. Most of my yarn comes from online sources, and the fabric from shops I visit when traveling, local stores, and online retailers. The captions on this post contain more information, and I’ll leave it at that - please ask me questions in the comments if you have any!
“Simple Work Shirt” from the Nani Iro Sewing Studio book of Japanese clothing patterns.
This is an oversized shirt/tunic; the grey-and-white striped lightweight linen fabric is from The Linen Lab in South Korea. I changed the pattern slightly; it calls for a triangular tab at the bottom of the placket, and buttons and buttonholes, but I wanted it to be plainer. I plan to wear it with a decorative pin instead if a closure is needed. The shirt also looks good over a turtleneck or long-sleeve T-shirt, for cooler weather, and will be nice either with skinny jeans or with a long full skirt.
Speaking of skirts, here’s a project from late winter. This piece of Italian wool bouclé, bought at Mood Fabrics in New York last fall, finally became a self-drafted, slim skirt. It has a short slit in the back for easier walking. It may look heavy, but it’s perfect with tall boots and a heavy sweater for our bitter cold winter.
“Origami Bag” by Motif Studios.
I just made this two days ago! After seeing the pattern online I had to try making one. This is the small size; I’ll make a larger tote-bag-size model now that I understand the tricky way it goes together. You start with two long rectangles of cloth — the outer shell, and the lining fabric — sew them together, turn inside out, and then fold and stitch them in the most clever way to form the bag. The crunched handle cover is the only extra piece; it is slid onto one pointed handle before the two handles are sewn together, and then slid down to cover the join. I just used remnants from my stash for this one; the outer cloth is a pretty aqua sateen that doesn’t really show in these photos.
And a pair of socks (they kinda match the bag, don’t they?), all done except for the final bit of the second toe. I hate knitting socks — these were started last winter and I still haven’t finished them! The fine wool/silk self-striping yarn is really nice but unfortunately I can’t remember where it’s from.
Above and below: “Cara Hat,” by a German designer I follow on Instagram, paulastrickt. The yarn is sport weight Lang Cashmerino from Little Knits.
I’ve made several of this designer’s patterns and like them very much — simple, fairly easy designs, but all with something that makes them interesting or intriguing to knit. She also offers some crochet patterns for hats and bags.
These particular hats are knit in a tube with the rounded crown at both ends; one half gets slipped inside the other and the crowns stitched invisibly together, while the bottom edge is turned up to form a cuff, so the resulting hat is double and very warm. They’re very easy to knit and I’ve made three so far. (In the bottom photo, the folded hat in the cubbyhole at top left is a Scandinavian-patterned hat I made for Jonathan at least thirty years ago!)
Overall, I’m noticing a lot of cool and neutral colors here - partly a personal preference, but also maybe a reflection of our cool, northern spring, which continues today. It’s definitely time for some bright colors and warmth! Can I encourage you to make something?
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