Knitting: Myrtle Cardigan pt. 5 - joining the sleeves

I have officially surpassed the 1 year mark on knitting this sweater. I've learned a lot about knitting and my personal knitting preferences.

I do like knitting lace. I like the challenge. I enjoy the effort of figuring it out. I like the results. I will knit lace again in the future (probably something simpler!).

This project has been dragging because I don't have the mental or physical energy to work on it in the evenings. Evenings are my knitting time that I use to relax in front of the tv.

You can't watch much television and work on this at the same time. At least I can't. I'm knitting each repeat faster, but each row is taking longer now that the sleeves are attached.

I am now at the most difficult part of the sweater. I am raising the neckline by two repeats. This is the part where I will be doing the decreases for the neck and armholes at the same time. I definitely made the right call to knit the underarms in plain stockinette - a little bit less lace.

I'm not sure if it is an error in the pattern or my interpretation. I just joined the sleeves by knitting across the row and following the lace pattern. At this point I think the pattern is telling me I should be on row 2 of the lace repeat where I start the armhole decreases. I'm on row 3. I did not know how to join the sleeves into the work without knitting across. This means I will work row 3 and begin sleeve decreases on row 4 (decreases are supposed to occur on the pattern rows). I don't think it will make much difference but the instructions left me a bit perplexed. I read through everything twice more and I followed everything right up until the join sleeves instruction.

Applying Elastics in A Swimsuit or Leotard

I was asked a while back to write a post on elastic application for a swimsuit. So the following is a pictorial demonstration on how I do it. I hope it will be helpful to someone.

I don't overlap the elastics instead a have the ends touch each other. This means I cut the elastic the exact length I need - nothing extra.The reason I don't overlap the elastics is to eliminate bulk and since it is stitched through I am not worried about it coming undone or shifting. I do overlap elastic ends for elastics placed in casings. Most patterns will give you an amount to cut for each area and they usually include an overlap amount (I subtract that out). But, you may find you need to adjust the length depending on the stretch and memory or return of your elastic. If I'm working with a questionable elastic I will sew up a sample and make incremental adjustments. I have learned a more calculated method of finding percentages/ratios and such but I can't be bothered by this and it gives me a headache.





The elastic is sewn together using a wide zigzag with a tight stitch length (close to buttonhole stitch length).

Next, I marked the leg in four equal sections. I learned from patternschool.com that elastics placed in modern stretch fabrics should be sewn in by stretching the elastic over 4 equal sections. This differs from information found in basic pattern-making books which have you leave the front elastic unstretched in 1:1 ratio and the back stretched with remainder of elastic in a sense creating what I feel a bubble butt. This unstretched and then stretched method was developed when fabrics for swimsuits were not as stretchy as today.

Elastics were also marked in four equal sections.  I used the seam as one mark, hence only 3 pins.

Here elastics are pinned into both legs and ready to sew.

I start my sewing in the crotch area so the outside leg area will look nice and even with no back stitching or overlapped stitching. This is also where I placed the elastic seam (or butt up elastic ends). I sew using a medium width zigzag 3.5-4 and about 3 in length.

Initial application of elastic is done.

Next, I folded the elastic over to the inside and sewed with the same zigzag stitch while stretching the elastic evenly.

I like to steam the elastic back into shape. You can also wash and dry (in the dryer) if it is suitable for the fabric. This leotard is made from nylon Lycra and I am choosing to line dry it.

All done. One more note, when sewing through elastic use knit elastic not braided. Knit elastic can be sewn through without stretching out of shape. 1/4" wide is appropriate for children's swimsuits and 3/8" is better for women's.

Knitting: Myrtle Cardigan pt. 4 - the sleeves

I started knitting the sleeves a couple of weeks ago. The instructions for the sleeves, like the body, are dependent on the size. This makes sense because the lace pattern needs to be adapted for each size in order to work. The sleeves continue the all over lace pattern in order to seamlessly blend with the body. I had to read the instructions several times before I completely understood what was supposed to happen.

I am knitting the medium size. I followed the instructions exactly (I think) and this is what I ended up with.

For the medium size the pattern is written so that the lace pattern is repeated except for the underarm area. In this area you maintain stockinette stitches until the sleeve increases are completed. Then you start chart F for the length of the sleeve. I knew that if I saw this every time I wore it, it would drive me crazy. I'm not sure if I did something wrong, but this does not seem right.

There is a sleeve increase chart, but it is not used for the medium size. I debated ripping out what I had done and restarting with the sleeve increase chart, but I wasn't sure I really wanted an all lace sleeve. Instead I decided to center just one repeat of the lace down the center of the sleeve and do the rest in stockinette. I think it might work better with the sleeve cap decreases.

Blouse refashion : shortening sleeves

This was another lucky thrift store find. This is an Eddie Bauer blouse with a print and interesting yoke detail. The yoke has narrow tucks and a narrow double fold ruffle that measures about 3/8 inch. The button band extends below the yoke at the bottom. (click on the picture for a better view of the yoke details. The buttons are fabric covered. The attention to detail and the construction make this a high quality blouse. There are 6 separate pattern pieces resulting in 12 cut pieces just to make this yoke! I'm still not sure how the seam with the ruffle is not bulky considering it is a folded ruffle.

As much as I liked the blouse, the combination of the print and long sleeves made the blouse feel like I was wearing pajamas. So, I closed my eyes (not really) and chopped the sleeves off. The new shorter sleeves were a bit wide, so I added elastic to pull it in.

