Category

The Self-Made Wardrobe Garments

21
Oct
2014

The Blue Kimono – one of the first pieces I made for the self-made wardrobe

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Blue-Kimono-Sleeves

This blue kimono was one of the first things I made specifically for the self-made wardrobe project. It’s one of the pieces I wear most often, and it’s definitely one of the pieces I get complimented on the most.

blue kimono

The fabric is a sheer navy (probably polyester), with embroidered squares that have been glued on, sort of a “novelty chiffon.” It was a complete impulse purchase from A&K Fabrics, and cost pretty close to nothing. 2 yards of fabric got cut up into 6 rectangles, and 5 of those rectangles turned into a kimono.

cutting fabric

The pattern is my own, but I’m not really sure it could be called a pattern.
I laid out the fabric and portioned it out into 6 rectangles. 2 front pieces, 1 back piece, 2 sleeves, and 1 neckband (which didn’t get used, and which isn’t in the photo.) The fronts are approximately half the width of the back, and the sleeves are pretty close to squares.

Blue Kimono Seams Hems

(left to right: french seam, flat felled seams, sleeve hem)
Since the fabric is sproingy and unravels easily I used a combination of french seams, and flat felled seams. Then I did deep hems & cuffs, with stitching at the top and bottom edges, the stitching was to keep the hems flat, and the depth was to give the hems a bit of weight, so the kimono would hang nicely.

It works with dresses, skirts, jeans (even if they aren’t self-made), and is kind of the perfect light layer to throw on.

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I wore it all summer, a bunch of this fall, and I sort of doubt I’ll put it away entirely this winter. Self-Made Wardrobe Win!

16
Oct
2014

The Versio Sweater – finished!

Versio Sweater - back

Versio Sweater - front

Knit. Washed. Worn. Finished.

And I love it.

I love the crazy colors, and the striping, and the fit, and the hood.

Love, love, love.

Apologies for inclusion of the phone, but it’s how I’m controlling the camera…

Versio Sweater - side view

Project Details

The Pattern: Versio by Ankestrick

The Yarn: 1 skein of Julie Asselin’s “Merletto,” 1 skein of Sweet Georgia’s “Merino Silk Lace,” 1 skein of Fiberspates’ “Scrumptious,” and 2 skeins of Cascade’s “Forest Hills.”

The Needles: US 8 (5.0 mm) needle
The Gauge: 24 sts = 4 inches; 30 rows = 4 inches
The Size: small

The Modifications: lots
: held 2 strands of lace weight together throughout – instead of one
: different color sequence – but kept the stripes at 12 rows/stripe
: left out the cording
: added a hood – following Rililie’s notes

Versio Sweater - shoulder

The sleeves are made using the contiguous method for working seamless top down set in sleeves.

While I think the method is really interesting, and something I want to play with in the future, the armscyes* on this sweater ended up way to large for me.
*The armscye is the measurement around the armhole of a garment – where your sleeve attaches to the body of a garment.

Part of that is probably so that the sweater can go over a shirt of some sort – and part of it is probably due to my messing a bit with the gauge.

It certainly isn’t the end of the world.

Versio Sweater - hood

The original pattern has a deep, square collar, but I replaced that with a hood.

I followed the notes on Rililie’s Ravelry project page. I worked 6 stripes straight, then bound off the center stitches and worked 1 stripe on either side of the bind off, and finished with 2 rows on either side with the blue & yellow, before working a three needle bind off.

Every time I put on the hood I feel a little bit like a cartoon character.
Which I love.

blue and yellow cording - made with yarn

The hems on the sleeves & body are turned hems that create a tube designed to have cording threaded through. I had planned to use yellow & blue cording, so it wouldn’t clash with the black & yellow hems.

After wearing it, I think I’m going to close up the slits in the sleeve hems (leaving just straightforward turned hems) and not thread the cording through the bottom hem.

I don’t think the sweater needs it, and I’ll find another use for the cording.

Versio Sweater Hem

I wrote 3 posts about the process of knitting this sweater:
The Versio Sweater – beginnings
The Versio Sweater – a sweater body, sleeves, and a change of plans
The Versio Sweater – hood, finishing, and making twisted cord

Versio Sweater - close up