Scroop Patterns Otari and Fantail

Scroop Patterns are local to me and I’ve been eyeing them up for a while. These are the first Scroop patterns I’ve made and I love them. I am so happy these two are in my collection. Both have had a lot of wear since I finished them. It’s taken me a long while to take photos of these since I really wanted to go to Otari Wilton’s Bush in Wellington. It just hasn’t happened, so you’ll have to put up with Pukekura Park in New Plymouth, when I went up for work the other week. Parts of this park are like the bush, but much of it is very much more manicured. It was also very hot and muggy and wearing a hoodie was the last thing I wanted to do! There’s also a couple taken on our deck worn with the matching dress – too matchy matchy? Pfft, I don’t care! 🙂

Otari Hoodie
First up, the hoodie. I actually made this just over a year ago. Leimomi ran a Sew Along at the end of 2018, I had the pattern and the fabric, so I decided to join in. I made up view A hood with the pockets from view B. You may also recognise the fabric! It’s exactly the same as one of the sample versions made for the pattern launch, oh and it’s also what was leftover from one of my Kitschy Coo Lady Skater dresses!

The Sew Along was really good to follow, it meant that I actually followed and sewed this hoodie up relatively slowly, since I was waiting for each sewalong post to be published. I found each post really helpful, but I do admit to whizzing through posts 1 to 7 very fast. I certainly found it helpful with attaching the zip and finishing. The extra tips and information throughout were invaluable. Plus there are lots of fab photos and you all know how much I love photos in sewing instructions.I love the extra touches for this. On the inside at the back of the zip ribbon is used to cover the tape and completely enclose any raw edges. I decided to use this elephant tape which I’ve had in my ribbon/tape box for some time.

Other great touches include lining for the hood and lining for the pockets. For these I used some pale grey and white cotton knit left over from this Renfrew tee. This fabric is also used for the neck binding. This covers all the raw edges where the hood is attached to the main body of the hoodie.

I also decided to use cord endings to finish off the cord through the hood.

The deets
Fabric:  Pale blue denim look knit from The Fabric Warehouse, grey/white stripe cotton knit from Fabric-a-Brac
Notions:  Lots – open ended zip, elephant printed tape for the back of the zip, cotton ribbon for the hood ties, grommets for the ribbon to go through on the hood ties, interfacing, cord endings for the hood ties
Pattern:  Scroop Patterns Otari Hoodie, size 40 based on my bust measurement
Changes made/recommendations:  I really recommend this hoodie. The fit is awesome, the drafting is so good, with some neat touches, such as the pointed hood or the cloud type pockets. The instructions along with the sew-a-long make this a relatively simple sew. So much help when you might get confused.

I have worn this so much since I finished it just over a year ago. It’s been a great addition. The fabric choice means it goes with so many things. The fit makes it so comfy. It’s a big fat love!

Fantail skirt
The Scroop Fantail skirt is another of those which I just had to have! I love that front A-line shape and then the pleats on the back for the added interest.

It’s taken me some time to make up because I was after the “perfect” fabric for this. I eventually found this pale grey linen from The Fabric Store. In hindsight, it may not be the perfect fabric since being linen it creases so much and you lose the effect of the pleats on the back, but that’s not put me off this skirt at all!

This skirt is not as involved as the hoodie and is a lot quicker to sew up. The main thing is getting those pleats on the back nice and even. I had to unpick mine on one side, they just weren’t even first off. It’s definitely worth taking your time over these.

The rest of the pattern is really quick and easy to sew. There is an invisible zip in the centre back. I always add a fine interfacing to the seam if I’m sewing in invisible zip now. It’s a great tip I picked up from somewhere and makes invisible zips sew in so much easier, particularly if the fabric is off the grain, like it is with this skirt.

I really wish I’d checked on the website beforehand for the hack to add pockets. I miss pockets in this skirt so much. Due to the shape and design, it’s not just a case of adding these to the side seam. Mainly because there is no side seam, these are side panels and a pocket added to the off centre seams on that simple, smooth A-line front just wouldn’t work. They need much more stability and the front of the skirt doesn’t need any dragging, hence the pocket hack is the way to go with an angled drop pocket in the side panel. The full hack is here and I definitely think I’ll be checking this out next time.

