Next Up

I have this fabric all prepped and ready for a project. I'm thinking I'll probably use the Cynthia Rowley Simplicity 2497 pattern.

Weekend Sewing

I started this skirt project yesterday afternoon and finished it up this morning. I used the houndstooth corduroy I bought at the Fabric Depot sale last weekend. The pattern is Simplicity 2656. I made view D, not thinking it would be a mini skirt, but it ended up being pretty close. The finished length is about two inches above my knee. The pattern was straightforward and easy to follow, though that crazy yoke was sort of a pain to sew with the pockets and gathers and all. Speaking of pockets, I lined them with some of my leftover Small Susanna Liberty fabric. I like the contrast of the floral with the check. Once I saw this zipper at Bolt, I knew I had to buy it because it would be perfect to sew on the outside of the skirt.

PS Thanks Amy for the zipper/skirt inspiration!

Cynthia Rowley for Simplicity 2472 Dress

Cynthia Rowley for Simplicity 2472 Dress
Originally uploaded by actionhero

I stayed up a little later than I should have last night to finish this dress. It was a relatively quick project, taking about three hours total, including cutting out the pattern and fabric. This is a super simple pattern and only has three pieces since I used seam binding for the contrasting trim: front, back, and bottom band. The dress has Dolman-style sleeves that are cut as part of the front and back. See the technical drawing here. The fabric gets wrinkled very easily, but I love the color. My favorite thing about this dress? No fasteners, it just pulls on over your head! See more detailed photos here and here.

PS Thanks to Mariko for the cute seam binding!

Fabric Depot Score

Fabric Depot Score
Originally uploaded by actionhero

I headed out to Fabric Depot this afternoon, not realizing it was a 35% off sale day. It was pretty packed in the store. However, I did find some great fabric. The moss and brown oversized houndstooth is a corduroy from Robert Kaufman. I had a hard time deciding between that and this other Kaufman print that is reminiscent of Orla Kiely's stem pattern. I'm not sure what I'll do with it. The army green and eggplant colored fabrics are linen/rayon. The red and black plaid is a very lightweight flannel. I've been jonesing to sew, but hadn't seen any great patterns or projects. I found these two new Cynthia Rowley dress patterns, 2472 and 2497, and I think I'll make the shift dress with the eggplant linen. I was also inspired by this Marc Jacobs top and want to draft up a pattern that is similar. I love his oversized sketched plaid fabric. Maybe I could print my own?

Getting My Money's Worth

I was trying to decide what my next knitting project would be when I started browsing through the fall issue of Knitscene again. Somehow I found a jacket I wanted to make that I hadn't seen all the other times I had looked at the magazine. I love the styling of this Motorbike Jacket with the asymmetrical closure and hidden zipper. The pattern calls for Schulana Merino Superlight yarn, which is like knitted I-cord and creates a nice dense fabric. I think I've found an online retailer that carries the yarn too.

Lace Twist Mitts

Lace Twist Mitts
Originally uploaded by actionhero

I finished these mitts this afternoon. It was a satisfying quick project. Knitting on the thumbs were the biggest pain, but they didn't take too long. I used one skein of Cascade 220 Superwash.

Laced Up

I wanted to do a quick easy project next and found these cute mitts, another project from the fall 2009 Knitscene. I found some Cascade 220 Superwash in my stash that will work perfectly!

New Tights

New Tights
Originally uploaded by actionhero

Got the hearts at Jet, a new boutique on N. Mississippi and the argyle tights from Nordstrom. Jet had an amazing array of various patterns of tights.

Berkshire Dolman Sweater Done. Finally.

Immediately after I wrote that last post, I ripped out the cowl neck on the sweater. I knew that it would bug me if I left it, so I decided to knit the cowl over again. And I'm glad I did. You can see the difference in the photo. The neckline is a bit sturdier and isn't so stretched out like it was when I just knit on for the neck. The weather is supposed to warm up this week, so I just need some cold weather before I can actually wear it.

Do Over?

I finished sewing on the buttons this morning. When I tried the sweater on, I noticed something funny going on with the cowl neck. As you can see in the photo, the neck where the cowl attaches is pretty wide. This is probably due to the fact that I knitted on the cowl neck and the directions said to knit the neck separately and then sew it on afterward. It seemed like a couple of extra steps to me, so I just knit on. Now I may end up doing it over again since it isn't totally looking right to me. But the thought of ripping out the neck is not appealing. Thoughts?