WIPs and Fitting and Stuff...

This has been a weird month. I feel like nothing has happened and yet, we're halfway through! It's currently snowing in Minneapolis. Meh. 

I ordered from LA Finch for the first time ever! The last time I was in Long Beach visiting the kids, I posted my trip to Mood and someone mentioned I should visit LA Finch, but, they were closed. All the days I've spent in Long Beach on my visits and I had no clue I was so close! My daughter and son-in-law's place is a 5 mile straight shot down Long Beach Blvd! Next time :)

I was drawn in by the 4.5 yard (3 cuts, 1.5 yards each) of the rayon twill plaids. I was hoping at least 2 of the fabrics would coordinate and, yay! I like the red and green together. I am going to make a mixed-print shirt in the fall. 

Then I saw the pink ribbed knit (after having just purchased the True Bias tank/dress pattern). So I snatched that up (it's a bit lighter weight than I'd hoped). The white knit with tonal stripes was a remnant, so I scooped that. The yellow challis I was on the fence about but it gets me close to the mustard color that I like, but not ON me. This is nicely in the middle and I plan to make New Look 6692 or Simplicity 9326:

Speaking of New Look...

My A Dozen Drafts project is in progress. I am making NL6600 and had very minimal fit changes to make. I haven't made a ton of NL patterns but I've generally been happy with them. This is the fit on my Beatrice, straight out of the envelope, pics from my IG stories:

A couple of things that I'll dive deeper into once I'm reviewing - I realized I've incorrectly identified my shoulder point on the form!! It makes so much sense on why my last two makes were still a little wide in the shoulder. I blamed McCall's giant shoulder, but I have it marked out about 3/4" further than it actually is. Again, why I still want to do an in-person class to draft a sloper, because it isn't readily apparent where certain markers are on the body. 

Specifically to this pattern, I should have lowered the bust point a bit but otherwise, it explains why I've generally been happy with the fit of NL patterns. I shortened the bodice an inch and it fits SO well through my back. Woot!

you can see in this pic that the bust dart is a little high

This fabric?! Oh my word. It is so difficult to work with. As a sewing friend said, it's a very sassy fabric! It won't listen!!! So while I'd planned on the print being vertical on the body, it was NOT working to go on the crossgrain so I gave up. This pattern takes surprisingly little fabric (caveat: sleeveless and shortened 6") so I have another cut that may work for a #2. 

Speaking of the Beatrice :) 

I still owe a review. I want to learn where *MY* markers are on it though. This dress was started during the pandemic (Burda 5/2019). I got it to the basting stage and bwahahaha! It did NOT fit. I folded it and put it away. 

Now, I have decided it isn't worth trying to make it work, but I will remake this dress 1) in a bigger size(!) and 2) with the necessary adjustments.

Shoulder is wrong:

While I commented that the back 'v' fit well...that's not true as the whole dress is too small and who knows how the back will fit in the right size.

maybe 2 sizes bigger? lololol!

ain't no butt room!

my waist point (twill tape) vs the pattern seam (my finger)

And we can again see the INCHESSSSSSssssssss of too smallness.

But my NL dress is working out well, so let's stick with that :-p

On the machine knitting front, I bought this Target cart to hold my Hague linker. It's fine but I hope I have the chance to get an actual stand. I'm going to a MK seminar next weekend and I may find one there. Otherwise, I'll eventually order one from Hague (in the UK), but I will have to be able to get an electric winder too to make the shipping worthwhile :-D So annoyed I didn't know they were available when I ordered the linking machine!

Thought I like the extra shelf options!!

And, I finished the cardigan!! I think it's about a size 5/6 so I made it with my friend's 4.5 year old in mind. I used the linker for all the seaming - the raglans, the band, and the side seams. The lavender yarn was actually a bit thick for the linker so I used the teal, I hope to find the perfect "linking yarn" that I can buy in a few colors (sort of like serger thread!). 

And I started a sweater for the youngest grandson. Not an exact match to big brother's but using the same yarn colors. 

I have ordered yarns from ColourMart (they specialize in luxury mill ends) because I can't keep being afraid to try! What's the worst that can happen? :) 

I leave you with this pic of the grandson who decided he wanted to go outside event though no one else wanted to, because it was 21 degrees. Can you spy him over by the shed? hahaha! 

McCall's 6996 Cardigan

I have made a few versions of this pattern over the years. I was planning to make up M7476, but then I couldn't find it :( So I made some adjustments to this one to get what I wanted.

I used the front of view B and the back of view C/D. I had a size medium cut out, but I am definitely larger than the last time I made it. I did a slash and spread to add 1" to the front waist and back hip. I added 1/2" to the front hip and back waist (protruding belly & protruding butt!). I add 1" to the length and added a back seam with a 5/8" swayback adjustment. I added another 1" to the bicep (had previously added 3/4") and I think I overdid it a bit here and have some excess room. 

Also, the shoulder line is too long. This is an area with the Beatrice that I'm still working out. Since there's no shoulder, I haven't yet worked out exactly where my shoulder line is. I thought it was too long but hesitated. Should have narrowed it at least half an inch. 

The fabric is a wool double knit from Fabric Mart that's been in stash for YEARS. It is really heavy and I was never quite sure how to use it. I had planned a knit blazer (and that would have been a very good use for it!) but the cardigan is a nice compromise. 

The fabric washed up so nicely! It did full a little, but not so much that the texture is ruined. 

No detail shots because honestly, it's just a cardigan. I constructed it primarily on the serger and coverstitch machines.

I've also been experimenting more on my mid-gauge knitting machine. I was practicing a technique for something similar to half-brioche and the standard gauge was just SO tiny that I pulled out the mid-gauge. Also, I happened upon a video on YouTube by CreativeTien and really liked the way her cables popped. This is a 3x3 cable with 9 rows between crossovers. I will try latching up the stitch that I dropped on either side as I was told they would pop even more.  

I used a simple formula on the Knit it Now website to use up my skein of Knerd String fingering weight yarn that I got at Fancy Tiger Crafts. Note: There's not a whole lot you can do with 1 skein of fingering weight yarn! LOL!!!! So this is not so long, but it drapes really beautifully after a wet block. 

I also purchased a couple of machine knitting magazines (to decide if I want to subscribe). Working on this kid's ballet style cardigan to get a feel for the pattern instructions.