Crochet Mesh Beachside Cardigan

 I like cardigans. You might have noticed if you've read this blog before. Long, short, knit, sewn, crocheted...doesn't matter. My big trouble is that I tend to go with patterned fabric, or multi coloured yarns and then struggle with creating outfits because I also have a lot of patterned tops. And even some bottoms.

I need a white cardigan. Years ago I made a "white" Bill King cardigan on the standard gauge knitting machine. It's nice--boxy, unusual, very light. However, I'm not fond of the back, and, it's not white. It's a lovely soft white. I need crisp, cold white.

I looked in my stash and debated between an unknown high twist smooth white yarn and a slubby coned yarn. I went with the slubby yarn. I've used it for a few small things, but there is a LOT of this yarn.

I was debating between two different mesh crochet patterns from Inspirations. I went with the Crochet Mesh Beachside Cardigan. Yarnspirations Link  and Ravelry Link. I liked how it looks like the cane mesh material used in the backs of old chairs. 

I swatched quite a bit, using two strands and different hook sizes to get gauge. I used 4.00mm and 4.5mm. The first swatch was too small so I tried again and could not get the second row to line up right. Kept at it and it finally clicked. Use the video linked in the pattern.

I made size Large. It took so long to do one row of the X stitch. It did get a bit faster but each stitch just requires several steps. The height builds faster. It's hard to decide if a simple double crochet mesh wouldn't have been easier, but I do like how this pattern is just a bit more unique than a simple double crochet! 

When it came time to separate for the arms, I did not do as the pattern said. Instead of 11 X stitches for each front, I used 14 X stitches. This made the back smaller.  It wouldn't have worked easily to do a full bust adjustment with short rows, like you might with single crochet or a simple knit pattern, but at least my front pieces would fit better and the back wouldn't be too baggy. 

One thing to note--the diagram showing the front armhole and neck shpaing do NOT show the straight rows after finishing the neck shaping. I had to go back and add two rows to each front. I ended with 7 X stitches on each front.

I made the size L sleeves, with no adjustments. 

I think this is the most shaped crochet piece I've done! I'm really pleased with how it all went together!!

Hubby was starting to annoy me with the photos LOL.

I'm wearing it today, and Lucy (now 22), said it's a very trendy design! 

I really like this cardi, though the sleeves could be one or two rows longer. 

There's only one issue.

It's not WHITE-white. 

Yarn In:  0 grams

Yarn Out: 230gr + 1110gr = 1340gr

Balance:  1340 gr more OUT than in

Costs:  $0

Welding Cap Woes!

 My youngest went to college to study welding. When she wanted a fancy welding cap for her birthday in November, I realized this was a perfect sewing opportunity! I've made hats! Surely I could do this!

I started with a free tutorial with some badly sketched pattern pieces that you're supposed to print at different percentages based on how big you want it. I'm not even going to try to find the link for that one, but I think I did manage to make a Christmas cap. 

Her birthday cap did not get delivered in time, so this was a fun substitute for the last few weeks of classes before the winter break. In retrospect, it was probably the best fitting one, except she didn't like the bit of extra fabric at the top of the head. Apparently this is a common issue.

This one somehow ended up very small. Like, for a child. I messed up the band, but I don't know why the rest of it was too small.

I'm not sure what the issue was with this one! Yes, I could  have done better pattern matching at the front seam on the band, but I was dealing with scraps. 

 I think these ones were 4 panels, so I thought a pattern for six panels would have more contouring. I found one on Etsy that even said it wouldn't cause "dome head."

I was not thrilled with the pattern. Instead of separate pattern pieces for different sizes, you use different seam allowances. Megan's head did not really fit in the chart. It indicated she should have several inches of ease, which she thought was absurd. We also misinterpreted "high crown" vs "low crown". I also made some silly mistakes. Each version seemed to be getting worse.

This one ended up a bit too big.

I liked this one but it's a bit loose and comes up too high. She was confused about low vs high crown.

This is the winner cap!

I think that this is the inside of the teal/brown hat. 

There was a horse fabric hat too....and a blue and white damask that was way too shallow....

Here's the details, mainly so I can remember, but someone else might find it helpful.

Head=22 1/4"   Sew with a 5/8" seam allowance which means 23" finished size (supposedly).