The hem is very narrow. I finished mine with pale blue hug snug. The pattern suggests bias tape. Either work.

The deets
Fabric:  Pale grey linen from The Fabric Store
Notions:  Invisible zip, interfacing, hook and eye for the waistband fastening, hug snug for the hem
Pattern:  Scroop Patterns Fantail Skirt (modern version), size 40 based on my waist measurement
Changes made/recommendations:  The only change I really made was to use waistband stiffening for the waistband rather than the waistband pattern piece. It’s probably me being lazy, but I find it easy to apply and also ensure the waistband is attached neatly.

As for the skirt, well I finished this just before Christmas and it’s definitely been worth making. The fabric means it’s cool for the summer. I love the simplicity and smooth lines of the front of this skirt and those pleats fanning out on the back adding interest and creating a swish and fullness. I’m wondering if I have any viscose or something more drapy in my stash so I can make another. As with the hoodie, the instructions are really clear and easy to follow. I definitely recommend making these up.

I’m now off to check out the other Scroop Patterns which I’ve been eyeing up – Eastbourne Trousers, I’m looking at you…                 

Time to get active

Time to start the new year of blog posting. I’m going to try to catch up this year (famous last words!) So this post includes a couple of tops made a while back.

Starting with the first of my #MakeNine2020 – gym tops. No I’m not on a New Year fitness binge, I reguarly head to the gym and also do Pilates. I have terrible trouble trying to find patterns for workout tops. So many have twists, ties, knots, are loose at the bottom, etc. Please designers, these don’t work, Pilates involves lying on the floor, rolling, doing downward dog, etc. Knots, twists, ties and loose bottoms just don’t work.

There’s actually four tops here, two Cashmerette Spruce Tops, one based on a RTW top I have and another loosely based on the Papercut Undercover Hood. The fabric for all but one has come from the Fabric Fairy. I’ve placed two orders with them for performance fabric and the delivery was so fast.

Cashmerette Spruce Top
I actually bought this pattern a while ago when it was named the Cedar workout top and dolman sleeve top. There were two patterns combined together. They’ve recently been split into two patterns and some additional changes made. This workout top is now the Spruce top. It now has an additional enclosed back and some cap sleeves. The pattern has princess seams down the front and a yoke on the back giving a great fit.

The first version of this, I made back in October 2018. I made the original version with an open back and straps across the back. The pink performance knit came from The Fabric Fairy and the fold over elastic used to finish the armholes and neckline were bought locally (but I can’t remember where from!)

 

For this open back version the straps across the back are shown on the pattern as made up using the self fabric. I decided to use the fold over elastic, it looks way better.

The second version of this top, I made using the latest version of the pattern and used the new top back yoke which is completely enclosed. I didn’t use the cap sleeves. I also made this version with a front scoop/round neck.

I didn’t use fold over elastic, I decided I wouldn’t be able to find any which really matched this dark plum colour I made it up in. So I made the bindings using the main fabric. I decided for comfort to take out 1cm from the front armscye. On my first version, it cuts in slightly. This second one is a better fit.

The deets
Fabric:  Pink performance knit from The Fabric Fairy, dark plum performance knit from Fabric-a-Brac, both bought some time ago.
Notions:  Fold over elastic for one and nothing additional to the thread for the other.
Pattern:  Cashmerette Spruce top, size 12, cup size E/F
Changes made:  For the pink version, I used FOE for the straps across the back. For the second plum version, I used the self-fabric for the bindings and decided to take out 1cm from the front of the armscye, more for comfort.

Another one/recommendations:  For a workout top pattern, I really like this. The seaming allows for colour blocking. The cup sizes on the pattern also mean you can get a really good fit. There are no knots and ties. It’s also a great length which allows for lots of stretching and still able to look decent not showing pounds of flesh. Definitely recommended. It’s also a really quick sew. I cut this out in about an hour and then managed to sew it up the next day in about the same time!

