cardigan Archives - Page 4 of 8 - Handmade by Carolyn

Red Riding Hood

13/08/2012 5:17 am \ 23 Comments \ Carolyn

…along with requisite “wolf” hehehe.
This is the latest in my attempts to make usable things out of things not being used….
I pulled out of my bag of toss-outs this oversized cotton cardigan along with another old Tshirt tossed out by Tim. I’ve struggled with this cardigan… the cheerful warm tomato-red colour is a plus but the boxy shape and massive size has always been a problem. Since day dot, really… I bought it in 2001; my first mail order purchase whilst we were living in the US. I was a mail order newbie, and just assumed naively that a small/medium would probably be my size. When it arrived: well, it was ridiculously big!
Lesson learned! Incidentally, the lesson ultimately learned was “don’t buy mail order, ever”… but that’s a whole other story 😉

Anyhoo I did not think or know at the time how I could go about returning stuff… so it stayed. The armpits hung down below my bust level and I had to wrap it half again around my body and tie a belt over, to keep even halfway warm in it. Stylish, not. It’s basically been in the camping/washing the car and/or the dog in category since new, and then migrated to my re-fashioning bag at least a year ago.
Using my own trusty custom fit Tshirt pattern as a guide; I cut up the cardigan, re-sized the pieces and sewed it all together again: only keeping the shoulder seams of the cardigan intact, since they were already nicely re-inforced. Also I kept the neckline band and the wrist bands untouched and intact, and the lower band is also original although taken in with the side seams. When refashioning something new outa something old, it is a good idea to keep and incorporate into the finished garment as many of the factory finishes as possible; it ends up looking a lot more professional and pulled together. Plus makes it a heckuvalot easier.
I’m slightly obsessed with hoodies lately. Hood = cool, right? Right!
The red Tshirt was getting pretty fragile and the fabric was not going to hold up to anything heavy duty, but since a hood is something that just hangs there decoratively most of the time and is not “worn” very much, so I thought the fabric might hold up to the task.
Now my hood pattern from KwikSew 3667 is drafted to fit a crew neck, and my cardigan has a deep V neck. But it is pretty easy to add on an extra wedge section while cutting out, so the hood will fit onto the V neckline…

I overlocked the lower edge of my hood and simply stitched in the ditch along the outside of the cardigan.

I removed the original buttons off the cardigan (green plastic, which I never really liked either) and sewed in a matching red open-ended zip.
I did have fancy plans to sew on a few decorative pockets cut from the Tshirt also, but after a coupla attempts I had to concede defeat; the Tshirt fabric was really too fragile and they looked muchos hideous. So the cardigan remains pocket-less. 🙁
Yah, so hopefully the hood might hold up for a while yet. We shall see. To be honest, I’m still not head over heels in love with this thing, despite its cool new hood. Y’know how sometimes something just doesn’t push your buttons, even though it ticks all the right boxes? It’s “my” colour, it’s got a hood, it fits nicely (now). It’s got a hood. Did I mention the hood? Hoods are cool. I kinda love the hood.
Well, I guess I’ll look a tad more stylin’ around the campfire than I was before.
I’m counting this one a minor league win.

Details:
Hoodie; my own design, with modified hood from KwikSew 3667, made from an oversized old cardigan and an old tshirt
Tshirt; charcoal and black striped cotton jersey, details here
Skirt; charcoal stretch jersey, details here
Scarf; details here
Tights; voodoo
Shoes; Django and Juliette, from Zomp shoes

Posted in: Uncategorized \ Tagged: cardigan, daily outfit, hoodie, Kwik Sew 3667, own design, Sienna, Wardrobe Refashion

Peppercorn cardigan

21/07/2012 1:32 am \ 34 Comments \ Carolyn

I have knitted a cardigan.