I like this version much better - a fun new top for Spring.

Natalie Christening Gown pt. 2 : Heirloom sewing details

I finished the gown a few weeks ago but have been busy with other projects; Chinese New Year, Valentine and DD2 second birthday. The gown came out very well for being my first heirloom project and would recommend this pattern (Natalie in Sew Beautiful issue 135 March/April 2011) to anyone else looking for a beginner project.

There was no lace insertion but strips of lace were sewn together to create a wide lace border at the bottom of the skirt. I used this website for tips and hints on how to do this.

I didn't have an edger foot for my machine and so I tried my blindstitch foot. It worked ok but in the end found I had better or more control with my regular foot. Decreasing upper thread tension is a must otherwise the lace will become puckery. The hardest row was the last one which was sewing a gathered lace edge to entredeux. I gathered the lace by pulling one of top header threads in the lace. I had to sew really slow and adjust the gathers as I went with a straight pin. The presser foot wanted to keep pulling out the gathers but it worked out in the end just lots of patience.

One change I made to the construction was finishing the edge of the dupioni skirt before adding the lace band. According to heirloom sewing, the lace would be attached using a narrow zigzag roll described here as flat lace to flat fabric technique. This method rolls the fabric very narrowly while attaching the lace. I have worked with dupioni and feared the unraveling would cause some problems with this, at least to my inexperience heirloom sewing skills. I instead opted to serge the bottom edge first and then overlap the top lace edge over the serger stitching with a narrow zigzag. I don't think anyone will notice.

Here is the end result, enjoy.

Update: Baby was blessed this last Sunday, June 2, 2013

Maria in her dress

Product Review: Corduroy Pants for a toddler

I haven't done a product review in a long time. This is an item randomly pulled from my stash, a pair of elastic waist corduroy pants in size 18 months.

There was a time when this heavy-weight corduroy was popular. Is it still popular for boys? Even though this is a heavy weight corduroy, I don't know that this would be very durable. 18 month old kids spend a lot of time on their knees and bums crawling and scooting around. Most are probably walking, but not all the time. Anyway, you can see it has a pieced front leg with a bias piece over the knee. The waist has tunneled elastic.


Here is a close-up of the knee. Stitching this fabric can pose challenges because it is a thick fabric. BTW, the fabric is cut nap up (smooth toward the waist). Doing this gives a richer, more luxurious look, but also turns the clothing into a giant lint trap.


Here is the inside view of the front leg. One thing you could do to add extra value is to line, possibly interface, the knee piece. It would add some extra durability. But maybe people don't care about that when the pants are $5.


This last picture shows the elastic. I imagine the pattern maker and sample sewer spent a lot of time figuring out the correct cut elastic measurement. The fabric weight and tunnel stitching can cause the elastic to stretch out and not recover properly unless you compensate. The elastic is attached to the waist with an overlock stitch, turned to the inside and topstitched. I don't think there is any other way to do an elastic waist in this fabric. Too bulky otherwise.

Stewart Girl's Dress pt. 4

This may be my last or second-to-last post on this subject. I may post some sketches of design ideas that I may want to try this design element - that is if I can work out the construction. Here are some sewn samples from my pattern that may illustrate more clearly my difficulties...

In this first picture you can see how the sample sews up. I am unsure if the dimple at the end of the dart is from my poor sewing or if the dart needs more shaping. I used a poly-cotton broadcloth. The gathers were made by pulling up the bobbin thread.





Here is the pattern with the seam allowances added.









It didn't occur to me until after I sewed up the sample that the skirt below the dart would now have a bias grain and the area above straight. I think a softer fabric, like a rayon, would gather up beautifully. But sewing the bias of the front skirt to the straight grain of the back skirt would cause all kinds of difficulties. I suppose some of the difficulty could be overcome by putting the entire style on the bias - which would fit the style period of the 1910's. The style requires a skilled pattern maker familiar with working on the bias.

As I said before, I would like to meet the original designer to see how she put this dress together.

Stewart Girl's Dress pt. 3

I have made some progress with the pattern. I still believe the greater challenge is coming up with a mass construction technique. No matter how I twist my brain around the style, it still requires hand manipulation of the gathers. So per Kathleen's suggestion, here is what the pattern would look like. I realized after I took the pictures that I had left off the seam allowances for the dart - must add that before sewing up the samples. This is a quick and dirty pattern, and I know it is not production ready. The style is going to work for girl sizes 8-16 and older. Younger sizes do not have (or need) darts in the skirt, although they can be added for a style detail.

This is a basic skirt block for a girl's size 10. A style line is drawn on the pattern where the gather detail is to be placed.








Lines are drawn from the dart point and the style line until they intersect. The skirt is slashed along those lines to the point of intersection. The dart is partially rotated closed. The original style had some fullness in the waist. The dart equivalent fullness only adds about a 1/2" to the waist front. I suspect the original style had more. The original style was probably for an older teenager rather than a young girl. Anyway, slash lines are drawn from the lower dart leg to the hip line (On a full length skirt, the slash lines would go to the hem. For ease, I am only working to the hip line).

Slash the skirt along the new slash lines to the hip and spread to the desired fullness. In this case, I spread for a 2:1 gather ratio. The finished pattern would look something like the one to the left. Like I said, I forget to add seam allowances to the dart opening. If you try this yourself, don't forget to add them.

Fabric samples will have to wait until later - too many pressing projects.