RTW knock-off
This top is a knock-off of a RTW sports top I bought from Uniqlo a few years ago. It’s sleeveless, round necked and has side panels. It’s always been really comfy for the gym and I find the shape really works well for moving around, etc. So I thought, why shouldn’t I flat copy it?

I did a course at Made Marion in Wellington, some time ago, on making a pattern from an existing garment. I know this isn’t the most difficult of shapes to copy, but I still found it useful. I now have a flat pattern copy of this top. Since the original isn’t that long, I’ve also added an additional couple of inches to the hem.

I used some more performance knit from the Fabric Fairy. There’s a navy blue and a pale blue. Both of these have a soft-touch feel. I don’t have much of the pale blue, so decided to make this up with pale blue side inserts and also used this for the neck and armhole binding. It’s a bit showy, but who cares? It works and it passes the movement test!

The deets
Fabric:  Navy and pale blue soft touch performance knit from The Fabric Fairy.
Notions:  Just thread
Pattern:  Knock-off from a Uniqlo RTW top
Changes made:  From the original, I just lengthened by a couple of inches.

Another one:  I now have a copy of this top in my stash and since it works so well, I may make another, since my tops get frequent wear.

Undercover hood T-shirt
What I really thought would be useful would be a raglan sleeved T-shirt which I could use for Pilates and the gym. I couldn’t believe when I looked through my pattern collection and I had no raglan sleeved T-shirt patterns! Yes, really. Then while looking through, I realised there’s a sweatshirt version of the Papercut Undercover Hood, so why shouldn’t I just use that pattern?

For the pattern, I removed the hem band and curved the hem slightly to it is about an inch higher on the side seams. I then hemmed this with my double needle. For the sleeves, I just cut these at an arbitrary length, which I think was around 4” from the underarm seam.

The deets
Fabric:  Bright blue performance knit from The Fabric Fairy.
Notions:  Just thread
Pattern:  Papercut Undercover Hood, size M
Changes made:  Removed the hem band, curved the hem, shortened the sleeves to around 4” long including hem
Another one/recommendations:  This is worked really well, but I’ve not actually worn this top much, mainly because it’s the summer holidays and my Pilates class isn’t running. It’s also quite a warm top to wear to the gym, which will be perfect in the winter!

I’ve worn all these tops a number of times and they’re working well in my wear for an hour of so for sweaty gym workouts, in the machine to be washed, ready for the next workout. The Cashmerette tops I find sometimes ride up and gather around the bottom of my sports bra, but apart from that, I’ve no worries. They’re not perfect, I can see the neck and armhole bindings are slightly gapey, but to be honest I don’t care. I’ve made them and they work AND they’re not covered in knots, ties and aren’t loose – RESULT!

#MakeNine2020

After the success of #2019MakeNine (why is the hashtag the other way around this year?) I’m definitely going to do this again this year. So since Christmas, I’ve been umming and ahhing about what I can make, what I want to make and also ways in which I can use up my stash again. I find that choosing fabrics for my Make Nine, means I use my stash rather than buying something new.

I will admit, last year I did buy new fabric, so I really want to keep on top of my fabric, sewing and blogging. All fabric (I think) is now recorded in Evernote, as are all my patterns. I have also now set up a Trello board to record what I’m planning on sewing, WIPs and also blogging. Wonder how long this organisation will last? Anyway, here it is

Project One:  Gym tops
I’m in need of some more tops for the gym and pilates, so these are high on my agenda. I’ve made one Cashmerette Spruce top (not yet blogged) so intend to make another. I’ve also a RTW top which I really like, so that is going to be copied. I have performance knits in stash, so I’m sorted. No additional costs involved (in theory!)

Project Two:  Navy jacket
This navy fabric actually has a wee bit of sparkle running through it. It’s been in my stash for some time… I’ve been determined to make a jacket out of it for a long time, so this will be the year. I’m considering the Decades of Style Three’s a Charm jacket, which I have in my collection, but there’s always something different. I love jackets with no collars and ¾ sleeves, so this one above fits the bill perfectly.

