Casual Tuesday

I put on my new cocoon top today (cold as it was) and my kid told me it was bland and my husband told me it was meh. Admittedly, I asked them for their true opinions. I'm inclined to agree that it's not quite optimally drapey in the French terry. Don't worry - I'm wearing it as a lounge top even as I write (this thing is comfort and softness incarnate). And the next one I make, in bamboo, will have the drape that M and I appreciate about the first version (which didn't fit me well and which she gladly took).

Instead, I wore this:

Denim leggings, you say? I thought you were changing it up. Well, we had a staff "retreat" today and, between that and intense PMS, there was no way I was wearing something with buttons around my waist. So, this ain't a nod to my new style but it did facilitate the eating of grilled cheese sandwiches at lunch. In case you're wondering, I couldn't wear the new Club Monaco pants today because I already wore them yesterday. And I love them.

A couple of other things:

• That's the Aisance cardigan, btw, which I finished 15 months ago. It's one of the handmade sweaters I wear the most. In truth, I barely wear any handmade sweaters so I'm just about finished with making them. Till I get a knitting machine (and learn how to use it), I think I'll hand knit accessories. They get much more wear. I should say that the Shibui Staccato silk/merino blend is quick to pill and to stretch (neither comes as a surprise). I wouldn't use it for a sweater again, much though I appreciate its silky drape and hand. The pilling and stretching age it.

• I went out shopping (again) on Sunday - ostensibly for a friend who ended up finding my fab new Pilcro Superscripts in my perfect shade of dark wash. They're fancy denim - like, to wear with the cashmere or a tailored jacket. Not sure if I mentioned this but, after buying my first pair (on sale), I went to the Anthro website to get a second pair. In the time it took me to make up my mind about whether this was a sound idea (a couple of hours) they were sold out in my size. Live and learn. So I vowed that, if I could find another pair, I'd snap them up - price be damned. And then, less than a week later, my wish came true, but better - cuz who wants the same pair of pants twice when there's a dark wash to be had. (They're slightly different in the front pocket detail too). They looked as great on my friend (totally diff shape than me) as they do on me, so we both bought them. And then we discovered they were on sale for 20 per cent off. Ain't the 40 per cent off that I got on the first pair, but I'll happily take it! The trouser denim dilemma is resolved.

• I should hire my friend Jeanette to take my photos because she really gets it. I want you to know (lest you concur that I don't look overly PMS-bloaty here) that it truly is the power of camera magic. Prior to bossing me into positions, she took a bunch of Kristin freestyle shots that were hideous. Unusable. Then, she suggested I stick my chin out in a certain way, move to a place with a plain background, cross my legs demurely and I look adorable. You cannot even see the zit on my chin! At the retreat, later in the day, there were a dozen "candid" pics of me taken (and distributed??!) and they are SO horrendous that I'm inclined to force everyone with access to them to press delete. Like double-chin, pale and blotchy, top-heavy hideous. In truth - and this is in no way self-pitying cuz I'm over that! - one of the things I miss about my slimmer stature is the relative ease with which I could take a photo that made me look slim. :-) I have never been a particularly photogenic person but my thinnest iteration is kind in pics. No mind, it can still be done with a bit of skill - so read up on Gillian's Better Picture Project series and learn. Or bribe a friend who knows what she's doing. That works too.

PS: Needless to say, Gillian's series is not about taking photos to make oneself look slim because what an unnecessary aim! I blur those lines for myself because I like a photo that highlights this trait and I figure, why not be honest about it? Perhaps it's 30 years of fashion mags (though I have never once felt remotely bad about myself because of a supermodel's beauty. Um, it's her freakin' job. She should be good at it!) Maybe it's just my preference. Whatevs. Just want to clarify...

A Casual Monday

Here I am in my new jeans (tapered and shortened by me) and hand-made surplice top (V8323):

Thanks to my friend Jeanette for taking my photo at work...

I'm actually liking the look a lot but, on wearing the top for the day, I can see I'm going to have throw it out and start again.

What's wrong?

• The shoulders are still an inch too wide. Problem is that the top is made of 4 shoulder-princess-seamed panels. I sense I'm going to have to take the extra fabric from the surplice panel (the front) which may have implications I've not yet considered. But I hope not. I can't simply merge the two panels into one (as my means of diminishing width) because the surplice attaches at the front/side front seam. Which means I need that seam. And I can't remove anymore width from the side front shoulder width because there would be no shoulder width left. The side panel would effectively become an armscye princess seam, not a shoulder one. Although, now that I think about it, theoretically that could work... But looking at the fit, I feel that there's too much volume over the side bust and the side front / front seam is falling too far to the outer bust. That implies, to me, that the place I need to take the fabric from is the front panel - to move that seam where I'd like it.

• The bust apex is too high. That's probably because I removed 3 inches of height / depth at the shoulder seam (an alteration I made to the pattern when first I constructed it 3 years ago. I didn't know much about fitting then...). It would stand to reason that the fullest part of the bust would need to be re-set lower to accommodate this. I didn't consider that at the time.

• Aligned with the bullet above, I'd like to lower the height of the surplice wrap (where it attaches to the side front seam) about 1.5 inches lower (so that it stays under my bust instead of riding up as I move around).

