The perfect skirt - without a pattern!

I have a skirt I love very much, not only is it pretty but most importantly it fits me like a glove. I bought it in Belgium about 5 years ago. I've been looking since then for another similar skirt but haven't managed to find one that fits me quite so well.

Since I've improved on my sewing skills, I figured I could just buy a pattern and make my own but yet again, I was unable to find the exact pattern I wanted.

So I challenged myself to reproduce the pattern of the skirt I love so much. The obvious way would have been to unpick my skirt, lay all the pieces out on a piece of paper, trace it and hey presto, there you have a pattern! But I haven't got enough faith in my sewing skills to trust that once I'd unpicked the skirt I'd be able to stitch it back together and it would still look like my favourite skirt. So I had to scrap that idea and find another way.

This is the skirt I wanted to reproduce (I know it could use a spot of ironing in that shot!):

I spent an afternoon on all fours in my living trying to sketch a first pattern. 

Once that was done, I did a mock up skirt in a bit of polycotton I have lying around: 

The mock up allowed me to correct a few issues. As you can see from the picture above, the curve at the bottom of the skirt was too pronounced and needed straightening a bit. So I made a second paper pattern:

Satisfied that I now had the right pattern, I decided to use a fabric from my stash - a fabric I bought in Sweden last year. I cut my fabric, overlocked the edges, stitched the concealed zip and then abandoned the project for the best of three months... I finally got back to it earlier this month when someone asked me about it. 

The skirt is now finished and fits me to a T. I'm super happy with the result, it really doesn't look amateurish at all! The fabric gives it a lovely folksy look too. And now I have the pattern, I can make as many as I want :-)

I love knitting socks!

I know it probably doesn't sound cool, but I love knitting socks!

This is why I love knitting socks:

- Socks are surprisingly easy to knit but challenging enough to stay interesting.
- They're a compact project so they travel well.
- Socks are knitted in the round and require no stitching other than the grafting of the toes
- Self patterning yarn is always full of surprises
- Hand knitted socks always fit perfectly and they are nice and warm in winter

Luckily for me, hubby loves hand knitted socks! so here's the last pair I knitted for him, finished them this morning :-)

Knitting from the top down

Ok, I've really neglected my blog over the summer months. Looking after and entertaining my little nephews, working on a festival then going on a short holiday pretty much took all my time away. On top of that, the latest projects I'd been working on all required a second pair of hands in the photography department. Anyway, the fact remains, I have loads of catching up to do!

So let's start with one of my least recent projects that hasn't had its time in the spotlight yet! About two years or so ago, a friend showed me a knitting pattern from the book "Fitted knits" and I'd been dreaming about that pattern ever since. A quick email to my friend earlier this year allowed me to track the book, buy it and thus get my hands on the coveted pattern.

The novelty for me is that this project is knitted from the top down - for the non-knitters, sweaters are traditionally knitted from the bottom up. My favourite aspect of the project though is that it's knitted on circular needles and requires a minimal amounts of stitching, which is the part I like the least about knitting a garment. One more advantage is that it's knitted on large needles so it's pretty quick to knit.

Before starting the project, I made the wise decision to look on Ravelry to see what fellow knitters had amended/improved on the pattern. This led me to the decision of shortening the "wraps" and thank god I did because I still find them very long the way they are!

I really like the end result. I used a Sirdar Silky Look yarn which gives it a luxurious feel and kind of complements the romantic look the garment. If you were interested in it, the pattern is called "Airy wrap around sweater" and features in the above mentioned book.

Happy lughnasadh!

It's time to celebrate Lughnasadh and as days start to get shorter and summer is slowly drawing to a close, it is time to give thanks to mother nature for her generosity. 

"Now is the time of the First Harvest,
when the bounties of nature give of themselves so that we may survive.
O God of the ripening fields,
Lord of the Grain,
grant me the understanding of sacrifice as You prepare to deliver Yourself under the sickle of the Goddess and journey to the lands of eternal summer.
O Goddess of the Dark Moon,
teach me the secrets of rebirth as the Sun loses its strength and the nights grow cold."