Project Three:  Papercut Axis Dress
I’ve had this pattern pretty much since it was released and am itching to make it up. It’s even printed out ready to muslin, so I can’t wait to get on to this one. I have a couple of fabrics in mind, actually maybe three, so we’ll see how the muslin and first version goes!

Project Four:  Cream and black striped knit
I got this knit as a remnant from Tessuti. There’s loads of it and it has such a lovely hand. This will definitely be made into one (or two) things this year. May be an Ensis tee, or a Renfrew, or may be a Gable top. All three of these I have made multiple times and love all of them.

Project Five:  Papercut Meridian dress in purple velvet
Fabric and pattern already matched for this one! I have some purple velvet in stash which I nearly got rid of, but then some friends said it was so me, I had to keep it and why not make a Meridian dress. It may be interesting, since the velvet has some stretch, and the Meridian is drafted for woven fabrics, but I can’t get the image out of my head, so it’s going to work somehow!

Project Six:  Wine coloured linen
Another Tessuti purchase. This linen is beautiful and a real burgundy wine colour. It’s definitely crying out to be either a skirt or a fitted dress. I’ve not yet decided, there’s 2.5m, so loads to play with. This colour just doesn’t do it justice to be honest. But I’m either thinking a Fantail skirt, Tahi skirt or this amazing Vogue dress I’ve had in my collection for a while.

Project Nine:  Papercut Pallisade Pants/Shorts
Don’t faint, but I have pants/shorts in my Make Nine! Shock horror, wonders will never cease! I really am not a big fan of pants and only have a couple of pairs of shorts which I wear, mainly because I just hate my legs. Although, strangely, I wear leggings with long tops? I’m sure if I had a decent pair of trousers/pants/whatever which fit then I’d feel a whole lot better. I love the look of the Pallisade. The pocket on the side seam I think looks awesome and it has an elasticated waist. Let’s see if I can make these work. You never know I could use the wine coloured linen?

Project Eight:  Cream/navy crepe
I’m determined to sew up my Tessuti purchases to prove their worth! Yep, this is another one from that amazing store in Melbourne. I’m not really sure what to make with this yet, but it’s destined to be a top of some description. I have 1.5m of 150 wide, so lots. I have some Lekala patterns which might work, or possibly the Designer Stitch Synthia top, which I’ve made successfully before.

Project Seven:  Cashmerette Cedar top
To go with my gym tops as a cover up, and also a couple of knit tops to wear as everyday, I have this in my collection. I bought it when it was originally a single pattern with the workout top and am thinking now it’s time to make it up. I have no end of knits in my stash, but have a lot of rayon knit in grey and white which will work for wearable muslins.

So that is this year’s Make Nine. Again a mix of patterns and fabrics. A lot of Indie Patterns. For this year, pretty much everything, even the patterns from my collection, I can pair up with fabric from stash. You never know, I may be able to really cut down on my purchases! (Why do I have a pattern collection and a fabric stash? Answers on a postcard please!)

I think that’s enough to be going on with. I have a cardigan I’m in the process of knitting and will most likely make more small human clothes at some point, well my granddaughter needs gifts for her first birthday in July! 🙂

However, before I start, I have a very important task which is just going around in my head. I cannot help but think of my relatives, friends and colleagues across the ditch (the Tasman sea) in Australia. I have been quite affected by this, although everyone I know is safe. I have already said I will help out at a crafting bee locally here in NZ in a couple of weeks, but will also be making stuff here at home to help the Animal Rescue Craft Guild. I don’t have packets of money to donate, but have fabric and sewing skills and so this is my support for what we affectionately call West Island.

#2019MakeNine – the end

I’m glad I did this and actually enjoyed it! This was the first time I’d set up a Make Nine for the year and although I often make way more than nine things in a year, I was good to have a focus for the year. I also think selecting specific fabrics from stash was also a much better idea than specifying nine patterns, for a start it made me focus on using my stash rather than buying new fabrics.

