Riding on the “yay, I’ve successfully made it through two group challenges this year!” wave, I’ve signed on for yet another: the Fall Essentials Sew Along (FESA) hosted by Sarah and Lisette.

Cold weather clothes have always been a struggle for me, even when I was buying them in stores. In my first few years of sewing I only wanted to sew summer sundresses, but in the past couple of years I’ve been – dare I say it – excited to fill some major gaps in my fall and winter wardrobe. What can I say, it just gets a little tiring to wear the same three cardigans to winterize most of my clothes!

I’m going to keep my FESA plan simple (even so, it’ll be interesting to see what I can get done by November 30th). I find that the following patterns are essentials that fit my lifestyle, which is certainly a motivator.

Pencil Skirts
FESA Category: Fashionable Foundations for Frosty Weather

I have some wool I bought last year to make some more pencil skirts. Although I’ve made three BHL Charlotte skirts (one of them being the bottom half of my Charmbie dress), I think I may try the bottom half of B5455 by Maggy London, which I found for 30 cents at a thrift store this summer – ca-ching! I like that it has pockets and a vent.

The dress has promise too, but I’m not sure about that midriff panel on the front bodice (the back bodice is just one piece). I like it in the drawing better than in the floral fabric, but I’ll see if I can hunt out other versions to get a better idea of how it looks all sewn up.

Long-Sleeve Shirts
FESA Category: Chic Chemises for Cool Climates**

**I think of a chemise as an undergarment, but Sarah and Lisette show examples of blouses, etc. so I’m going with it. :)

I have to admit, I just don’t like long-sleeve woven shirts! I’m fine with them in knits for some reason, but woven shirts…well, I just don’t know. It might have something to do with the fact I prefer dresses to pants (long sleeves = arm pants). Given that, I must be crazy, but I’m going to attempt some with this Vogue 9029 pattern I just picked up.

(Of course, I’m also knitting the Marion cardigan for the fall KAL so technically I can add it to this FESA category as well.)

Gertie’s Wiggle Dress
FESA Category: Fabulous Frocks

I was actually a pattern tester for this dress back in the day (wow, is that really almost three years ago??), but never made one past the muslin stage due to my hectic schedule at the time. I have some navy blue fabric – it sparkles! – that I picked up last spring with this dress in mind, and I have some more “casual” fabrics that would work too. I’ll probably shorten the hemline a wee bit.

Wrap Dresses
FESA Category: Fabulous Frocks

The three wrap dresses I’ve made so far have become wardrobe staples. I have a few thicker knits that would be perfect for cold weather and I just so happened to buy M6884 during the latest McCall’s sale. I love that the bodice and skirt are one piece (rather than separated by a waist seam) for quicker sewing, and I’m curious about that mock wrap design.

Ever since I discovered the amazingness of sweater tights I have been much happier dressing in cooler weather. In the past I’ve worn pants (really, just jeans) all the time and it gets a little boring. Plus, sweater tights actually keep me warmer than pants, even during this past brutal, prolonged winter.

Another Wool Coat
FESA Category: Baby It’s Cold Outside

This one won’t likely be done in the challenge time frame (if I’m being realistic), but I had so much fun making my first tailored coat that I thought it was high time to make another. This time around I’d like to make something more colorful and a little less formal. I found Burda 8292 after checking almost every pattern company site known to mankind to find the style I wanted, which was one similar to the coat Betty wears (top photo) on Mad Men. I still need to hunt for the perfect fabric, but right now I’m thinking something red needs to happen! Red makes me happy, so why not wrap myself in it all cozy like?

Well, these are the ideas floating in my head. If you’ve followed me long enough you’ll notice that none of these choices are exactly groundbreaking or taking me out of my comfort zone. But you know what? I’ll be living in comfort in pieces I know I’ll love, and for now that’s just good enough for me. :)

Are you participating in FESA 2014? Or perhaps SESA if you’re in the Southern Hemisphere? :-D Happy sewing, guys n’ gals!

I knit my very first sweater! The Myrna cardigan by Andi Satterlund of Untangling Knots. Woohoo!

This was completed as part of the Outfit-Along, as I mentioned in a previous post. I did sew a dress in the challenge time frame (my peach dress that I shared last week), but I didn’t originally intend to wear them together. It just happened to be the dress I was making at the time and since the summer has been so busy I never got around to making the pencil skirt I had planned.

In any case, I was just so thrilled to have finished this cardigan by the deadline that I wore it with the peach dress and shared them in the OAL thread on Ravelry. A few days later, these photos were taken in Bryant Park and I’m much happier with how this cardigan pairs color-wise with my Colette Parfait dress from two years ago.

