Knitting and Simplicity 2285

 A basket weave scarf was finished a couple of weeks ago.  I knitted it out of some unmarked wool that was in my stash.  It was intended to be a gift, but didn't get finished in time.  It will eventually be a gift for someone now LOL

 I have also started a pair of simple stockinette stitch socks.  My goal this year is to knit three pairs of sock, each increasing in difficulty.  Sock knitting has never been my favorite, but I want to keep the skills I do possess.  I am knitting these with unmarked ball of Superwash Wool on size 2 needles using the Magic Loop method.  To me, Magic Loop is the way to go for socks.   Double-pointed needles are a pain to maneuver.

Above is my February MAGAM project.  I will make View C.  It is fairly simple, and I have wanted to make it for quite some time out of the animal print fabric I have had in my stash.  My quandary is the tie belt.  I have black fabric that will work for the tie belt, but I really would like to have a genuine leather tie belt.  Will the skin flint in me win out?  We must wait and see!

In other news, I bought myself a Kindle Fire HD, and love it.  I use it mainly to read, but do piddle around on the web with it as well.

Take care and God Bless!

January MAGAM - McCalls Twinset - M6803 & M6796

Blurry photo - sorry

 The jacket is M6803, and while is extremely easy to make, it has quite a few of fitting issues - mainly due to the pattern being sized way too big.  Below are the changes/alterations I made to the pattern to make it fit:
1.  I started with a size small and graded it out to a medium at the jacket hip.
2.  I used a size small on the sleeves and they were mega long and wide, so to fix this, I took 1-1/2" off of the length of the sleeve, and 2-1/2" total from the width.  You will have seriously ridiculous sleeves if you do not do this.
3.  The shoulder/sleeve cap is meant to fall over the shoulder a bit, but as the pattern is made, the shoulder falls at least 3" over your shoulder, so I took out 3/4" from the shoulder, and took out about 3/4" from the sleeve cap.

With the above changes, it fits like a gem, and I will use this pattern all the time for my go to simple cardi pattern.  Your fabric choices will make the cardi not look like something from the 70's and 80's.  Looking at the pattern envelope, it quite frankly looks boring and ugly, and for some reason, I was able to see past the ugly...Fabric, fabric, fabric, just sayin' LOL

Okay, I wanted a top that matches it, and I had enough of the fabric left over to make the above.  I made the sleeveless version w/ the draped collar.

I cut a straight 14, and it fits like a gem right out of the envelope.  No changes were necessary.  Praise the Lord!  I love this pattern much better than the Sewaholic Renfrew top pattern, because no changes are necessary to get a good fit.  I will use this pattern over and over. 

I say no changes were necessary, but the pattern calls for just turning up the sleeve holes and stitching them down.  I didn't do that.  I cut fabric bands from the brown that I used on the collar to give it a more finished look.

BTW, the brown fabric was once a thrift store ponte knit skirt.  I go to thrift stores all the time to find good deals, and/or items that I know I could never wear in it's current condition.  I refashion the unwearable ones, or cut them up and use them to sew articles of clothing.  

Below are a couple of tips:

For those who have trouble making neck and/or sleeve bands lie flat, cut the bands 1-1/2" to 2" shorter than what the neck or sleeve measurement is.  You will then fit the band to the neck or sleeve, and when you sew it down, it gives a wonderful flat look.  Works for me every time.

Also, if you do not use a serger to sew knits, and I do not, use your walking foot, as it will pull both fabrics through at the same time, which will aide in the fabric not slipping out of place.  Also, I learned a good trick to add a bit of knit interfacing to the bottoms of hems, etc., and then turn the hem up and sew.  The fabric will be more stable and will not shift.

Take care and God bless!