I did make more than my Make Nine (I’m way behind on my blogging), but I can quite happily tick off eight of my original nine. The other ninth won’t happen until I can find a pattern which works (it probably doesn’t help that Mr N doesn’t really like the fabric!)

Project One:  Swimwear
Consider this completed!
I used the fabric and made up the Jazz Tankini from Swim Style Patterns. Not perfect, I should have done an FBA, but I’ve used this tankini loads. It was used on holiday in Raro and I used it lots for our spa tub in the garden.
The blog post is here.

Project Two:  Burda 7767 (men’s shirt)
I’ve actually made two shirts for Mr N this year. One in the middle of the year and the other I finished for Christmas. Yes, I used the blue and white stripe for one shirt. The second I used some awesome NZ fern fabric.

Project Three:  Frangipani dress
Completed! I did not use either of the patterns I originally thought to use. I made it up using Simplicity 2444, mainly based on the fact that I used the pattern for some other fabric not long before and decided I liked the fit and I really wanted something relatively quick to make up.

Project Four:  Papercut Patterns Sapporo Coat
Completed and I love this coat!

I even made up another one, which needs at least a basic blog post.

Project Five:  Baby somethings!
Lots and lots of baby somethings have been made up. A blanket, dribble bibs, cardigans, mittens, hats, booties and a penguin cocoon.

Plus even more which hasn’t been blogged yet!

Project Six:  McCalls 6696
All completed and even used the fabric I thought I would use. Definitely a success.

Project Seven:  Teal tartan coat
This didn’t happen. Mr N doesn’t really like the fabric and I really wanted to make something with a hood. I couldn’t find anything which I liked and would work with the amount of fabric I had. 😦 I’m still keen to make something. I’ll continue looking, thinking, cogitating and ruminating.

Project Eight:  True Bias Ogden Cami
Strangely I only made up one, but used one of the fabrics I intended to use at least. I’m conscious this pattern needs some fixing for me, so I might even try something else. Or add bust darts to cater for an FBA.

Project Nine:  Nightwear
All done! This nightie is in constant use. The colours make me feel so cheerful when I wake up in the morning.

There will be a #2020MakeNine, I’m working these out at the moment!

Burda 7767 – the last five iterations

This is now my go-to shirt pattern for Mr N. I’ve made this up ten times now and is actually my most used pattern! It probably cost me around $20 to buy around seven years ago, so I call that good value for money now! 🙂

I’m that behind on blogging, that I’m including the last five in this post. They are probably going back two years – oops! Mr N has a penchant for bright Hawai’ian style shirts in the summer, so two of these are very bright.

As usual I can’t convince Mr N (or my in-house chef as I sometimes call him) to pose just so I can get some blog photos – he hates having his photo taken anyway; so you’ll just have to cope with photos on the hanger or lay-flat today.

Apologies for the moire in some photos – narrow stripes do not photograph well, nor does black.

There are a few changes I make as standard, which I’ll list here, along with the other changes I’ve made

• Grade out at hip to the size 46, from the size 42 chest/neck
• Lengthen the shirt by 1¼ inches
• Long sleeves are shortened by 2cm and taken in to a size 38/40 cuff
• Three of these shirts have short sleeves, I basically cut the sleeves at 5½ inches length, overlock the bottom edge and then fold at ¼ inch and ¾ inch. These are so much quicker to make with no placket and cuffs!
• Two of the short sleeve versions have side vents.
• One final version has an open V-neck.

Generally I flat-fell all seams, including the reverse flat-fell for the armholes. The pattern doesn’t actually suggest this. I also use the burrito method for the back yoke, from the Thread Theory website. (I like this version as the fabric they use as a clear front and reverse.) The open-necked version, I just overlocked the edges and stitched them as a standard flat seam. Definitely a very relaxed version.