The yarn I used was Worsted Cotton by Blue Sky Alpacas. The color is Mediterranean, which is perfect since it reminded me of crystal blue water when I spotted it at Downtown Yarns at Avenue A and East 3rd Street. This yarn may be a bit heavier than what’s recommended, but I think it worked out all in all. The one issue I noticed is that it shed on my white dress. Little blue furries lightly sprinkled over the fabric. Hmm, was that supposed to happen?

Oops, should’ve evened out the cardigan before having my picture taken. :)

The pattern calls for size US 8 (5mm) needles, but after my first gauge swatch I went down to a size 7 (4.5mm).

I thought Myrna was a great first sweater project. It came together surprisingly quickly considering I really only worked on it on my subway commute, lunch breaks, and travel (and I was watching a lot of technique videos that I now know by heart – thank YOU, knittinghelp.com!). After a few false starts trying to figure out this whole knitting-a-cardigan business, I started for real in mid-June and, as I said earlier, finished by the July 31st deadline.

By the way, if you happened to buy this pattern before mid-June, or thereabouts, make sure you have the updated pattern instructions. There was an error and some people had armholes that were much too long. Since I was a bit behind, this didn’t really affect me, but I wanted to share that with you just in case. I believe you would have received an update from Andi on Ravelry (as I did).

I made my version without the keyhole at the upper back.

This is an extra small, which calls for approximately 440 yards of yarn. My three skeins gave me 450 yards, but oh did I ever struggle to make it to the end! Halfway through the bind off I ran out of yarn. I didn’t want to buy another skein so after frogging I ended up with one less row at the button band. At least now I know how to go backwards halfway through a bind off…

I was even thinking that for my next cardigan I would knit the button band first and then the sleeves. I figure it’s better to have to shorten the sleeves slightly than end up with an unfinished button band should I run out of yarn.

I wonder how I ended up with too little? One thought is my ribbing, which came out looser than the stockinette stitches. I think my purl stitches are the culprit – too loose – but I could be wrong. My finished waist circumference was 26″ and the schematic says it should be 23″. Also, the cardigan’s length is about 1/2″ to 1″ longer than it should be.

Finding the right ratio for picking up stitches, particularly at the armholes, was the trickiest part. I ended up picking up two stitches for every three at the armholes, but now I’m thinking they should have been picked up a bit differently at the sleeve cap. No idea! Anyway, it’s something to work on.

And that’s it! Thanks to Lauren and Andi for hosting the Outfit-Along, my Instagram buddies for cheering each other on during this challenge, and everyone else for having to listen to me discuss this knitting project. Oh, and thanks to Maggie of Stitch-n-Thyme (great blog name, right?!) for the moral support on Ravelry as we both ventured into the world of knitting sweaters. This somehow turned into an acceptance speech.

I’m excited to hear that the OAL will happen again next year. I’ll definitely be better prepared now that I know I can do this – I CAN knit a cardigan! Yep, I certainly can. And so can you! :) Speaking of which, did you join in too and/or will you do it next year?

Babs and Gromit, two knitting greats.

Happy Friday, all! This is quite a late post, but I’m kinda sorta joining the Outfit-Along currently being hosted by Lauren of Lladybird and Andi of Untangling Knots. I say kinda sorta because I’m not 100% sure I’ll finish in time, but I’m totally using this as the push I need to fulfill my dream of knitting a cropped cardigan (it’s the little things).

I’m working on a dress right now that would look great with such a cardigan, but I’ll have to see if I like the color combo together. The dress features a Sewaholic Lonsdale skirt with a Sewaholic Cambie bodice and Vogue 2902‘s neckline (I’ll explain the whole random combo thing in the finished project post).

Yeah, so back to the knitting part. Knitting and me go way back, but it’s been an iffy relationship. Sure, there’s half of that boring scarf I started, um, 10 years ago maybe? And the squares that my friends and I were going to knit into a baby blanket for a classmate’s newborn that, oh, just turned nine.

But, hey, I did start to get on the right track with the snood seen round the world thanks to Karen of Did You Make That? fame. Clearly I’m on the up and up!

So here we go! My first attempt is Andi’s Myrna cardigan, the official design of the knitting portion of the OAL. Yay! Exciting! In the past few years I’ve been thinking how nice cropped cardigans would look with my dresses and high-waisted pencil skirts, and they are truly the reason why I want to knit. So why not just knit them? I love a creative challenge, and the projects I’ve done in the past, while useful, just weren’t that exciting to me. And as they say in the musical Damn Yankees, “You’ve gotta have heart.”

