Blouson

I finished knitting on the neckband and weaving in all the ends of the Blouson last night. I made the size up from the smallest size and the sweater is still pretty roomy and blousey, though the waistband fits my hips just right. I made the sleeves just a little bit longer and they almost hit my wrists. The Mainline yarn makes for a nice soft fabric that feels good against the skin. I can see wearing this sweater quite a bit once fall hits to keep the chill off.

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.

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.