The variations
Fabric 1: Black stretch cotton with an embroidered stripe, I don’t know where this came from, possibly The Fabric Warehouse, but it’s been in stash a while. All top stitching completed with a pale green thread. The main buttons are paua shell and the cuff buttons are shiny owls (possibly from Made Marion.)
Fabric 2: Grey and white spot Robert Kaufman chambray which came from Fabric Drop in December 2017, a small NZ online store which is now closing down. Small white buttons for the button placket. This shirt has short sleeves. All top stitching is in white. There are vents on the side seams.
Fabric 3 (African print): This is the loud version! The African print fabric was brought back from the UK by Kat the creator of Muse Patterns. I’ve also made up a waistcoat (not yet blogged) in this and there is some left for me! This version has short sleeves and an open V-neck. This took a bit of working out and stupidly didn’t note what I did. I have a sinking feeling I did it off the cuff (so to speak) and so don’t have the pattern to repeat it. Note to self – short this out! The seams are just overlocked and pressed flat. It also has vents on the side seams. The purple buttons came from Pete’s Emporium in Porirua.
Fabric 4:  A pale blue and white striped linen cotton (not sure where from). This is a long-sleeved shirt, made this year sometime back in May, I think. All top stitching is in white. The front buttons and the lion cuff buttons came from Pete’s Emporium in Lower Hutt.
Fabric 5:  A last minute purchase about in the middle of December this year when I decided to make a shirt for Christmas! The fabric is a NZ-themed fabric from Spotlight (this was bought in Whangarei). The shirt has bright green top-stitching. The yellow/green buttons came from Pete’s Emporium in Lower Hutt. This version has short-sleeves.

Pattern: Burda 7767 (which I think is now out of print)

Notions: In addition to the buttons. I’ve been trying different types of interfacing for the collars and cuffs. I found some great stiffer interfacing for the collars, but could only find it in white. For the more relaxed short-sleeve summer shirts, I tend to apply the interfacing to only one collar and stand piece rather than both.
Changes made: These are all detailed above.
Another one/recommendations:  I doubt I’m done with this pattern. I definitely recommend it if you can get hold of it. What I need to do is to draft out the pieces for an open necked shirt. It would be nice to ring in some changes, so I might try to incorporate some changes in future versions.

Babies Due

This year, there have been just a few babies making or due to make an arrival. One is still yet to come, but Mum to be has seen the gifts, so I can post here. Since I also love to knit in the evenings, it’s actually given me something to do in the evenings, probably another reason why I’ve not been blogging – I’d rather sit and knit in front of the goggle box! This now finishes off my Make Nine!

Baby blanket
A few years ago, I knitted a blanket for a friend’s baby, so following the success of that one, I decided to knit up this pattern again for our new granddaughter. This time I chose a pale green merino yarn. I made a smaller version, which ended up quite square.

Following the slight penchant the mother has for penguins, I found these cute penguins from an Etsy store.

I’m happy how this turned out and I know this blanket has definitely had lots of use in the pram during the winter months.

The deets
Yarn:  6 balls of Countrywide Yarns Windsor DK, which I think came from Evans in Masterton
Notions:  Sew-on penguins from Etsy
Pattern:  Plymouth Yarn F013 Baby Squares Blanket, size C, portable crib size
Changes made:  None

Another one/recommendations:  A great pattern and not difficult to knit, it just seems to take forever to knit!

Penguin cocoon
Also for this same wee human, I found this penguin cocoon pattern on Ravelry. I just had to make it, following the penguin theme! I made up a 3-6 month version, so it should fit for a while yet, since baby was only born last July and she’s quite small. It’s knitted in an aran knit (10-ply) so actually knits up quite quickly.

I don’t remember finding any issues with the pattern, I’m not an expert knitter, but managed to get this made up relatively quickly. The main body took a while to knit up, but after that, it was all pretty quick.

I love the way the decrease shows on the hat.

It’s quite difficult to attach knitting to knitting in order to retain the stretch. I decided to use a blanket stitch after asking around. The pattern doesn’t actually state what how to attach the different pieces.