Anyway, this is still very much a sewing blog (my love for life!), but I’m excited to tackle these cardigans. Like Lauren mentioned in a past post, I feel like a total Andi groupie. I really just want to make a bunch of her designs. And I think that’s kind of fun, like someone who has a favorite author and reads most or all of his/her books.

As it turns out, knitting is quite handy in my life. From waiting in a really long line to see the Germany v. Ghana World Cup match last Saturday at Loreley (whoa packed house of Germans and about three brave Ghana fans) to my daily rides on the subway. Here’s where knitting has also come into play:

Enjoying a beautiful Saturday in Bryant Park with friends as I completed my gauge swatch. I had no idea you’re supposed to make one of these before starting, by the way. Thankfully I happened to see this on Andi’s Instagram feed! Oh, and seated next to me may just have been two pieces of fabric to make the Grainline Studio Maritime shorts. Yep, snuck in a trip to the Garment District while I was in the area. :-D

Contemplating chopsticks and knitting needles over lunch in the garden next to our office. Perk!

Chillin’ with Basquiat (he seems to approve?) by my cousin Andres Bella.

Dog-sitting and catching up on the latest with old man Jepetto. I had to bug him to get him to look at the camera, otherwise he would’ve happily kept on snoozing with that ball of yarn on his side.

Awaiting some tasty dim sum (I’m pretty sure these guys know what I’m going to order every time I set foot in here).

Sitting at a city agency public hearing for work as I await the application I’m here to see (waiting time varies by month). That guy on the right looks like he could use a rewarding hobby too.

And finally, admiring the sunset views of midtown Manhattan as I finish the upper back. You hear that, New York? One complete Myrna is comin’ for ya! (Please fit.)

As you can see, I omitted the keyhole in the back. If you’re making this cardigan note that there was an error in the instructions that has now been updated. I’ve had to frog this baby (now that’s a phrase) a few times, which is why the piece you see in all these photos hasn’t really changed in size. It’s cool, it’s cool. I’m learning.

I’m working with Blue Sky Alpaca worsted cotton on size US 7 (4.5 mm) circular needles, both of which came from Downtown Yarns at 45 Avenue A (between 3rd and 4th Streets). It has a cute little screen door. The yarn color is Mediterranean, which is perfect because it definitely reminds me of crystal blue water. :-D

Oh, and I’m on Ravelry! I’m still the same ol’ sewinintherain over there (knittinintherain was taken, alas!). Anyone else participating?

Another completed project to share – victory! This one is my official contribution to the Sew Sexy Sew-Along hosted by Lisette, Wanette and Clio. Here are the details…

• Pattern: Sewaholic Cambie (bodice) and By Hand London Charlotte (skirt)
• Size: 4 bust transitioning to 6 waist/hip
• Fabric:  Silk dupioni shell (Mulberry Fabrics), silk organza underlining, and China silk lining (both from B & J Fabrics)
• Notions: 20″ zipper, stay tape at hem
• Alterations: Cambie – shortened bodice 1/2″ and went down to a size 4 bust (I went with a size 6 last time); Charlotte – changes same as last time

I decided some time ago that I wanted to combine these two patterns so I could have myself a Charmbie dress. And I absolutely love how it turned out! I had this dress in mind before the sew-along was announced, but I’m so thrilled I joined because it gave me a deadline to finish this one. Plus, it’s been great seeing what everyone else has come up with!

I’ve made the Cambie before, but in that version I cut a straight size 6 for the bust and waist. Fine for the waist, too big for the bust. Here, I’ve gone with a size 4 at the bust and transitioned to the 6 waist – a much better fit without the gaping issues!

I’m going to say it also helped that I used Kenneth King’s method of stabilizing a neckline by using strips of silk organza. I basted these on at the very beginning of the process before the bodice had much of a chance to stretch. He shared this technique in a Threads article that’s now closed to non-magazine subscribers, but I managed to find Gertie’s post from her Crepe sew-along that shows it. Just note that she folded them in half differently to Kenneth’s (I ended up following his instruction).

Silk organza platter! The top photo shows all these little organza strips pinned to the neckline before I hand-basted them and then machine stitched them just inside the seam line. This took time but it was worth it, I say.

This was my first attempt at working with silk dupioni, so I did a little research on how best to handle it. Since it’s pretty delicate, and this dress is so fitted, I found that underlining it with silk organza was a common suggestion. Actually I learned this from a site called Artisan’s Square. Have you heard of it? It’s kind of like Pattern Review with all its helpfulness, and the name makes me want to go to there (confession: a lot of 30 Rock was watched during the making of this dress).

