arrrggghhh! – the I’m a pirate skirt
I absolutely adore this skirt!
The fabric is some sort of striped rayon (I think) that I inherited from my aunt, and the “pattern” is a pleated rectangle with an elastic waistband at the top.
I started making something else out of this fabric, and I can’t for the life of me remember what it was, but it obviously didn’t work out. I took that project apart, and pieced the pieces back into a rectangle of sorts. Then I pleated the top edge into wide overlapping pleats, that I then stitched into place.
I originally installed a zipper and had a proper waistband, but that made for a skirt that slipped & slid all over the place. So I removed the waistband & zipper, closed up the size seam, and added a thin elastic waistband above the pleating.
The elastic and the pleating kind of fight each other when it’s hanging on the hanger – the elastic pulls in, but the pleating doesn’t, so the elastic waistband ends up looking a little funky. But it’s perfect when I wear it, which is (really) the important part.
(you bet I make these photoshoots do double duty.)
My favorite part of this skirt, is the hemline.
Two of the pieces I ended up with after the unsuccessful first project were skinny and slightly angled. So I pieced those one above the other, and put that piece at the front of the skirt.
Instead of intentionally matching that accidental angle, on the other half of the skirt, to give the skirt a high-low hem,* I left the panel my right (the left side of the picture) as it was, and let the hem take a vertical nosedive to the floor.
*a high-low hem is a hem that is high in the front, and then dips lower in the back, they were huge on skirts and dresses a couple summers ago.
I love the asymmetricality of that bit of the hem, and the edge it gives the skirt.
The downside of this, is that the skirt is very long, which means I can only wear it with certain shoes, these nude booties being one of them.
As piecemeal as the construction of this skirt was, I’m pretty damn chuffed with how it came out.
PS. I’ve didn’t realize exactly how much TopGearUK I’ve been marathoning until I actually used “chuffed” in a sentence – I blame knitting my winter coat.
How to Knit a Winter Coat
I’m almost done with the knitting for my winter coat. I have a ball and a half left of yarn, which will add about 4.5 inches to the body. And I figure my deadline is the super cold weather we’re supposed to be getting later this week.
I’m not sure if anyone else is crazy enough to try knitting a proper winter coat, but if you are, here’s how I did it.
Step 1: decide to do it.
Ignore exactly how much knitting it’ll be, and don’t think too hard about how cold winter gets. I’m in New York City, so it gets cold, but not quite cold enough for me to decide not to do this.
Step 2: find your yarn.
You want something warm (no shit…), so an animal fiber of some sort. You could also use a wool, or llama, or other animal fiber, but you want to stay away from plant fibers, man-made fibers, and silks.
I’m using Misti Alpaca Chunky, which is 100% baby alpaca yarn. I have 14 or 15 balls of yarn, which translates to 1500-1600 yards of yarn.
Step 3: pick your stitch pattern. Density is gold.
A stitch pattern that creates dense fabric, helps help keep out wind/rain/snow/winter slush/gross weather. So I would suggest a slipped stitch, or fair isle pattern. If you have a tight gauge, you might be able to do stockinette, or a cable pattern, but stay away from the lace.
I’m using an all-over slip stitch pattern, in a chunky yarn, on a US size 10 (6.00mm) needle. The stitch pattern is a slip 1, knit 1, on the right side, and slip 1, purl 1 on the wrong side. It makes for slow knitting, but really warm fabric. I really wish I could photograph this sweater in a way that conveyed exactly how dense this fabric is.
Step 3.5: Swatch liberally.
It’ll save you a lot of headache, heartache, and knitting time later.
Step 4: choose your sweater shape/knitting pattern.
I’m doing a super straight forward, drop shoulder, boxy cardigan, so I’ll be able to layer lots of layers underneath it.
I knit the fronts and back in pieces to keep them portable. Then closed up the shoulder with a 3 needle bind off, picked up stitches for the sleeves and knit down towards the hem. Then I sewed up the side seams & underarm seams.
Now I’m adding as much length as possible to the body, so I picked up the stitches around the hem, and am planning to knit until I run out of yarn.
Step 5: figure out how you want your sweater to close.
Buttons? Toggles? Hooks & eyes? Snaps? Zipper?
I’m waiting till it’s all knit to figure out how I want to close it. I’m debating between toggles, hooks & eyes, snaps, a zipper, belting it, or some combinations of the above.
Step 6: knit.
Because the slip stitch makes for very slow knitting, I’ve kind of lost track of exactly how much tv I’ve caught up on while knitting this sweater.
Step 6.5: just keep knitting. just keep knitting.
Step 7: Finish it. Wash it. Block it. Wear it.
(which might actually be four steps, but I haven’t gotten there yet.)
I’m still knitting the body, which I’ll (hopefully) finish tonight. But I’ve done all of the sewing up, and wove in the ends (mostly so I could photograph it without the sweater having unintentional fringe.)
I waffle back and forth on if the sweater will be warm enough to actually be a coat. Today, I’m leaning towards “it will be warm enough.” And if it’s not, I’ll probably cry, then add a full (sewn) wool lining.
But I’ll deal with that once the knitting is done, for now, it’s “just keep knitting, just keep knitting.”
The Moonstruck Cardigan
(sorry about the blurriness – but it gives you an idea of the size of the collar)
I’ve never been too much of a sweater knitter (my thing was mostly lace shawls that I don’t wear). Prior to the self-made wardrobe project, I had finished:
1. a sweater for myself that I accidentally felted
2. a super straightforward & easy sweater that I knit during Hurricane Sandy
3. and this sweater, which I knit in the fall of 2010.
The pattern is “Moonstruck” by A. Karen Alfke, from Blue Moon Fiber Arts, and the yarn is Dream in Color “Classy.”
I knit the sweater on a US 7, and reworked the pattern to match my gauge. If I remember correctly, I did a bunch of math, and then just ended up knitting a size or two larger.
Amazingly enough, I’m not sure there’s anything I would change about this sweater. All-over ribbing. Asymmetrical front. Beautiful buttons. Set-in sleeves that are long enough(!) And a dramatic collar. Total win!
I keep meaning to add a hook & eye to keep the bottom from gaping – after almost 4 years, I’ve accepted that’s never going to happen, so I usually just let the bottom gape, and if it’s a problem, I close it with a safety pin.
I think my favorite thing about this sweater is the color. I love that’s it’s almost-but-not-really a black. It’s kind of a “bad black.”
The yarn is “Classy” from Dream in Color, and the colorway is either “Black Pearl” or “Cocoa Kiss.” I think. I originally wanted to use “Black Pearl” but the shop didn’t have enough skeins, so I ended up with “Cocoa Kiss.” (This is what I get for not taking proper notes…) And either way I love how it turned out.
(This sweater could definitely use a date with a sweater Gleener.)