Band cut 24" x 3.5".  This barely left any extra in the seam allowance to close the band--not the inch like that pattern says. Changed band so it's 2 1/4" at front, 2 3/4" at back" (is this the finished width?), sew on with 3/8" seam. This gave her more length at the back. Her head seems a little shallow. 

I really struggled with sewing the sides to the middle, and matching the top seam. I think I switched to sewing the top seam with 5/8" instead of 1/2".

Step 7 in the pattern doesn't mention turning the band right sides out, but do it.

Next time, taper the band seam so it's narrower at the bottom by 1/8". It was sticking out a bit but she says it's better after being washed again.

These were made with quilter's cotton and the special one we ordered was more like a twill. I'm going to try to find some twill, but what I've found is boring solids.

Sewing!!

 Here's a treat--a post with no red scarves! I have one waiting for the cast off and another one almost finished. The one is waiting for a cast off because we were going away for a few days and I wanted to take only one project with me, so I took it off on spare yarn and started a new scarf.

I did some sewing. I was wanting new cardigans, and new t-shirts. I have this bad habit of buying, or making things, with prints.  Then, I struggle because a patterned cardi over a patterned shirt is not my thing.

Somewhere, (I think on Lifting Pins and Needles' YouTube), I saw that Itch to Stitch had a new t-shirt pattern with a separate front piece that had a built in FBA already, as well as darts.  Despite having an already tested and true t-shirt pattern (which might be a little small on me right now), I went ahead and bought it. I had some cream fabric with little gold triangles on it that I thought would be nice. I was going to make it into a cardigan but slapped myself and said no more patterned cardigans!

I measured, did my usual adjustments, including taking 2.5" off in 3 places (0.5" in upper bodice, 1" at the lengthen/shorten line, and 1" at a lower line). I was making the longer length as well. This pattern is drafted for 5'6" which is 5" taller than me, and so thought making it half that difference shorter would work. Well, I guess I'm long in the torso? It came out a little shorter than I thought it would, and also, some pulling around the arms.

I had enough left, so I made another version, putting back the 1/2" in the upper bodice and narrowing the shoulders. I think I actually sized down through the armholes. 

Better, but I was feeling a little meh about this shirt now. I put both of these in the box to take to my mother's. She had lost weight so I figured at least one would fit her. Well, she's put back on a bit. She did take one of the shirts but I couldn't tell which one and I haven't bothered to try on the remainding shirt. I just am not loving my body lately and this shirt showed too much.

I had a fun piece of printed knit in grey and black, that I haven't known what to do with, so I tried another version. I think this fabric is not as stretchy. It felt so tight! I was so unhappy, I didn't even take a picture.

I was still somewhat determined, so I went for a 4th version. This striped fabric is heavier than the cream fabric, but still stretchy, so I was hopeful. I didn't have a lot of it left, and opted for sleeve bands going the opposite way as the sleeves were going to have to be a bit shorter than I wanted, and a hem was going to take up too much.

Success!

I also fixed up a cardigan I made in fall 2018. It's https://swoonpatterns.com/shop/scarf-neck-cardigan/   It's a very light knit and stretched out so bad. The sleeves were way too long, the shoulders sagged onto my arms, I felt dwarfed in the fabric. AND, it had gotten those dreaded tiny holes!! I figured some of them I could hide by rehemming (the hem had been terrible), and some I could hide by taking in the princess seams. It had been sitting in my "I don't want to deal with it" basket for a long time, and the last time I had looked at it, I saw there were also stains! So, really, if this didn't work, no loss.

You can see the tiny holes on the inside of the new hem. Those ones were mainly because of ripping out the old blind stitch hem.

I don't know what happened when I first made this, but even though I was sure I was being careful with the front edges, when it got washed, it went all twisty. I couldn't really get rid of that.

I was going to shorten the sleeves and was about to do that first (because it's the easiest thing LOL), when I suddenly decided maybe I should fix the shoulders first. I wish I had taken pictures because I can't remember exactly what I did. Did I unpick the sleeves? I don't think so. I may have just zipped all around the armhole with the serger. The shoulder seams are still a bit too wide, but it's a HUGE improvement. And, it made the sleeves almost the right length! They are a bit too long now, but acceptable. Cozy.

Then I did the side seams. I do think I unpicked them almost to the armholes, because I wanted to take more off the front part than the back portion. Just these two adjustments made the cardi a million times better. Then I unpicked the princess seams to the bust, and re-pinned, taking out width from the side sections--to hide the pinholes, and to narrow it down. 

