Honey Bop Cardigan

Oh my goodness, I'm so pleased with this!!

It's the Poison Grrls Honey Bop cardigan, I started knitting this last summer, and finished it a few weeks ago.  I shall explain why it took so long in a minute.

The cardigan is knit from the top down - you start with the back shoulders and work down to the under arm, then pick up the stitches for the front shoulders again working to the under arm.  It's then joined, and you work the body to the ribbing and cast off.  Next is the button bands, and then you pick up the stitches at the armholes for the sleeves and work them.

My yarn is Cascade 220 4 ply, and the colour is 8393 Navy.  I'm not the fasted knitter, and it took me a while (and a few goes at the shoulders) to do the body.  By the time I got to the knit one purl one ribbing, it was winter, and it was just impossible to see the stitches in the dark yarn, so it got set aside. 

 

But it turned out that lockdown and more daylight in the evening was a great motivator, and I got the ribbing and button bands done.

The sleeve heads were a bit tricky, and it took a few goes to get the first one started, but once I got it, the second one was easy.  That said, the instructions are very good, it was me that took a while to get my head around them!

 

I'm absolutely delighted with how it turned out, I don't have any navy buttons for it yet, but I can get them at some point.  I also have this yarn in a gold/orange shade which is 9622 Amber Glow, so I need to decide what to knit with it.

Lynne

Deer and Doe Magnolia

This is sort of a half-and-half dress. I had fully intended to use the Deer and Doe Magnolia pattern as is, because their patterns are a good fit, but in the end I didn't.

I used the skirt for view A (but sewed up the split), and was going to use the bodice for view B but make it sleeveless.  In the end I drafted the bodice from my block, and was able to re-jig the bodice from my Frocktails dress, so it was pretty quick to do.

 

Me, being me, ended up making a few changes.  I put a zip in the centre back, because I find side seam zips a bit of a faff to sew.

 

And I also faced the inside of the waistband, and used facing instead of bias tape to face the neckline.

The fabric is some cheap and cheerful viscose from Sew N Sew in Belfast that I bought last year.  I bought either 3 or 4 metres (can't remember which), but didn't realise that it was 45 inches wide, so went back and bought another 2 metres.  I used all of the first cut, and a bit of the second, and have enought left for a top.

It was pretty shifty fabric to work with, and I really should have stablised it with spray starch.  Also, the print is a bit patchy in places, but I think the busy-ness hides it.  

I love this dress, it will be great for swishing around in the summer, and it goes well with my Yaz jacket.

 

Hope everybody is keeping well,

Lynne

Sewaholic Gabriola Skirt

I have a skirt that's very similar to this one, it's denim and it was from Tescos, but I bought it on ebay.  I must have that skirt about 10 years, and I absolutely love it.  It gets worn every summer, and it's always missed when it's in the washing.

 

So you'd think I'd have made my own version a bit sooner!  But better late than never, and this one is fabulous.  It's the Sewaholic Gabriola skirt; the back of the pattern is dated 2014, and my sister bought me it not long after it was published.  

(I also made this top, which is a Charm Patterns Rita Blouse made from some Liberty Carline linen left over from this skirt, but back to the Gabriola.)

My fabric is a linen (or possibly linen mix), I recall buying it, and  that it was beautifully enabled by Rachel from Stitched Up!, I can't remember where it was from.  

The size I made was based on the finished garment measurements on the back of the pattern.  Annnnd I ended up taking it in by 8cm at the side seams, grrr...  If you too have this pattern lurking in your stash, then I would suggest measuring the waistband before tracing/cutting the rest of the pattern.  Guess which pattern piece I looked at last...

And talking of the waistband, you'll notice that I didn't use it.  It's a rectangle waistband, and I'm not a fan, so I drafted a facing instead.  To do this I pinned the top yoke to it's corresponding yoke, then traced over it and made the facing 3" deep plus seam allowance.  The photos below are of the front pieces, but it was the same process for the back.  The front facing is shorter at the centre front because I cut it on the fold, the back facing is the same length as the pattern pieces.

