Little Black Top

I love finding a good deal on fabric, and this one was a remnant – score! I got 2 yards of this heavy-weight knit jersey in pinstripe for either 6 USD or 8 USD. My original plan in the store was to try my hand at making a hoodie. Then I pivoted to a flowy jersey dress for winter. I cut the pieces out and began to drape on a form to see what this idea was going to turn into. I liked the drape but I was concerned it was too boxy for my frame, hitting mid-thigh.

In shaping the sleeve, I noticed this fabric although a jersey more kin to athleisure portrayed the weight and image of a suiting pinstripe of the classic menswear blazer. Especially if I straightened out the curve in the shoulder. And that got me thinking, should I go for a jacket?

I drafted some lapels for a collar and cut open the front of the dress. It was going well, looked like an interesting coat silhouette. But the fabric’s drape from the knit jersey began to betray the design. It was droopy instead of structured, like a cardigan? So I went back to the drawing board.

Today I decided to trim the bottom off, and then I trimmed a bit more because I cut it wrong. With the lapel collar pinned and one sleeve sewn in, I tried it on and reflected on the length. The long cardigan shape now a cropped hip-skimming garment, stopped and pondered. It needed something.

I looked through the pieces, discarded on the table from my cuts, and began to play with options.

If I was going to make a blazer I would need a button placket on either side for the buttons and button holes to be anchored securely. The lapels needed mitigation from the awkward state of their current appearance. I began to place the collar in different postures along the neckline opening and down the front.

I hemmed the bottom and sewed in a possible placket onto the opening of the jacket. As I re-situated the collar, I realized I could make this a blouse with the placket and drape the collar to change the posture of the garment from a structured piece to a more flowy and relaxed garment more in line with the fabric’s character without losing menswear blazer inspired look.

With this in mind, I attached the second sleeve and sewed up the front, connecting left to right with the bridge of that placket piece. By using the stripes in a contrasting way, the centerpiece and collar flow together like a false scarf sewn into the top. It retained the elevated chic attitude I was looking for in a blazer but with the comfort of the cardigan. I think I will get a lot of wear out of this piece. I tend to gravitate towards dark and cool-toned colors in the fall and winter.

As Chanel declared the little black dress as a wardrobe staple of any woman’s closet, I believe a little black top that you can dress up and dress down is just as important because 100 years later, sportswear separates are the gold standard building blocks for our wardrobe. What is one of your favorite colors to wear? Do you have a staple piece in your wardrobe? I tend to gravitate towards dark and cool colors in the fall and winter.

October 10, 2023

Autumn 2023 Cardigan Project: Stripes of Green

Two years ago, I made a longer cardigan using a complicated “Flying Goose Stitch” which I mentioned in Knitting Tests My Patience, it was a fun yet incredibly frustrating project to undertake as my first try for a cardigan. I thought the complex stitch pattern that involved a sequence of twelve rows that tested my ability to focus and count.

FLYING GEESE STITCH
Cast On a multiple of 12 stitches:
Row 1: Knit 1, Purl 5, Knit 5, Purl 1
Row 2: Knit 2, Purl 4, Knit 4, Purl 2
Row 3: Knit 3, Purl 3,
Row 4: Knit 4, Purl 2, Knit 2, Purl 4
Row 5: Knit 5, Purl 1, Knit 1, Purl 5
Row 6: Knit 6, Purl 6
Row 7: Knit 5, Purl 1, Knit 1, Purl 5
Row 8: Knit 4, Purl 2, Knit 2, Purl 4
Row 9: Knit 3, Purl 3
Row 10: Knit 2, Purl 4, Knit 4, Purl 2
Row 11: Knit 1, Purl 5, Knit 5, Purl 1
Row 12: Knit 6, Purl 6
Repeat Rows 1-12
Credit to knitpurlstitches.com for sharing the pattern on Pinterest.

It’s funny looking at this finished project in 2023, compared to 2021, I actually like and I’m proud of how it turned out but that might be because the stitch photographs well. I remember the fit of this project being off, in the arms and shoulders because I didn’t know how to attach the pieces properly. This sweater took 4 months of tedious knitting. I remember listening to audio books while knitting it including Pride and Prejudice by Jane Austen, Holier Than Thou by Jackie Hill Perry and various writings of C.S. Lewis. I remember not being able to focus if I watched something in the background. I’m happy to report my 2023 project is going much better! I’m about 1 month in of focused work on the project and I have all the shoulder pieces finished and sewn together with a bottom panel designed and attached.

I am not using a pattern for this project but I am making it up as I go along. I’m taking notes as I go to draft a pattern by process and for easier replication of the shoulder pieces. The shoulders are fitting fantastically! This current project is far more comfortable than my 2021 attempt. This new project is a blend of four colors of yarn. The stripes of the bottom section will be carried on in the sleeves. My plan is to make striped, colorful sleeves and a hood or dramatic collar. There will be a ribbed bottom edge added at the end to mitigate the rolling of the hem. I debated on making this a sweater dress after learning those are apparently trending for Fall 2023 but chose to continue with the cardigan plan as I think I will get more wear out of this.

