The Self-Made Wardrobe Week 12 – the weather couldn’t quite figure out what was up
The Self-Made Wardrobe is a project where I only wear garments I’ve made.
It’s sort of a year long experiment in getting dressed without clothing labels.
Week 12 of the Self-Made Wardrobe:
the weather couldn’t quite figure out what was up this week, and neither could I.
DAY 78 – OCTOBER 17th
Blue Kimono
Khaki Scarf
Black Racerback Tank Top
Black Maxi Skirt with a Slit
Black Flats with Skull Beads
Princess Necklace
Various Rings
I actually ended up taking off the scarf as soon as I walked out the door – and it was far too hot for the sweater I was originally planning on wearing.
DAY 79 – OCTOBER 18th
Blue Kimono
Khaki Scarf
Black Racerback Tank Top
Graphic Silk Circle Skirt
Sneakers
Pocket Watch Necklace
Various Rings
I ended up going to Rhinebeck at the very last minute, and needed something that would work well with sneakers. It turns out that not too much of my wardrobe works well with sneakers, this skirt does, and maybe my gingham skirt, but not much else.
DAY 80 – OCTOBER 19th
Moonstruck sweater
Black Racerback Tank Top
Red & White Pirate Skirt
Nude Booties
Bicycle Clock Necklace
Various Rings
I figured out the name of the pattern for this sweater! It’s the Moonstruck Sweater by A. Karen Alfke, available from Blue Moon Fiber Arts. I couldn’t remember the name of this sweater last week. I really love wearing this sweater, it’s one of the few sweaters I have where the sleeves are just the right length.
DAY 81 – OCTOBER 20th
Hand-Knit Sweater Dress
White Maxi Underskirt
Grey Tights
Brown Boots
Spinning Necklace
Various Rings
It’s the dress that I’d never wear if I hadn’t made it. I think next time I’m going to try it with black leggings.
DAY 82 – OCTOBER 21st
The Perfect Transitional Sweater
Black Racerback Tank Top
Graphic Silk Circle Skirt
Sneakers
Princess Necklace
Various Rings
This really is the Perfect Transitional Sweater. I’m not normally a fan of short sleeved sweaters – on this one I think it works, and I love it!
I do have a couple finishing touches I want to put on it (reinforcing the ends of the zipper, and adding a line of twill tape along the back of the neck for stability), which I’ll try and get to soon.
DAY 83 – OCTOBER 22nd
Moonstruck sweater
Jersey Wrap Dress
Tights
Various Rings
It was cold and rainy outside, and I didn’t need to leave the house, so I hid indoors all day (hence no shoes). This is a day when I desperately wanted a good flannel button up shirt. I have a store bought one that I absolutely love and adore to bits, and this was one of the first days when I really, really, missed a specific piece from my old store bought wardrobe. So, there will probably be a button up in my future.
DAY 84 – OCTOBER 23rd
Versio Sweater
Black Racerback Tank Top
Black Maxi with a Slit
Black Flats
Bicycle Clock Necklace
Various Rings
It started out a really cold and rainy day, and then ended up turning kind of beautiful – in an overcast and chilly kind of way. I ended up also putting on a scarf, and wouldn’t have regretted a pair of tights either.
The Self-Made Wardrobe Month 2
A checked-in with the experiment of getting dressed without clothing labels.
How Often Did I wear What?
Black tank top: 29 days
Black maxi skirt with a slit: 8 days
Graphic Silk Circle Skirt: 8 days
The easiest jersey vest ever: 8 days
Cascading flowers maxi skirt: 6 days
Red & white striped pirate skirt: 4 days
Blue kimono: 3 days
The birds & bicycle flare skirt: 2 days
Moonstruck sweater: 1 day
Jersey wrap dress: 1 day
Gingham skirt: 1 day
Why Did I Wear What When I Did?
Black tank top – my default always. I have a couple of them that I rotate. Next I think I’m going to try perfecting a camisole.
Black maxi skirt with a slit – I always feel a little lost for what to say about this skirt. It’s a black maxi skirt with a slit. It’s easy to wear, it was easy to make, it’s easy to style, it’s easy to run around it. It wins this month for ease.
Graphic silk circle skirt – part of what I love so much about this skirt is that it’s easy to throw on and very comfortable, but since it’s a silk, it looks more put together than it would if the same skirt were made in a cotton. (Now, I sort of want a version of this skirt in cotton, and one in wool.)
The easiest jersey vest ever – no seriously. the easiest vest ever. 1 yard of light weight jersey with two slits cut in it. That’s it.
Cascading flowers maxi skirt – I think it’s interesting that this skirt dominated August, but September had more balance between my black maxi skirt, my graphic silk circle skirt, and this skirt.
Red & white striped pirate skirt – arrrggghhh!
Blue kimono – sometimes the quickest projects and cheapest makes turn out the best. This kimono gets complements almost every single time I walk out the door in it. I think it’s the fabric.
The birds & bicycle flare skirt – It’s interesting to think about how frequently we wear certain garments, and how that changes over time. A couple summers ago I absolutely *lived* in this skirt, now I only pull it out every once in a while.
Moonstruck sweater – (I figured out the name! and it turns out I guessed correctly!) This was one of the first successful sweaters I knit. The pattern is the “Moonstruck Sweater” from Blue Moon Fiber Arts, and the yarn is Dream in Color “Classy.” I don’t wear it often, because I keep meaning to add a hook & eye to keep the bottom from gaping. Even though it’s a 15 minute alteration, I just keep putting it off, so for now I’m using a safety pin.
Jersey wrap dress – I forgot about this dress a little bit this month.
Gingham skirt – maybe this skirt has a superpower that means I can only wear it once a month? But probably not, it’s more I have a couple alterations that I want to do to it, and I keep putting them off in favor of making new pieces.
This Month In Blog Posts:
: Week 5
: Week 6 – I just want a pair of damn pants
: Week 7
: Week 8 – sweater weather is here
: 8 clothing related reminders from Month 1 of the Self-Made Wardrobe. Because reinventing the wheel every time sucks.
: The Versio Sweater – a body, sleeves, and a change of plans.
: Some thoughts on selfies and self-portraits.
: The Perfect Transitional Sweater – Hopefully.
: The Versio Sweater – hood, finishing, and making twisted cord.
The Versio Sweater – finished!
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…
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
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.
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.
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.
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