So much better! I did have to do the seams a couple times to get them somewhat smooth and blended, since I had obliterated the original curvature of the princess seams. 

And then I re-hemmed. It was a pain! I didn't even bother to do a blind stitch, just did a straight stitch.  

I scrubbed the stains and they mostly came out--or I got new ones? And there's still a couple pin holes, but it's a nice light cardigan and I'll probably still wear it out of the house. I don't seem to have any pictures of it finished! 

I decided I needed brand new cardigans as well. I thought grey would be good because I have a lot of black cardigans but no grey (except a ratty old zip up hoody). I found the free Harper Cardigan by Sinclair Patterns.   How did I not already have this one?! I love Sinclair Patterns. Their petite sizing is great! I do still need to shorten though as I'm right at the bottom of the petite height!  I had this grey interlock left over from a pair of Sunrise Loungers (by Sinclair Patterns). OMG, I just read that post, and see I had made another pair previously!! I had totally forgotten about that first pair! The newer pair are still not great, but comfy around the house and once in awhile, I do wear them in public LOL. 

I think the only adjustment I made was to shift the pockets so one side in joined with the front band, and the bottom goes into the bottom band. I saw that somewhere on the internet, not my idea. I LOVE this cardigan. The bust wrinkle, I think is because it was sticking to the shirt I had on. This is a heavier knit, but not crazy heavy. Warm and cozy, but still with design lines that allows it to look good for work. I have been wearing it SO much!! 

I also made another one. Even though I said I had too many patterned cardigans, I couldn't help myself. I have this heavy knit that is backed by a not stretchy fabric. I used it for a dress for Megan many years ago. I can't find the post!

Apparently, I haven't even taken photos of the cardigan, so I won't continue. I'll come back and edit when I get pictures.

Teddy Bear, Teddy Bear

 And now, for something totally not red. 

I've shared these little bears before. They're Bill and Been Twin Bears. The original pattern is FULL of errors. I created my own version, which you can find HERE.  There's two version, one knit flat and one in the round.

I had made a couple bears and part of one, and left them in the drawer for quite a while. Back in February, I was trying to get these things finished up. I had some issues when I mixed up parts and used the wrong needle size to knit new parts and yada yada yada. 

To stuff them, I used bits of old yarn and a baby hat that hadn't worked. 70gr total. 

Okay....I felt some deja vu....yes, I blogged about these already. I hadn't included the pattern though, so that's new. I won't give yarn totals  now LOL.

Back to Red

 I still have the red yarn I bought in the early fall, so I'm still pumping out red scarves for World AIDS Day later this year!

A pretty simple crochet stitch from a stitch dictionary.  I did have to start it several times though. Too wide, take off what the math says should come off. Try again.  Too narrow.  Add back half of what you took off. Why does yarn math do this?!

I realized after I started that if I just crocheted the length, the two ends would match. So I crocheted 3 feet, and stopped. Then I went back to the original chain, and worked the other direction for 3 feet. Just a simple thing but it makes it look so much nicer in the end.  This one took 115 grams.

I also knit up a ribbed hat to use up the rest of the navy yarn from the booties. This one I re-did several times for a variety of reasons. I'm not fond of worsted weight for newborn hats, but it's done. 

I swear, it's navy blue, not slate blue. I guess using my black chest freezer for the backdrop wasn't a good choice.

It took a whopping 26 grams of mystery navy yarn.  

Remember how I had found 3 unstuffed mice, a few blog posts ago?  Well, even though this storage ottoman is quite small, I found a bunch more when I decided I was going to take everything out and see what needed finishing.

Some came out a little wild looking--those two green ones!  One has a squished in nose, the other one has a nose like an alligator gar (a fish), or an anteater!

These took a total of  218 grams.  To stuff them, I used yarn ends, a baby photo prop hat that was in the bin that got wrecked when I washed it, scraps of yarn I had in this bin that I didn't like, etc. And catnip!

Not in the ottoman but in the drawer where I keep some other knitting related stuff were some bear parts. I had previously bagged them, there were two bears plus a body and a leg.  I had some trouble keeping track of parts, and I forgot I had used different sized needles...I had to reknit one leg...I used the first one to stuff the second one! 

I love these guys. I tried to stuff on the looser side so they'd be squishy. They took 70 grams.

