Dressed Up

I must admit that I was surprised at how well this knitted dress turned out, especially with the yarn substitution. The only change I made to the pattern was to add some length, about three inches. I didn't knit with a double strand of yarn and I think that definitely improves the drape of the fabric. I can't wait to wear it!

Sneak Preview

Aside from having a couple of ends to weave in, I finished the seaming of the minidress late last night. I have to sew the four diamond-shaped buttons to the placket and then the smaller round buttons on the sleeves, where they hold down pleats. I haven't actually tried the dress on yet, so I'm not sure if that pleat is necessary. The neck gets a row of single crochet edging and that will be quick and easy. I love how the skirt falls and drapes. Photos of me wearing the dress to be posted soon!

Do Over

So, I've decided to buy more fabric to match the fronts and backs of the retro dress. I want to take the time to make this dress look good! Plus, with my other mishap in matching patterned fabric, I don't think I could stand to have this project turn out that way too. My local fabric store was out of the Prints Charming Raindrop print, but luckily I found it online at eQuilter. Hopefully, it should arrive by the end of this week. I also knit the button placket on the minidress last night. Now it's time for seaming, which I really like. Maybe because it's a signal that I almost have a new garment ready to wear. Today's lunch break will be spent searching for the perfect buttons.

Wear More Dresses

I finished the minidress sleeves this weekend. Once those were done, I proceeded to steam block and press all my pieces even though the directions said not to block anything. I usually pin down all my knitted pieces to a blocking board, but was inspired by Bonne Marie to try this other method. Before I start seaming, I have to knit the center button placket. I'll start that tonight.

I also started my retro dress project. As you can see, the front skirt is two pieces. I cut out the fabric not even thinking about matching the rows of the pattern. I could buy another yard to match one of the sides, but I don't know if it looks that bad. And the entire back of the dress is also in the printed fabric and I'm not matching that. Any thoughts?

Up Front

I finished the front of the minidress last night. It's knit in two sections and the button placket in the center is added later. I shall cast on for the sleeves tonight. So far, I like the parts of the dress that I've knit up and I 'm anxious to see what it will actually look like on.

Weekend Update

I finished the back of the minidress just before the weekend started. I cast on for the front and am just at the waist. I also wanted to start a new sewing project and cut out the pattern pieces for the Simplicity 3833 retro dress.

Making Progress

I just started the back above the ribbed waist last night, which is all stockinette stitch. I'm hoping the rest of the knitting will go by fairly quickly. I love that this pattern has raglan sleeves too.

Minidress Back

I got home Friday and, to my surprise, the yarn I ordered from Elann was waiting for me! I swatched Friday night with size five and six needles. My stitch gauge was right on with the fives, but my row gauge was slightly off. I didn't think that would be too hard to correct, so I went with the fives. This project calls for a double strand of yarn to create the tweed effect, but I'm only using a single strand. I worked on the project a lot during the remainder of the weekend and am almost to the waist.

It's a Minidress!

I am eagerly awaiting the yarn for my next project, the Vogue minidress. I had searched for suitable yarns a while back, but nothing really caught my eye. Then I got a May newsletter from Elann that featured one of their yarns, called Callista. It's a combination of rayon, cotton, and linen, which will be perfect for a knitted dress, I think. I'm excited to get this project started and on the needles!

Finished Cardigan

I sewed the buttons on the cardigan yesterday afternoon, so it is officially done!

Blocked Up

Corrective Action

I finally finished the reworked fronts last night. I would have been done sooner had I not forgotten to bind off for the armholes. At least the fronts are now done! I started the sleeves after the fronts were finished and those will be done in a flash. I hope I can block all the pieces later this week.

Must Pay Attention

As you can see, I made a bit of a mistake here on the two fronts of the cardi. I didn't knit enough rows on the eyelet sections before the peplum waist. So, it looks like I will have to do some frogging. Luckily, these sections knit up pretty quickly. I think I'll go ahead and knit up my sleeves first and then revisit the fronts.

Here's the Back

I finished the back of the cardi on Saturday while sitting and knitting on my new sectional that came in a month early! I started both fronts and am at the beginning of the peplums. This is knitting up pretty fast. The cardi is a lot shorter than I originally thought it was. Since the fronts have no stockinette stitch, I'm expecting that the rest of my knitting will go by rather quickly.

I Love Peplums

As I started this project, I realized that I really love to knit lacy patterns. The patterns usually require me to pay attention, stay focused and are interesting enough not to be boring. I'm just past the peplum. I was a little disappointed that the top half of the back was all stockinette stitch, but it should still knit up pretty fast. I suppose I could just kept knitting the eyelet stitch pattern, but I think the smooth fabric will be a nice contrast to the lacy bottom.

Getting Started

I headed out to Lint yesterday after work to scope out yarns for the short-sleeved cardigan project. I was leaning toward the Blue Sky Organic Cotton, but I didn't like the color selection. Then my eye caught the new stock of Cotton Fleece on the shelves. I had thought about knitting up the cardigan in a light gray yarn and when I saw this slate charcoal color, I knew this was my yarn. I haven't used Cotton Fleece since I knit Gigi and as I was swatching and the knitting up the eyelet rib last night, I was wondering why. This yarn feels great in my fingers. It's a little splitty, but it creates a wonderful fabric.

What's Next?

These two patterns are from the spring/summer issue of Vogue Knitting. The cardigan looks like a fun and easy lacy spring number. I'm really drawn to the dress for some reason too. I think it's because of the buttons. I'll probably start with the cardi first. The pattern calls for Lion Brand Organic Cotton, but I couldn't find that, so I may have to substitute something else.