Each piece was hand-basted to the dupioni. I wonder if I even needed to stabilize the neckline with organza strips since it was already underlined with organza? If anyone knows if that’s overkill, I’d love to know. It was great having the organza already built-in to the dress to strengthen the zipper seams too. Handy!

A close-up of the fabric to see the texture. Isn’t that great?! Dupioni is made from two or more silk worm cocoons, which creates this neat effect. Also, randomly, when I was pressing it a smoked salmon smell arose from the fabric. Or maybe I’ve just been eating too many bagels with lox lately. ;)

I picked up the dupioni from a great little place near Chapel Hill, NC called Mulberry Silks (I chatted about that trip way back when). It was especially amazing because it’s housed in an old warehouse building. Yay, I love the adaptive reuse of historic buildings!! Okay, putting aside my geeky architectural historian self to get back to the dress…

This is to prove I can sit down in the dress as I stare at the phone, waiting for it to ring. Ring, ring? Actually if you go back up to the second photo in this post you’ll see how this dress reacts to bunching up after I sat down – it behaves beautifully! I had read that silk dupioni is good at resisting wrinkles, and it seems to be so, it seems to be so.

Okay, I must confess I’m a little bummed about the vent. I’m still trying to master the art of vents, and since mine is self-drafted I kind of think I messed something up (or I just need to work on it). The vent actually hangs just fine, but here I think I unintentionally added some bunching at the top of the vent (not visible from the outside) when I was stitching up the lining, and that’s causing it to hang a bit odd when I wear it. I shall have to work on that one.

I think it’s one of those things that you really scrutinize on your blog and then when you’re out in the world wearing it – for a drink at the Campbell Apartment perhaps – it’s not as big of a deal. That’s what I tell myself. :-D

But while I’m being nit picky, I think some of the fullness may need to be taken out of the hips. Yeah, we’ll see if I ever get around to doing that! It wasn’t an issue in my wool versions, as I recall…

I just threw this photo in for kicks because I’m walking forward so you can see the dress in action, kind of.

That’s about it! Red dupioni, red organza, red China silk. Oh, and red seam binding at the hem. Lots of red! I guess when I think of sexy (this is the Sew Sexy Sew-Along after all), I think of all those great actresses from Old Hollywood and how confident and classy they looked. And that’s the kind of dress I’d like to think I recreated here. This is all to say that if I ever happen to find myself in a room with Gregory Peck and Cary Grant, I’ll know what to wear. ;)

Silk dupioni hanging from my apartment’s picture rail. That’s one way to avoid folding it up to deter the wrinklies! Three cheers for historic interiors.

Of Sew-Alongs and Sewing Meetups
Oh, and I’m also participating in the Sew Sexy Sew-Along being hosted by Clio of Clio & Phineas, Lisette of What Would Nancy Drew Wear?, and Wanette of Sown Brooklyn! My sew-along track record is the pits, but what the heck – why not?! I plan to make a Sewaholic Cambie/By Hand London Charlotte mash-up using red silk dupioni (seen above), which I have already dubbed “the Charmbie”. If I pronounce it with a French accent, will it sound sexier? ;)

Also, a meet-up happened! Lladybird was in town and a whole bunch of us gathered on Saturday to shop the day away in the Garment District. I feel like I should do a post about that, but how about I just officially endorse the wrap-ups of the day written on Peter’s, Aleksandra’s, and Lisette’s blogs?!

Anyway, I figured I could share a Wearing Yesteryear post for March 2013 (no finished projects for February 2013, alas). Yay, a freebie post for me! And this is one I’m very excited to share…

The Sabrina Coat

Blog Debut: March 25, 2013
Pattern: McCalls 5717
Worn In: Late fall, winter, early spring
Wearability Meter: Very much so!
Lessons Learned: This was fun, so make another one :)

Okay, so I really love this coat! The whole tailoring process was really fun and a great learning experience. I’ve found that I can wear this coat in temperatures ranging from the 30s to the low 50s F (~0-10 C). One of my favorite features is the length of the coat, which covers knee-length dresses and skirts. Makes for a nice clean finish I think!

Everything seems to have held up well over the past year. This winter has been COLD so I spent most of it in my goose-down coat, but I’ve definitely worn this baby enough times this season. I had used a flannel-back satin lining to give a bit more warmth to the coat. Originally I wasn’t sure if it was going to make me super hot, but now I know I could stand to add a layer of interlining if I wanted to make the coat even warmer.

I’d love to make another coat in a slightly more casual fabric. Oooo, temptation! But, for now, I have some spring projects on the mind. Are you getting ready for some spring sewing? Or autumn sewing for those down under?

(Random note: WordPress has changed the look of the smiley emoticons. The :-D one looks kind of strange!)