I may even add more length if it feels right. There have been countless moments through this project that have made me question my design sensibilities. This cardigan has been hovering the line between a design I think is cool and straight up ugly. There were many times during the striped panel design phase that I thought, “I’ve ruined it” but I am happy to say now that I personally like the mix of colors and think it balances the upper portion into a innovative sweater design. I was inspired by the quirky knitwear of Gilmore Girls and that peak early 2000’s style. I like that it is colorful and that the stitch is simple. That was my biggest takeaway from the Flying Geese project was to keep the stitch pattern simple for efficiency. That has payed off! My morale is higher. The stripes actually help me keep pace. I’m learning to knit quickly, yet with care to keep my stitches even. I can also knit while watching something in the background. A lot of things actually.

Long-form YouTube video essays
Look Books of fashion
Sports!
Japanese Vocabulary
Skz Code with subtitles
Music Videos
NCT 127: The Lost Boys with subtitles
Favorites like Gilmore Girls and Impractical Jokers

The possibilities are truly endless thanks to that muscle memory! Thank goodness because I can get super bored with these projects. Speaking of my pace, I’ve been truly pleased by my progress this week. I completed a shoulder panel and designed the striped panel within 3 days so around 25 hours of work. That is blazing compared to my old pace. It’s wonderful to see that practicing and failure will lead to growth in some fashion. My hope is to finish this by the end of October, will I make my goal? I’ll let you know. 🙂

September 29, 2023

My First Buttondown Shirt

I’ve been sewing for three years as a full-time apprentice after being laid off. I’ve mentioned this before in #1 – Welcome and #3 – First Sewing Project and it’s been a quick learning curve from hand-sewing, paper patterns, pattern drafting, and machine sewing, but one skill has eluded me for three years. That is the working buttonhole with professional-looking buttonholes! Not my crappy buttonholes that look like an animal chewed a hole through the fabric and I hastily sewed some thread around it, no I’m talking about secure, there for the long haul, even button holes. Well-anchored and secure fasteners of fashion! Well, I figured it out thanks to YouTube and I am incredibly happy!

This shirt has a working placket of buttons and buttonholes, with a self-drafted shirt front and back panels, collar, and sleeves with a gusset for a more fitted sleeve shape. I finished the sleeves with a cuff for added pizazz. This shirt is made from buffalo plaid flannel from Mood Fabrics that sat in my fabric stash for 11 months waiting for the right project. At first, I bought it to make a two-piece pj set, which then was revised into matching pj pants for Kyle and me, and was further revised into pj pants for Kyle and a flannel shirt for me.

I love this print because it has Canadian Geese, Caribou, and Elk. Elk hold a special place in my heart because of where my husband is from, Caribou makes me think of the song Long Time Running by The Tragically Hip, the red plaid makes me think of my Canadian heritage, and Canadian Geese are my comfort animals.

I’m sure that sounds weird but I will elaborate. When I was 10, my mom had this amazing opportunity to go to Ireland through her work. Although it was only for 10 days, it really scared me because I had never been away from her that long. I was used to not seeing my dad for months, but my mom was always there for me. On the day her trip began, my grandparents took me mini-golfing and while we were there this little baby Canadian Goose, gosling I guess, followed me around through our entire game. It was my little buddy. I named it Popcorn. The owners of the course said they had never seen this happen before. If it hadn’t been a wild animal, I would have asked to adopt it.

Fast forward fifteen years later and I’m living in Savannah, Georgia. I moved closer to get to know my dad who lived in Savannah and I had a falling out with my mom in the process. My grandparents are now sick and I’m feeling lost. Each time I went to prayer meeting at Compassion Christian there was a flock of Canadian Geese in the parking lot. It was July and August, not prime migration time. It was odd, and I felt like they were there for me. A reminder that God was with me even when I was feeling lost and homesick.

Two years later, my grandpa passed away, the world was shut down and I felt lonely and lost in Meadville, unsure of how to feel home again. My grandma was now a widow and grieving, we didn’t know it yet but she was starting to move towards heaven, as she would in December of that year. I began to notice something each day at 4 pm, a lone goose or a flying V of Canadian Geese will fly directly over our house. Every day. This continues for a year. I even moved to a new place within that year and it still happened. When that goose or group of geese approached my house, I would hear the honk and I would run outside to watch it fly. In that moment I felt a feeling of comfort, like I could feel God’s presence with me so intensely. Just like a parent’s presence can make you feel safe, I felt that.

I’d say this is probably my favorite item in my wardrobe right now. Thank you, dear reader, for hanging out with me today. I hope you feel safe and loved today.

September 28, 2023