WIP: Custom Fit Blouse

 

I bound off Suki yesterday and, of course, needed something else to work on, so I picked up the Custom Fit sweater I'm knitting for work and busted out a few inches on it.

My coworkers have already knit some beautifully fitting wooly cardigans and pullovers as examples, so I wanted to go in a totally different direction by making a more blouse-like sweater in a cotton yarn.  I chose a fitted, mid-hip length, short-sleeved shape, knit in Cascade Ultra Pima in an ultra-girly pink shade. A great fit is one of my nerdy passions, so I'm excited to see how this project turns out.

Happy Friday!

<3

Cory

FO: Scully Tee

  

This little vintage-inspired blouse was a lot speedier to knit than my last excursion into the genre, but no less adorable! I started knitting this Krista Tee by Joan McGowan-Michael - also called the Shaped Lace Tee from Knitting Lingerie Style - in October of last year, then I lost a bunch of weight and decided to rip it out and start over. I restarted around April and finished knitting it a few weeks ago. Once my blocking boards were freed up, I blocked the sleeves, set them in, and voila! A cute little cotton blouse just in time for summer. (Funny how quickly things go when you, uh, do them within a reasonable period of time.)

It's a relatively short top, and I would have had enough yarn to lengthen it a bit, but I'm happy enough with it that it's staying. I knit the 33.5" size for about 2.5 inches of negative ease, and it fits just about perfectly. I converted the pattern from knitted flat to knitted in the round, with columns of purl stitches to mark the side seams.

I love the dramatic scooped neck and the pretty lace details. This blouse was knit from some deep, deep stash KFI King Tut cotton from my LYS back in Ohio, so I'm really happy that it's finally reached its full potential!

Details are on Ravelry here.

Finished Object: Oh, Zelda!

  

Hallelujah and pass the corndogs - at long last, Zelda is finished!

After all the ripping and trying on and pinning and reknitting and nose-wrinkling and reknitting again, I can say that I am super, super happy with this little blouse. She's cute! She's flirty! She's the best damn pink! I'm so glad she's out of my WIP basket!

I've learned a lot about my knitting style from this project. As I was knitting the sleeves, I realized that knitting sweaters is on par with sewing clothing in my crafty hierarchy of enjoyment; I like it, but unlike with other knitting projects, I really do it for the end product. Fit is so important to me - and making garments to fit so often involves reworking them multiple times - that the actual process isn't fun so much as a labor of desire and obsession. On the other hand, I like to knit shawls, socks, and other non-fitted garments for the sheer enjoyment of knitting, and the end product isn't so important.

So given this newly discovered information, it's kind of ironic that I'm currently hooked on knitting sweaters. I like the control of making my own fabric so much that I already have another little blouse on the needles!

Blouse Details

Pattern: Zelda, by Joan McGowan-Michael. Such a cute result, but be sure to check for errata on this one - the magazine it was published in changed hands, so Ravelry notes are your best bet for errata notes and mods.

Ravelry Project Page: Oh, Zelda!

Yarn: Mirasol Yarn Tupa, a 50/50 merino/silk blend.

Needles: Size 5 (3.75 mm) & 7 (4.5 mm) US

Yardage: With 2 extra sleeves fully knitted, this took 8 skeins (1096 yards) but could definitely be done in 7 (960 yards).

Modifications: All my notes and modifications are on my Ravelry project page. I sewed the little tulle shoulder pads for support as written, and they give a lovely little boost to the sleeve caps!

Brooch: Thrifted

Skirt: Cory Ellen Spring 2013

Shoes: Fluevog Miracle Cana

WIP: Scully Tee

 

Last week I was feeling restless about all of my works in progress, so I decided to cast on for something new.  I've been going through my knitting magazine and book library, rediscovering patterns that were published a while ago, and Knitting Lingerie Style was one of them.  Although my one attempt at knitted underwear from the book was somewhat underwhelming (hahah) I do like a few other patterns from the book very much - specifically the Shaped Lace Tee (also known as the Krista Tee) and Bed Jacket.

The other day, I was in the mood to cast on for a sweater or blouse, and I've had some King Tut mercerized cotton in my stash with the Shaped Lace Tee written all over it since I was a first year in college, so I grabbed some needles, did a very haphazard swatch, and cast on.

Disclaimer: Don't do as I do.  Starting a project without swatching properly is a terrible, very bad plan with almost certain disastrous results.  I am flirting with catastrophe and it feels like freedom absolutely horrible.  Always swatch, friends!

Anyhow, I'm now past the armholes on the front and have already started scheming the ways I'm going to change the pattern to fit my large bust and small back measurements.  We'll see how it goes, but in the meantime, I'm just happy to get this yarn actively on the needles after six years mouldering in my stash.

Happy Friday!

WIP, In The Home Stretch: Zelda

Egads.  After way too long sitting shoved in a basket, I finally pulled out my Zelda to finish it up about two weeks ago.  I steadily plugged along on the body, fixed some dumb mistakes I made the first time around, and cast off on Sunday night.  Then I cast on for the sleeve about a zillion times (my willpower to finish the thing was running on fumes at this point) and was finally successful the third try.  After that, the sleeve zipped right along - I cast off the first one Tuesday night, started the next one yesterday, and already have about an inch and a half.  Then is the fun part - the sewing, and the picking up of stitches, and the swearing and gnashing of teeth.

I'm really glad this sweater is turning out so pretty, because it has been a total pain in my ass.