The pattern is Jo Sharp’s “Tweed
Coat” available as a free downloadable pattern here and the yarn is Jo Sharp Silkroad DK Tweed in Peppercorn (col 425) which I bought during the 30% off closing down sale of their shop here (chokes back a sob). The only change I made to the pattern was to shorten it
by 25cm… I reckon this is a much more manageable and wearable length than that very very long version in the pattern. Whilst I like super long cardis in theory, the reality is that they bottom out in no time at all, visually inflating one’s be-hind to ginormous proportions. How do I know this? because I used to live in a coupla longline cardi’s in the 90’s and I have the rear-view pictures to prove it… not pretty hehehe 😀

This cardigan has had a tiny preview on this blog already, and I have been working on it for er, quaite a while?, approximately mumble months with
just a short interlude for my holiday knitting project, the mustard cowl. I am a slow knitter I think 🙂 since it is a very easy knit. I left this cardigan half-finished at home while we were away, and knitted my cowl in the round using my
aeroplane-OK-ed Denise set.

So, pretty cool, huh? In a grandpa-cardi kind of a way, hehe. I am particularly fond of the collar. A distinctly grandpa-y feature I think. It’s OK, I am quite partial to looking like a nerd from time to time. My default look, if you will 🙂

It has pockets. Just saying. In case you hadn’t noticed this awesome little detail 🙂

I only knitted 5
buttonholes and sewed on 5 buttons, because this is the number I had. My Mum gave these to me, aren’t they sweet! Thank you so much, Mum! I could indeed pass for a big fat fluffy pussycat in this cardigan, for sure.

It’s very warm. Super warm. Toasty as. This cardigan is cos-ay. I’m as snug as a bug in a … cardigan 😀

3C minimums? Bring it on.

Yup, we have been having extremely cold mornings (for Perth) lately… probably because we have had almost no rain at all! We have had about two short rainy spells since I finished my raincoat, so that has barely been christened yet. It’s bad, I’m telling you! And those clear blue skies translate to cold cold mornings. It gets nice and warm around mid morning with all the blazing sunshine, but the early hours have been freezing. Don’t get me wrong I am a big fan of sunshine, but we need the rain too!

Details:

Cardigan; Tweed
Coat (shortened) in Jo Sharp Silkroad DK Tweed in colour Peppercorn (col 425)

Jeans; Au Bonheur PLH08002 in
strawberry pink denim, details and my review of this pattern here

Tshirt; self-drafted, white
cotton jersey, details here

Socks; not seen, but hand-knitted by me too! 😀

Shoes; Francesco
Morichetti, from Zomp shoes

spot the dog…

Posted in: Uncategorized \ Tagged: cardigan, daily outfit, Jo Sharp, knitting, Sienna

Sapote cotton cardigan

16/04/2012 2:19 pm \ 29 Comments \ Carolyn

Oh g’day peeps! May I present to you my latest completed knitting project…
This is another version of the Jo Sharp Fitted Cardigan. I have knitted this pattern before, my first version is here. I really loved that knitted lace on the lower edge of the design, and I decided to make this newest version with the edging on the sleeves as well. This took just one extra ball of yarn over the amount stipulated in the pattern, a small extra cost I was happy to pay considering I was buying during a 30% off sale. Yeeeeah!
Great colour, huh? This colour is called Sapote, and is named after the fruit which comes in several colour varieties. The black sapote when ripe is a beautifully deep and rich purple-y brown colour, and has paler, caramel-brown woody-textured seeds… which inspired my choice of buttons for my new cardigan. Whaddya think?
I have to confess; I finished knitting this cardigan a few months ago, and for ages have been searching and searching for just the right buttons. I was hunting for deep chocolate-y purple buttons, something the exact same shade as the yarn… and failing. But eventually and fortuitously I checked out a photograph of the sapote fruit, and noticed the colour and texture of those seeds, and how perfectly natural they looked nestled in the flesh of the sapote fruit, and realised that buttons of this colour and texture were what I should be searching for… and then I found them straight away! It was meant to be.

source

Details:
Cardigan; Jo Sharp’s Knitted Cardigan with the addition of knitted lace edging on the sleeve hems, using Jo Sharp Soho Summer DK Cotton in Sapote (col 216)
Shirt (under); my own design, made from a pair of old white linen trousers, details here
Shorts; Burda 7723, white linen, details here
Thongs; Mountain Design

Posted in: Uncategorized \ Tagged: cardigan, daily outfit, Jo Sharp, knitting, Sienna

Basic dyeing; a tutorial

04/03/2012 7:11 am \ 14 Comments \ Carolyn

A while ago, Caroline asked if I could go into more detail the next time I did a batch of dyeing, and yesterday morning I felt the urge to haul out the ol’ dye-pot again… so here ’tis! A short tute on basic, one colour, flat dyeing.

