My camera cord is MIA so no pix for now, but I needed to check in, anyway, and I actually did get some needlework-related things done this weekend.
1) I knit a big swatch to practice short rows so I can knit a new edition of Bernat 5330. The overall fit is really pretty good; the only real problem is that I think I want a little more room under the arms, a little more room at the back of the neck, and the front rides up because it needs length over the bust. I'm pretty psyched, though, about learning to make sweaters that fit. Good sweaters are so hard to get, and so expensive when you finally find them.
2) Mom brought home a sewing project that was causing headaches for a lady at church. The complaints were that the directions were confusing. Also, the lady has a neck ailment and has trouble using her sewing machine; she asked if we could baste the project together so she could hand-sew it. It turned out to be Butterick B5691 (2011):
Mom and I looked at it for about ten seconds and decided we'd just sew it together for her and then let her do the buttons, buttonholes, and hem by hand. I'm not going to model it for you because it's a size 28 and I'm not, and it wouldn't give an accurate impression of what the finished product looks like, but it's actually a pretty nice poncho/jacket thing. The princess seams keep it from being a complete bag.
Oddly, it has the same front construction as the notorious 904.
3) Sunday, I added some extra bodice length to Simplicity 4727 (1943) and started what is technically a muslin, but one that I hope will be very wearable and am finishing accordingly. It's light-brown gingham; I got the stuff for $2.50 a yard at Wal-Mart and, astonishingly, it turned out to be much better fabric than I thought it was once I'd washed it. I thought it would be another slippery (mostly) polyester-cotton blend, but now I think it might be all cotton, and it's almost like good cotton sheeting in terms of being sturdy and opaque. I'm adding white rick-rack trim on the neckline, pockets, and skirt.
Sadly, the color is about the same color as my skin, which is going to look pretty weird, but I can live with it in an everyday dress.
It did occur to me, though, as I was trying on the previous muslin bodice for the umpteenth time, that this would also make an excellent basis for a playsuit. Hmm.
It did occur to me, though, as I was trying on the previous muslin bodice for the umpteenth time, that this would also make an excellent basis for a playsuit. Hmm.
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