I also threw out a hat I had made but had issues with and took partially apart and never got back to it. Just threw that sucker in the trash. No trying to save the yarn (I did like the yarn!). And you know what? It felt good! 

The ottoman is still full though. A bag of mice, a baby set, three bears, an old Christmas tree skirt section, and a bag from Lewiscraft...which closed in 2007 (I actually thought it was much sooner than that). I think this came from a friend of my mom, or my mother-in-law. There's a pair of very tall light blue socks, one finished, one almost finished, and a pair of burgundy gloves, also almost finished. I guess I might as well finish them. It might show a difference, but to someone that needs these items, I'm sure they won't mind. Both are too big for me.  

So in the need-to-finish list, I have:

• these socks and gloves
• Christmas tree skirt (started in 2000 I think)
• 3 Sophie purses that need handles attached (the pattern came out in 2004, and I worked on one while in the hospital having a baby so that would have been Megan in 2005). 
• several baby sweaters that need buttons

I've also started on another red scarf! 

I also got rid of a giant skein of yarn I bought from the last time I went to the Spinrite sale in 2009.  I had quite a few people interested and some even wanted me to ship it. Perhaps I should have asked more than $5.  It was huge, but needed winding and had some over dye on some of it.  I figured no one would want it!  I'm not including it in my yarn totals because it was from before I started keeping track and really, it would have made my numbers so skewed.

Yarn In:  0 grams

Yarn Out: 115+ 26 + 218 + 70 + 681gr = 1110gr

Balance:  1110 gr more OUT than in

Costs:  $0

Something other than Red

 I'm taking a few sick days, and blogging is something I can manage.

These are NOT slate blue.  They are totally navy. Weird. They're Free Flat Knit Baby Socks. I used Vanna's Choice by Lion Brand taht I found in the stash. It's a "Medium 4", 16st/22rows on 5.5mm/9. I used 4.5mm. I really wouldn't want to go with a smaller needle. I casted on flat but then knit them in the round. You do end up with a fake seam at the back, but I think it looks nicer than most seams I see. I sewed the sole as per the instructions. If I do them again, I will cast on 2 less than half the stitches, then pick up in those stitches and go back to the start. On the first row, increase into each of the centre 4 stitches.  These were really quick to make, and I love how they are deep for the instep. Babies have thick feet. Like, there's no flat part on the top of their feet, they just angle up from the toes to the calf LOL.  However, there are so many baby bootie patterns out there, I like to try different patterns.  These took 42gr. I'm trying to use up the left over yarn on a hat but I just don't think I have enough. 

This is the second pair of mittens I made with the Country Style DK yarn. They're a size 4 and I remembered to do the plain rows after the ribbing before the thumb gusset! They took 47gr.  Gram by gram I am chipping away at the stash!

Yarn In:  0 grams

Yarn Out:  89gr + 592gr =    681gr

Balance:  681gr more OUT than in

Costs:  $0

New Mitten Outlet

 Winter hit Ontario. We were spoiled last year, and made up for it this February. 

We even had a true snow day--not just no buses, but schools were closed!!

The school I work at one afternoon a week noticed a need for winter gear and other school supplies for students. The principal took an unused small room/closet and created the Lion's Locker, where students can go on their own to grab mittens, a sweater, etc. I knew this would be a great place to donate my bag of mittens that I used to take to work when I was a lunch supervisor. I've added a few pairs in the last couple years as I was working at a small school, but I'm not there much anymore and they don't have kindergarten. I made another pair last week, and started a pair this week. I have so much yarn!

52grs, it's Sirdar Country Style DK weight. It's only 15% wool, but I double stranded it and knit it fairly snug. However, I didn't like the thumbs! They seem too long and thin. After, I started the next pair and I realized I misread the instructions and forgot the 4-8 plain rows before starting the thumb gusset.  Oops. The other pattern I use starts the thumb gusset right after the ribbing, but at a slower rate of increases. They'll still keep someone warm!

If you have small amounts of yarn that's a wool blend, I highly recommend making mittens to donate. Superwash wools are ideal, but even wool blends can be warm (as long as they don't get too wet). Knit slightly tighter than you would normally. You can even turn them inside out and pick up stitches at the top of the ribbing and knit a liner (I wouldn't knit the thumb on a liner, unless I made them bigger). 

Yarn In:  0 grams

Yarn Out:  52gr + 540gr = 592gr

Balance:  592gr more OUT than in

Costs:  $0