Cosy red jersey dress.

The past week has been a pretty busy one, but I did find time for another quick knit dress, as it is getting a bit nippy now. This one is mad from this lovely ponte jersey from Trurofabrics.  It is a mix of polyester, rayon and spandex.  I'm not normally into polyester but these ponte jerseys are probably the exception as they are so easy to work with and very easy care. Also they are great for winter as they are cosy.

I used one of the 'Onion' patterns on the Maria Denmark website.  This one is the Knit Dress (2007) which is a simple knit dress with raglan sleeves and a crew neck.  It's great doing this blog and taking photos as it highlights the good and the bad.  Above is obviously the back view which highlights both a wrinkly waist area (hadn't noticed that - oops) and also slight points on my shoulder darts. (and I thought they were so smooth too) It does give you an idea of the style with the raglan sleeves, highlighted even more by my rather broad shoulders.  It was the first time I had done shoulder darts, not sure I even knew there was such a thing, if I'm honest, but they were very easy.

As well as the shoulder darts (which I think just need another press) there are front bust darts which gives a bit more shape.  The neckline (sorry I forgot to take a non-scarf photo) is a simple bound crew neck.

The other little detail of this pattern is a lovely shapely narrow sleeve with a slit on the inside sleeve.  All simple details and yet they just add that little bit extra to the overall style.

As I am broad in the shoulder/chest area I cut a 44 in the bodice, but graduated down to a about a 41 in the skirt part.  With these patterns this is easy to do and you also have to allow for seam allowances as they are not included in the pattern.  I have a few of these patterns and they are great, they seem to suit my shape, I think.  The pattern is sent in the post and you receive an email with the instructions translated in English.  Maria Denmark also has her own patterns which are pdf download patterns.  I particularly like the day to night drape top and the Birgitte top.

Also still working on my winthrop cardigan, so near the finish line. Have also made a start on the woodland stroll cape in black coating which I hope to have finished for a weekend away this coming weekend.  Seems appropriate .... here's hoping.

Avocado Hoodie, boys have to get new stuff too!

So, having made the navy fleece for the husband and previously knit a hoodie for my youngest son, son number one was feeling rather deprived.  So, I thought I would make him a cosy hoodie for the winter months. This came in the form of the Avocado Hoodie from Disparate Disciplines..  This is a pdf pattern and although I have used quite a few of these now, I found the pages on this one a bit tricky to match up exactly... maybe it was the way it printed out on my printer, but I had to do a bit of freehand drawing to get the outlines to patch.  Not sure why this happened, but I got it sorted eventually.

The fabric I used was one from organiccotton.biz. As described it has a soft brushed back with a knitted front, quite substantial in weight and very cosy. Mine was the grey marl, but they also do a darker grey and a couple of natural colours.  It was a really lovely fabric to work with.

I chose to make the size 40 for him, with the crossover neckline, front pockets and the thumbholes in the cuffs.

Again on making this hoodie, it was very straightforward, with great instructions, the only thing was that some of the notches did not seem to be in quite the right place.  Not sure why, maybe my printer, just had to rely on some common sense.

The overall result is great and this a really good basic to have, especially if you have teenage offspring who seem to like this standard 'uniform'.  There is also a female version, which no doubt, I will be trying sometime.

My son hasn't really taken it off very much since I finished it last Friday, so it must be ok.

Now, I had better go and make a plan for my christmas knits, the rest of my own winter sewing (haven't really even got started properly yet) and those socks!  Maybe slightly optimistic.  Oh well.

These also arrived, Crazy Zauberball, beautifully soft.  One is planned for funky-grandpa cardigan as the contrast yarn, haven't decided on the main colours or yarns.  Think I might go down the pink colour scheme as probably by the time I get it knit it will be spring!  The other is for my first attempt at 'proper' socks.

I also see that Liesl Gibson has released four new patterns under Liesl & Co patterns seen here.. Her Lisette patterns were some of the first items I made and they were great patterns, namely the Portfolio and the Market dress, so I have great hopes for these new patterns too. Definitely, got to make that plan!