Firstly, if you are being scientific about this process, weigh your fabric and check the instructions on your dye packet to see how much is the recommended amount for this weight of fabric. This is the quantity that will give you the maximum intensity of colour the dye is capable of achieving in your fabric. If you are after a lesser intensity or a lighter shade then use less dye. The colour you will achieve is dependent on several factors: the quantity of fabric compared to the quantity of dye, the fibre content of your fabric and whether it is a mix of different fibres (different fibres react to and soak up dyes quite differently) and the existing colour of the fabric. All these factors play a part and it is impossible to pin down a definitive result without extensive tests of the sort that the average home-dyer is neither capable nor willing, so without said testing the final colour you will end up with will be a little surprise. Hopefully a beautiful and happy one! though naturally if your fabric is pricey or precious then DO do some testing!

I’m using the leftover piece of cotton from this Clementine top since a girl only needs one piece in this distinctive shade in her wardrobe, and dyeing with iDye in Brown. I also used about half the recommended amount of dye, to maintain the orange-ness.

Now wash the fabric. This is particularly important if your fabric is new; and is to remove any sizings, starches or other finishes it may have from the manufacturing process. Even if you have already washed it and even if it is old textiles, set it to soak in a bucket of water. Woosh it around some to ensure all the fabric is thoroughly wet all the way through. Leave it in there for at least ten minutes, preferable more, with several bouts of swooshing (wooshing and swooshing; technical terms there).

Assemble your dyeing stuff. You need:

Dye-pot. A big big cooking pot, lid not essential but handy, and after you have used it for dyeing, particularly with commercial dyes, then never ever using it again for cooking. I have a big old pot bought cheaply yonks ago, and it has always been The Dye-pot… I store it with a big unavoidable note stuck in the bottom so no one in the household can ever mistake it for a cooking pot.
Stirrer, I use a handily shaped and sturdy stick from the garden. It is a good one, since it has a twist that enables it to sit on the edge of the pot quite stably. However you can use a dedicated pair of tongs or wooden spoon if you have not located the perfectly shaped stick… and if so I recommend labelling it very clearly that it is not to be ever used for cooking, like your pot.

Salt. Read your dye packet to see how much is recommended to go with your amount of fabric, but I reckon it never hurts to add a little extra….

Rubber gloves and apron

Oh, and the dye, natch! Once I’ve opened the little packet and used some I seal it as well as possible with tape and store it in a clear screw-lid plastic jar, with the instructions.

keep a bucket of water and a wet rag handy to deal immediately with any splatters and spills.

Pour off some of the water from your bucket of soaking fabric into the dye-pot. Doesn’t have to be a massive amount just say 10cm in the bottom of the pot, add the salt and dissolve over a low heat.
Once the salt has dissolved, add the dye and stir it in well. Turn up the heat to get to boiling point.

Ventilation is important… one may not mind poisoning oneself in the pursuit of gorgeous fabric but we love our families and don’t want them to suffer for the sake of our colour-fun, do we? Do we??! If you have access to an outdoor cooker, then yay! lucky you, use it! If not, then make sure your exhaust fan is on high, and the windows in your room are all wide open.

Now, pour in your fabric, all at once, and still in its soaking water, and woosh and stir it around as much as humanly possible, immediately. This is the most crucial step in the dyeing process. It is reckoned that the fabric picks up the most of the dye it is ever going to in the first thirty seconds of contact. This is why you want your fabric to be soaked through when you add it, and also why whenever I have seen photos on the internet of garments partially dunked into the dye bath (people unable to resist the action shot, “Now, here I am adding my dress to the dye-pot…”) you invariably see in later shots that the dye job turned out blotchy. Of course a blotchy dye-job may well be one’s desirable outcome. Hey, no judging here.

Lower the heat and let it simmer and bubble away for thirty minutes, or whatever is the recommended time on your dye packet.
Once that time is up, remove the fabric, squeezing and wringing out hard, and transfer to a bucket of water. Rinse, wooshing and squeezing out thoroughly a few times. Do this several more times, until it washes clear. I find you can use far less water by very thorough wringing out, several times while washing out in the same rinse.