The deets
Yarn:  Naturally Loyal 10-ply, most of which came from The Yarn Queen. I used 4 balls of black, 2 of cream and a tiny bit of bright orange for the feet and beak.
Notions:  Two little black buttons for the eyes
Pattern:  Poppy Penguin Hat and Cocoon set, size 3-6 months
Changes made:  None

Another one/recommendations:  If you love cute things for babies and small humans this is a great little pattern. As long as you have the patience to make up all those pieces! The only recommendation I have is to the designers to state how the additional pieces, eg, belly, etc should be attached to the main pattern.

Dribble bibs
OK, so babies don’t often need bibs straight away, but no doubt these will come in useful once she starts on solids soon, but bibs are always useful, are they not? These are a pretty simple triangular shape, so were quick and easy to sew up and turn the right way out.

I had these two Dr Who fabrics leftover from making PJs for Mr N and I thought they would be perfect for backing the bibs. I got a bath towel in the sale from Spotlight and used that to make the backing.

I cut and made these as production line. I’ll warn you now, if you didn’t know it, cutting and sewing towelling means a lot of fluff and mess! 🙂 Fortunately I had a nice sunny day to cut these outside!

The pattern came from a book I found in the library and is a bandana bib shape. The pattern also suggests using buttons and buttonholes, or other fastenings such as velcro, or snap fasteners. I checked with those in the know and they actually suggested just making a large enough buttonhole to push the point from the other side through. It makes it easy to remove when it gets mucky!

The deets
Fabric:  Bath towel from Spotlight, Dr Who Fabric which also came from Spotlight originally
Notions:  Thread
Pattern:  Bandeaux bib from Sewing for babies and children : 25 beautiful designs for clothes and accessories for ages 0-5 by Laura Strutt
Changes made:  I just made a single buttonhole so that the corner of the bib can be threaded through and pulled out again for easy removal.
Another one/recommendations:  Great pattern and easy to make up.

Sirdar baby cardigan, mitts, booties and hat
Another pattern I found on Ravelry. This Sirdar pattern is also available in a couple of booklets as well as individually. There is a V-neck or round neck cardigan, with booties, mitts and a hat/beanie all knitted in 4-ply stocking stitch.

With two more babies due, I bought three balls of two different merino yarns, so that I could make up cardis in one yarn and then matching hat, booties and mitts in the other yarn. The first set, I made the cardigan in the variegated yarn with accessories in navy. The second set, I knitted the cardigan in navy and then knitted up the accessories in the variegated yarn. Frustratingly, all I can find of the first set is an image of the cardigan testing various buttons! And I have no photos of the other set, so thanks to a special Mum-to-be for the lovely photos.

I’ve now made up two 6-12 month size cardigans and for some reason, I’m either making a mess of the counting or there’s something wrong with the pattern, since I’ve ended up with different numbers than on the pattern. Both have worked out OK, but it frustrates the OCD in me that it’s wrong or I’m wrong. I don’t know. Fortunately neither cardi looks wrong!

The sleeves are knitted first and placed on holders. The cardigan is then knitted from the bottom up joining the sleeves at the underarm point and stitching to the neck. The neck and buttonhole ribbing are picked up and ribbed.

For each cardigan, I elected to omit the buttonholes and stitch snap fasteners and buttons to make it easier to undo quickly. It also meant I could leave the first one as long as possible, since I didn’t know the variety of small human which was due! Each cardi also has a spare button sewn in the side seam.

The hat/beanie is basically knitted from the bottom up and then stitched down the back. I love the way this variegated yarn looks knitted up.

The booties have a long piece of rib which is intended to be doubled over. Then the top of the bootie is knitted and the rest is picked up to complete it. It’s quite tricky to pick up to be honest, not something you want to do when in a hurry! The mittens are a lot quicker to make up and also have a double rib for the wrist.

