It's a Jumper!

I stayed up way too late last night to finish this dress. But it was so easy that I couldn't stop. I thought it might be too tenty, but it's actually not because of the cut of the pattern with the two side panels and the gathered front and back panels. I also made the belt just in case I needed to rein in the rest of the dress. I would have made it from the same contrasting polka dot fabric, but I didn't have enough. I think it looks fine with the floral fabric. I hate wearing things on my actual waist, which is why the belt is sitting way down on my hips. The only change I made was to put the buttons on the straps and the button holes on the front band instead of the other way around since I wanted to keep the ends of the straps hidden inside the dress. I highly recommend this pattern!

Knitted Pleats

Here's a picture of the pleats and waistband on the back of the blouson. I finished the front and the sleeves last night. Actually, I finished one of the sleeves and then ran out of yarn on the second sleeve with only four rows to go on the cuff. The waistbands and cuffs will be folded in half and tacked on to the hem on the inside of the sweater. I really like how the crossed stockinette fabric turned out.

I also managed to cut out my fabric for the jumper dress, but haven't progressed much further than that. The dress directions look pretty quick and easy, so maybe I can start sewing tonight and have a new dress before I go to bed!

Weekend Progress

I've been steadily working on the blouson and actually finished the sleeves last night. I'll steam block the pieces before I start adding the pleats.

This weekend was also spent looking for a new sewing project to start. I thought I would use this Built by Wendy dress pattern or a Machiko Kayaki pattern, but I wanted something more summery and strappy. I ended up buying four different jumper dress patterns and settled on the Simplicity 3738 to start first. I actually bought the Amy Butler fabrics the day before I bought the patterns and I thought they worked best with this particular dress. The pattern is cut out, so I'll cut fabric tonight.

Moving Right Along

I managed to finish up the back of the Blouson sweater over the weekend. It looks pretty big, but there will be pleats there on the bottom. The crossed stockinette stitch has added a nice texture to the fabric and doeesn't seem to be creating any strange sort of bias. I'm starting the raglan armhole decreases on the front now.

Knitting Time

I received my KnitPicks Mainline yarn in the mail yesterday and promptly knit up a swatch. I had to go up a couple of needle sizes from what was recommended, but the fabric looks fine. For the second half of my swatch, I knit using a crossed stockinette stitch, which is knitting through the back loops on all right side rows. After seeing the swatch, I decided to use this stitch for the Blouson instead of reverse stockinette, which I hate. I figure the crossed stitch will be a little more interesting than just plain stockinette and it gives the fabric a nice texture. I haven't knit for a while and it felt good to pick up the needles again.

Button Up

I finished my jacket on Saturday afternoon as I watched movies on cable TV. I really like how it turned out. I didn't make any changes or alterations. The fabric is fairly light, so it will make a nice layering piece. If I make this jacket again, I think I'd like to use a heavier weight canvas fabric.

Sleeveless Jacket

I managed to get the collar of the jacket sewn on last night. I'll try to get the sleeves on this weekend. Hopefully, my yarn for the blouson top will arrive next week and I can get started on that project.

PS Thanks to those of you who voted for my workspace! I didn't win, but it was cool that I got selected as an entrant.

Coolest Workspace Contest

I entered my new studio space in Lifehacker's Coolest Workspace Contest and was chosen as one of the workspaces to be voted on in the Music and Miscellany category. There are four other categories and all the winners will be going up against each other for a $500 Amazon gift certificate. Voting starts now for my category and stays open for 24 hours, so click the link above and please place a vote for me. I'd appreciate it!

Summer Jacket

I cut out the pattern and fabric for this McCall's 5276 jacket over the weekend. I finished all the raw edges on my serger last night and ironed on interfacing to the facing, collar, and cuffs. The delightful fabric is called Graphic Leaves and is from superbuzzy. I love the blue and red dots. I'll start the actual sewing tonight.

For my next knitting project, I'm contemplating this blouson top pattern from the latest summer 2007 issue of Interweave Knits. I'm drawn to the pleating, wide neckline, raglan sleeves, and general blousiness (is that a word?) of the design. However, I hate the reverse stockinette stitch and would knit it up in regular stockinette. The pattern calls for Mission Falls 1824 Cotton, but I'll have to browse around for some substitute yarns.