Et voila!

If you want to, you can re-use the dye-water to do more fabric or another garment; just keep in mind that the guts of the dye has been used and the colour will be paler with each subsequent use.
I did use my leftover iBrown dye… for something else, hehe.

Remember this cardigan? Definitely prefer this fab new colour. Not so much leprechaun-on-St-Patrick’s-Day any more, but beautifully fudge-y and sludge-y. Actually almost purple. I call that a win!

Posted in: Uncategorized \ Tagged: cardigan, dyeing, tutorial

Calico cotton cardigan

06/01/2012 6:29 am \ 58 Comments \ Carolyn

The good news: I’ve knitted a cardigan!
I bought this perfectly lovely ivory cotton yarn at the beginning of last spring, and started this cardigan when I had finished the garter stitch jacket. I can be a pretty quick knitter if I’m in the mood…
The buttons; nacre, with that distinctive subdued sheen that I love, are favourites that I have used on many projects before. They are from Fabulous Fabrics.
This is a great pattern. I like the shaping, done in a dressmaking style like darts in the body, and not shaped in the side seams which is how I’ve knitted the shape into jumpers and cardigans up until now. A good method. I’m chuffed with this pattern, and will use it again. With variations.
You see; I have bought up quite a lot of this yarn lately and so (this is embarrassing) as well as my fabric stash I now have a yarn stash too. Up until now I have bought wool to knit up immediately leaving myself only with scraps and leftovers.
Why have I changed my ways? well now we come to the bad news:
I got word just before Christmas that the Jo Sharp Knit store here was closing down and was selling off its stock. I am extremely sad about that. I can’t bear when local stores and particularly local craft stores, close down. But anyhow, of course I just had to pop in and check out the remaining stock, and bought… a bit… of yarn 😉 Now I have enough supply for at least a year’s worth of knitting, including a few more little cotton cardigans like this, so it is a good thing that this pattern worked out!

Details:
Cardigan; knitted by me, the Fitted Cardigan 04, version 1 with the lace edging and three-quarter sleeves, in Jo Sharp Soho Summer DK Cotton; colour Calico (shade 216)
Camisole (under) Country Road
Skirt; self drafted, charcoal jersey knit
Shoes; Bronx, from Zomp shoes

Ahem, I wasn’t sure whether to write about this here or not, since I don’t like to be all sulky sad-face here, buuuut… my double sleeved shirt got such a low rating on Burdastyle that I removed the project. I just felt so depressed about it. Actually I don’t whether to even continue on that site. I’m just losing faith in it a bit. OK, a lot. The ratings system is just too awful. I know they’ve copped a lot of flack for having that rating system, I’ve been reading the complaints for years, but it is still there. I don’t rate other people’s projects myself because I think to give a low rating is mean and counter-productive and often completely governed by personal taste. One might not choose to make or wear someone else’s project, but I reckon that is not a good enough reason to give it the thumbs down. Speaking on behalf of my shirt, it was pretty darn well-made if I say so myself. A tailored shirt is not an easy project, and is something that’s taken me a few shirts to perfect. Particularly when I’m going to the effort to custom fit. Which I am. And as well, anyone who has attempted refashioning with an old garment will know it is way more of a challenge to get a good result than with a perfect piece of untouched new fabric.
Soooo, there it is. Rant over. Sorry about that. Good natured posts should resume soon… once I’ve got over it.
Have a great day, everybody!

Posted in: Uncategorized \ Tagged: cardigan, daily outfit, Jo Sharp, knitting, random life stuff

Iceberg garter-stitch jacket

13/12/2011 3:22 pm \ 41 Comments \ Carolyn

With impeccable timing I have finished a toasty warm little knitted jacket. Yeaah, just in time for these really hot hot summer days ahead, hehe… I’m a bit sad about having to pack it away for a while, but that’s my own silly fault for starting my new winter cardi during winter. 😉 It is the shorter (version 1) Garter Jacket from Jo Sharp Knit 6… As soon as I laid eyes on this design I loved the boxy shape and interesting stitch arrangement but when I saw an actual made-up example in real life I thought it was a bit bulky and a bit big in the body for my tastes. So I took a punt that using a finer gauge yarn could work out quite good…. and I think it did! Basically instead of using the thicker gauge Aran Tweed recommended in the instructions I used the thinner DK Tweed, knitted up to its own recommended tension (not the one in the pattern instructions for the thicker yarn) and I also knitted up the very smallest size. I still followed all the instructions for number of stitches and rows etc… but the smaller scale gauge of the thinner yarn resulted in a smaller and finer cardi; not too thick and just right in my opinion. Another bonus to this approach was that I needed only 9 balls, as opposed to the 11 balls required in the thicker yarn.
Those gorgeous wooden buttons are made by Dad. Thank you Dad! I am lucky to have such a clever father.