The deets
Yarn:  The navy blue is Patons Bay Dreamtime 100% merino 4-ply, the variegated yarn is Naturally Magic Garden Classic Prints 100% merino 4-ply. Again these all came from Evans in Masterton. The cardigan took just over a ball of yarn. The mittens, booties and hat all came from a single ball.
Notions:  Buttons, the blue buttons came from stash, the others with the caterpillar came from the Bernina Sewing Centre in Nelson when I was travelling

Pattern:  Sirdar 1819 cardigan, mittens, booties and hat, size 6-12 months
Changes made:  None.
Another one/recommendations:  For some reason I had the issues with the decreasing, but otherwise, no problems at all. The booties are a little fiddly, but other than that, really simple of make up.

Tried and tested

I’ve a few things here which I’ve made up before and in the interests of completeness, I’m blogging these.

Ogden Cami

Another one of these was on my Make Nine, but it’s such a useful top that I had to make another. This border print fabric came from Tessuti in Melbourne. It was a remnant and is a beautiful silk.

I made my normal changes, so I’ve raised the front neckline, widened the straps and also lengthened the facing by a couple of inches. There’s possibly some more adjustments I could make to this pattern to fit properly, such as a proper FBA and adding darts, but I’m lazy and hence I’ve not done it.

The facing I’ve made from a plain black silk which I had in my stash.

The details
Fabric:  Black silk border print from Tessuti and a black silk from stash (I think it was from the Fabric Warehouse)
Notions:  Thread
Pattern:  True Bias Ogden cami, size 14
Changes made:  Raised the front neckline, lengthened the lining/facing, widened the straps

Recommendations/Another one:  Mm, well this is version 4! I definitely do recommend this pattern, but be careful you may need to make changes. I love it and I wear all of mine a lot. No doubt there will be another one!

Blue skirt

This is a self-drafted pattern. I’ve made up three like this now. This white and pink one and a rust coloured version. The shaped basque comes from a Prima magazine pattern and is shortened by a couple of inches. The skirt is just a basic rectangle pleated to fit. Each time I set the pleats to get an inverted pleat at the centre front and back.

The skirt is fastened with a lapped zip in the side seam. It doesn’t have pockets! 😦 I probably ought to put pockets in, but have never really thought about it!

This fabric was another remnant which came from The Fabric Warehouse in Wellington and is a lovely heavier viscose. It has a lovely drape and also doesn’t crease a great deal.

There was little if nothing left over from this skirt and I had to use hug snug to hem the skirt.

The deets
Fabric:  Blue viscose remnant from The Fabric Warehouse, which has been in my stash a couple of years.
Notions:  Thread, interfacing, dress zip and hug snug
Pattern:  The basque is from a Prima pattern, the rest is self-drafted
Changes made:  I shortened the basque by a couple of inches. The details are in the posts from the previous skirts

Another one/recommendations:  Considering I’ve made up three skirts like this, it’s definitely a tried and tested pattern, but I guess it’s difficult to recommend since it’s not a freely available pattern! If the right fabric comes up, I wouldn’t be surprised if I made another version!

Muse Hipi Top

This top/T-shirt was released earlier this year. It was a pattern I was lucky to test and made a navy blue cotton t-shirting. This fabric is a very drapey viscose knit from my stash. I think I possibly got this from Fabric-a-Brac. This is a lot of this fabric! It has a texture to it. (I also have some in a dark grey which I used to make up a nightie.)

I made the same size as last time and also lengthened the t-shirt this time. The idea originally was for a longer loose fit top I could use for the gym and for Pilates. Well that didn’t really work, since it’s not a long as I need for Pilates and also keeps riding up when I lift my arms up.

On the other hand, I’ve used this as an easy to wear t-shirt and it’s already had a lot of wear! It’s been in constant demand in my wardrobe. I call that a success.

Due to the drapey-ness (is that a word) of this fabric, this version has ended up really oversized, and I definitely think I might make a size smaller next time.

The details

Fabric: White textured viscose knit from Fabric-a-Brac.

Notions:  Thread and white tape for the shoulders

Pattern: Muse Patterns Hipi top, size 40, short-sleeved, crew neck version

Changes made:  I lengthened this by a couple of inches.

Another one/recommendations:  This is number 2, but I don’t think it will be the last. I’m definitely looking at what I can use to make another one. May be something cosy to make a sweater version for the winter.