It's amazing that this top - which looks alright in a photo - is as messed-up, fit-wise, as it is. It's slightly more amazing that I seem to take 1 pic a quarter and I've choose to make it one in which I dis the fit of what I'm wearing - given that fit is what I pride myself on! You know I believe in keeping it real here. No sense in pretending I have achieved something I have not.This is a really lovely basic and I'm sure I'll wear it when it fits. Till then, this top is retired.

(PS: Too bad cuz the fabric is luxe.)

The Weekend that Was

I was more productive this weekend than I imagined I could be. I'm actually totally unmotivated. So I don't know how I managed to alter a pair of jeans (substantively), finish and block a sweater and make 2 pairs of pants. But no, I didn't garden and the front of my house is shabby.

How did this happen?

Altering the New Jeans

Well the jeans were my priority. The weather has shifted (it'll warm up again but we're moving slowly towards an inevitable temperature and it's cold) so I need some pants that work. I'm bored of my skinnies (though they serve my wardrobe well) and most of the things in my closet either don't fit or they're just not doing it for me right now. I ended up narrowing the flare by 2 inches on each leg and the jeans are still flared, if mildly. It's a sailor-y look that works well on my figure. I also removed 5 inches of length from the hem. (Man, I could have made jeans for a baby with the volume of denim scraps.) Let me say that the pants are really well made. The inner outer leg is sewn with an inch of seam allowance - not serged shut - so that, if you want to make these wider, theoretically you can with relative ease. There was also an extra inch of fabric at the original hem to work with. It's not often I see that. Given the high waist and wide-leg, I sense these will look great with my new Jenna cardigan.

BTW, I do intend - as mentioned - to take photos of my new handmade (and purchased) garments. But factors must align (time in the morning, weather). I haven't forgotten.

Making the Hudson Pant(s)

The Hudson pants were fun to make. I had a mini-assembly line going as I made 2 pairs of these simultaneously - one ankle length and the other cropped. I used my two, rather helpful (if I do say so myself) tutorials on sewing in a flat elastic waistband. In case you're interested, here's the first tutorial. Here's the second.

I should take a photo of the finished pants, flat, just to show them off but I don't know if they'll look any more interesting than any other photos of sweatpants I photographed unworn. Their genius is in the INSANELY comfortable French terry of which they are constructed..

I'm really happy with the cropped version because it will replace a RTW version that I've worn into the ground over the last 5 summers. I'm pleased to know (understatement) that I can recreate these again and again because the cropped sweatpant is a surprisingly attractive look on me.

Finishing Kristin's Cowl Pullover

It appears that the easiest way to finish a cowl-neck sweater quickly is to decide, after an inch of edging, that you'd prefer to wear a crew neck! That's what happened to me and - I swear - it wasn't just a decision based on my urge to be done with this project. The pullover is blocking now and I do hope that it springs back, to its former dimensions and shape, when dry. (Of course, I didn't measure before blocking - like an idiot.) I know it's not going to align entirely with the measurements provided to me in the Custom Fit pattern. (I measured it a number of times while knitting.)

What I can say is that all of the pre-block vertical measurements were spot on. The horizontal ones I can't really comment on because I had that rip-back (requiring me to ease in a lot of extra yarn). As such, my gauge in the waist is totally messed with; it's beyond my ability to assess the pattern's accuracy there. I will say that the hip circumference was larger than it should have been (pre-blocking) and the shoulder width was spot on. I can't quibble much with the validity of one's ability to achieve Custom Fit measurements - though I'm not sure those are entirely accurate unless you use a really large swatch and you know exactly what finished dimensions you want (not necessarily what you'll get automatically). I have lots of other things to say about the system, which I'll get into when I post on this again, following blocking.

TL/DR: If you don't know how to fit I don't know whether Custom Fit is actually going to fix the problem for you.

So that's my weekend. Now I'm eating cheezies for dinner because I feel like it.

Weekend Projects

Hey Y'all: I've been rather occupied with the first week of the year (my way of looking at early September). I've got lots to say but I need some time and space to put some ideas together. I do have some crafting on the agenda for this weekend:

• I just bought these jeans at Anthro (they are hella flattering) but I need to take 5 inches off the hem and narrow the flare by about 2 inches tapering to nothing below the knee. I mean, it isn't 1975. I've been looking for trouser jeans FOREVAH and I finally decided that, on sale, I'd take a bit of hit and do alterations that perfect the look I'm going for. Easier than starting from scratch.

Pilcro Superscript Flare Jeans

I've been working the skinnies for so long and, while I still and always love them, I need to bring some variety to my looks. BTW, these fit snug through the knees. They are very high-waisted.

• I'm still working on this fucking sweater. I'm going to finish the second sleeve and pick up the cowl neck. Gotta say, I'm not a fan of Custom Fit (and not because the sweater isn't good). I'm not saying that it's bad but I do think it has limited application. More on that if I ever when I finish this thing:

Kristin's Basic Cowl Pullover (via Custom Fit)

While I can see the gauge change at the mid torso (from this near disaster), I think it looks pretty even, all things considered, and blocking should fix the remaining inconsistency.

• I'm going to make cropped hudson pants in my slate blue French terry. If I can swing it (and it's doubtful cuz I only have 2 yards of 60 wide fabric (plus some complementary scraps in navy from the Sunny top project), I will make one long pair and one cropped pair. Oooh, pretty fabric:

• Finally, there's the thing I've avoided for a month: cleaning up the gardens. But oy, the work. And it's raining and cold right now (sob). So unless the weather clears tomorrow, I may not be able to take on this task. Makes rain seem useful.

 What are you up to this weekend?