Details:
Cardigan; Garter stitch jacket from Jo Sharp Knit 6, in Jo Sharp Silkroad DK Tweed in colour Iceberg
(the individual pattern is available by digital download here)
Jeans; Burda 7863 modified, rusty stretch corduroy, details here and my review of this pattern here

Posted in: Uncategorized \ Tagged: cardigan, daily outfit, Jo Sharp, knitting, Sienna

Old things…

17/11/2011 8:13 am \ 18 Comments \ Carolyn

… this will be the very last of my “old things” posts. I promise.
I’ve done a mammoth sort-through of the photos and I think this is it! (heaves a sigh of relief…)

Firstly, since this is the only garment in this post still in our possession (apart from the Grim Reaper come burqa outfit, that is); a cardigan I knitted for Craig. It is knitted in the fair isle method. Above is a picture Craig took of me wearing his cardigan on a holiday last year (isn’t he sweet, giving his cold inadequately-dressed wife his nicely pre-warmed cardigan to wear, hmmm? What a gentleman!)

And some close-ups of the cardigan I took today…

showing the right front, and at right the wrong side of the fair isle knitting… (as is correct, the yarn is carried over at the back with no weaving in, only if the distance is four stitches or less…)

Now, some costumes…
Sam as “Link”. I thought he was so cute in this. He loved this little outfit and often wore it just for everyday wear. (if you would like to see what this cute little jigger looks like now, go here…)

Sam, as… guess who? Hehe, the famous Harry Potter, natch, compete with broomstick and Hedwig the owl.
On that note, a black cloak is such a useful thing to have in the dress-up box. It can be the basis for so many costumes.

Here is the same robe again, worn by Cassie as Hermione, complete with ~~Garfield~~ Crookshanks the cat… I threw together the skirt and tie as well, but they do not bear close inspection…!)

(I’ve shown this picture before… but here it is again just to illustrate the versatility of the plain black robe as a costume), Tim and two of his mates as Grim Reapers. I made all three of their costumes.

Tim’s same costume again, this time worn by me to an Arabian Nights party. I didn’t want to hire an outfit and I didn’t want to make some bejewelled thing I would never wear again, and as every single female I have seen in the Arabian region is dressed something like this, so I was like, yeah this’ll do. I naively assumed other girls would have the same idea… As it turned out I was literally the only female dressed (I thought) anywhere near authentically! Also the only one not heavily sequinned and baring plenty of belly-flesh… I confess the costume was abandoned when we decided to start dancing! Don’t worry I had a skirt and top on underneath…

So, away from costumes now, and a ball-gown of my own design that I made for balls in years gone by (Sorry for the headless shot but my face and my hair look awful in this picture…!) It is silk organza, overlaying silk and silk jersey layers, three layers in all. It had a beaded and embroidered neckpiece, both beaded and embroidered by me, that is…

A dress I made for Cassie for her graduation dance at the end of primary school. It was a simple turquoise cotton halter neck dress, the fabric had metallic gold lines randomly strewn across. I also made her jewellery, of turquoise glass fish beads and strands of gold wire.

Some rather lovely (if I say so myself) wide-legged white pants that she wore almost constantly for a summer, and a little white broderie anglaise blouse. Both my own design.