I also shortened the main skirt pieces by 5 1/2" along the length/shorten line.

I would recommend marking the yoke pieces as it's pretty easy to get them confused, and  I used coloured glass headed pins to colour-code each piece.

Blue for the back

Red for the front (as there's no colour that starts with an F, I use red as it's the second letter of front)

Red for the right hand side

Yellow (or lemon if you will) for the left hand side.

You sort of have to use your imagination with this, but it works for me.

 

Right back

Left back

Left front

Right front

The yoke pieces are cut on a horizonal grain, and I love how it gives the yoke a slightly different tone.  Also, I think all the yoke pieces are ripe for top-stitching, and I might do this when I can get some more thread. 

 

In conclusion, I flipping love this skirt, and now feel the need for one in red.  If anybody wants me, I shall be swishing about and pretending I'm Stevie Nicks!

 

Happy sewing,

Lynne

Deer and Doe Pavot Denim Jacket

Hope everybody is doing ok in these crazy times, and that sewing is keeping you occupied.  Making this little jacket has been a very welcome distraction for me.

I also made this skirt, but it will get it's own post

The first thing to talk about is the jacket's inspiration, which was a jacket that Yaz wore in the latest series of Doctor Who.  There was an episode towards the end of the series (which seems like a hundred years ago now!) that was set in the early 1800s, and was about Mary Shelley writing Frankenstein.   It was a sort of haunted house episode and was very dark and creepy, also there was a Cyberman, and they're flipping scary!

Everybody was wearing early 1800s clothes (think the outfits from a Jane Austen drama), and Yaz (who is one of the companions) was wearing an empire line dress and a Spencer jacket, and I absolutely loved it.  I got these photos below from the @bbcdoctorwho Instagram. 

Source

Unfortunately the ribbon from her bonnet is getting in the way (!), but you can see the puff on the sleeve heads, the Peter Pan collar (love these!) and the trim on the collar and hem.  The photo below better shows the sleeve head and the shaping at the bust, which is either double darts or pleats.  I also love the print/embroidery on her dress.

Source

I initially thought Yaz's velvet jacket was made from denim and thought this was a brilliant idea, as it reminded me of Biba from the late 1960s/early 1970s, especially with the maxi dress.  So, in an effort to take my mind off the scary Cyberman as I was going to bed, I was desperately trying to think about how to make my own version.

Which leads me on to the pattern which is the Deer and Doe Pavot coat, and I've made it before here and here.  This was one of their first patterns, and unfortunately it has been discontinued, which is a shame because it's lovely.

Source

I made the bodice as it is on the pattern, and just left off the skirt.  Which leads me onto the fabric.  Both the denim and the cotton lawn that I used inside are from lovely Becs at Oh Sew!.  The cotton lawn isn't available now, but the denim is (here's a link), and this denim is amazing!  I've made a Tilly And The Buttons Ness skirt in the black, and have the khaki to make jeans with.

 

 

 

I used the cotton lawn to make 10 metres of bias tape to edge the raw edges of the seams, and this was even more tedious than it sounds.

"Me Made" label from Kylie And The Machine

I also used the cotton lawn for the inside of the waistband, and to make little inside pockets.  The pockets aren't very big, but will be handy to put my keys into.

"Contains Cat Hair" label from Pink Coat Club

Sonic Screwdriver from the Tenth Doctor

The trim is from ebay, which is all hand-sewn on, and the buttons are also from ebay.  I like the style of the buttons, but the colour isn't right - they're too light.  But they'll do until I can get something else.

Waistband

Cuff

I love how this jacket turned out especially the puffy sleeve heads, as I wasn't sure it would work in denim; and I fully intend to make the Deer and Doe Magnolia Dress (bodice B, skirt A) to wear with it.  (Spoiler: it's already cut out...)

Happy sewing,

Lynne