Going way back, and this shirt is from a Vogue designer pattern that I believe my mother still has my copy… I know I also made and am wearing here the small-waisted and very flared skirt from the same pattern too…

I made both the skirt and top and also my necklace here. The top was an experiment, I flipped the shoulders out in a twist to get this cowl-like effect. It used to get a lot of compliments, believe it or not! (my friends are very kind) We are sitting on one of our sofas in its first slipcover, made by me too… (now looks like this)

Some more dresses. I really regret now I never got any good pictures of these two. The white and red one was rather nice; it was a dress, but looked like a matching skirt and camisole when I was wearing it, as it had layers in several graduated lengths. My own design. The patchwork dress, also my own design, took lots of planning; I bought the fabrics separately and cut and pieced them together, then made the dress. It has smaller squares at the top, graduating to larger squares around the midriff, and then down to the largest squares at the hemline. It is all on the bias, with a handkerchief hem, and I loved it!

A drop waisted, handkerchief hemmed dress of white dotted swiss voile, pictured against a famous backdrop. I still have this Vogue pattern too, actually…

And that should be all folks!
From now on, I will only be showing newly made stuff here….

Posted in: Uncategorized \ Tagged: ancient history, ballgown, cardigan, Cassie, childrens, costumes, dress, evening wear, fancy dress, Knitted, knitting, own design, patchwork, Sam, Tim, top

Kelly-green cardigan

10/11/2011 7:00 am \ 30 Comments \ Carolyn

Remember how I mentioned fashioning a little cardi out of the leftovers from the ponytail top? Well, here ’tis!
If I say so myself this was a minor miracle in cutting out; why? Well I originally had bought this Kelly green jersey to make a St Patrick’s Day thingy which was actually cut out but not made up. It struck me early on in the piece that the finished garment would be tres hideous and could never ever been worn without inviting well-deserved mockery, so it was abandoned before any actual sewing was done. However, the perfectly-good-for-something-if-only-I could-work-out-what-it-was fabric was too good; a great colour (as long as it was separated from the St Patrick’s Day concept) and there was too much of it to just ruthlessly toss out. Luckily the pieces I had cut out were big enough to get the Pattern Magic ponytail top, and there were still some reasonably good sized pieces and scraps left after that, so I played with them. This is the result of my “play”; at my kind of “Play-Station”, if you will, hehe. The back of the cardigan is quite short and the two fronts are quite skinny and so give a rather sex-ay decolletage, but y’know what? I like that. I feel like the unusual shape is happily avant-garde and cool.

Something that may not be immediately apparent on first sight, but which amused me while I was making the cardi is this: the whole cardigan is made of just one fabric, and thread, and that is all. I used pieces of the same fabric for all the trims, and the buttons and closures are all made of the self-fabric also. Interesting little factoid, yes?
The closure is with long strips of self-fabric that were laid horizontally and topstitched down on the front of the cardi… as they go off the front edge these are faced with the same fabric (for stability and to lessen stretching through use) to make ribbon ties at the front. The front opening edges of the cardi were decoratively finished with two separate long strips; the underneath one is a wider straight cut strip, and then with a pinked narrower strip sewn on top. I’m really happy with the look of this, it is an interesting edge but still a unobtrusive as it is of the same fabric. The pinked edges remind me of banksia leaves…

The front lower edges are left raw, and the back lower edge of the cardi was finished with a strip like this: (I did this because the lower back edge is subject to stretching, and so this strip is cut on the grain to stabilise and strengthen this area)

The sleeve tabs were made in the same way as the front opening edge trim and faced with self-fabric facing, and I made knot buttons of the same fabric to decorate…

While making the trims and buttons, I also amused myself by comparing what I was doing to Chanel’s jackets, which famously are often edged with trims made of the self fabric in various incarnations. So my own secret joke is to think of this as a Chanel-inspired cardi. Of course there is no quilted lining and the hemline is not weighted and therefore no real resemblance at all to a Chanel jacket…! but well, I did say “inspired” and one has to use one’s imagination here! Another little fact about Chanel’s earlier work is this: at a time when such fabric was considered only suitable for men’s underwear, her clothing was made of knit jersey … another tenuous little link, no?
But all the oddly shaped pieces and non-classic silhouette are very un Chanel!

Details:
Cardigan; my own design, Kelly-green cotton jersey
Dress; Simplicity 3745 modified, pink lace and beige border lace, details here (this is my other pink lace dress and not the one from yesterday’s post; embarrassing to admit I have two pink lace dresses but this is my more casual everyday one so that makes it alright, yes?)
Petticoat; Burda 8071, pink silk satin, details here
Shoes; Bronx, from Zomp shoes