Coral linen Lisa

This is another pattern I'd been meaning to make for a while and the me-made May challenge spurred me on to get it done!

This is a made from coral linen which I bought from Fabrics Galore.  I did cheat a bit - I sewed the two bodice fronts together (I did check whether it would go over my head first) because I wasn't sure whether I'd have enough thread for the buttonholes - all the top stitching used a lot of thread - which was by Coats.  I went to the local shop where I'd originally bought it and discovered they'd closed down in January, and the only other shop local to me which has a haberdashery only sells Gutermann thread. 

The buttons I bought a few years ago in Jenners in Edinburgh and were originally intended for a cardigan, but I ended up using different ones.  They are an exact colour match for this fabric.

It was a challenge to do all the top-stitching and keep it straight and parallel, but I do like the finished look.

Pineapple Felicia

My second dress completed in May is this one.  It started life back in 2014 as a Butterick 5748 bodice / Simplicity 2444 skirt mash-up, but the bodice had got too tight in the intervening years.

I love the print and had about a metre of the fabric left after making the original dress, so I unpicked and removed the bodice and zip from the skirt, which I reused - I pressed out the pleats and gathered it.  I cut a Tessuti Felicia bodice (I'd already made a Felicia last year) and then with the remaining fabric cut two equal widths to make a frill for the bottom of the skirt.

I'm so pleased that this dress now has a new lease of life!

Sangria McCalls 7969

This was the third dress I made this year, the first of my me-made May challenge and the second McCalls 7969 I've made - the first being this gingham one which I made last year.  I made the same mods for this dress as for the first one, it's essentially view D with a shorter skirt and longer sleeves with a cuff.

There are many, many versions of this dress on Instagram, I think I read that this pattern was McCalls biggest seller last year, or possibly in 2019 (but don't quote me!), but it doesn't have pockets!!  So I added Demeter ones, because I happened to have those pattern pieces to hand.

Lovely linen from LinenOholic in Sangria colourway.

Sleeveless Demeter dresses

I've decided to just write one post for all the sleeveless linen Demeters I've made so far this year, rather than give them each a post with about two lines of text!  They are all view B (which has a higher neckline and longer and slightly narrower skirt than view A) with the skirt lengthened by about 3" and the plain ones all took 1.8m of fabric.

In order of me making them they are this one, which I made in April

with Forest Green linen from LinenOholic who have an Etsy shop and their own website.

Then I made a few other dresses before version two came along in an absolutely beautiful pale pink colour.  Started in late May and finished in early June.

After that in mid-June (again, with a couple of other dresses in between) came this in Lollipop linen from Merchant & Mills - I absolutely love, love, love this fabric - orange is such a happy, summery colour.  this took 2m and I also had to cut the front skirt piece slightly narrower - this isn't quite as wide as the plain linens.

This was the next Demeter off the blocks in a gorgeous yellow linen called Faded Sun which again came from LinenOholic and which I finished in early July.

Five other dresses later, in August, came this one in Penzance linen from Merchant & Mills,  I cut the skirt slightly shorter and wider and it took 1.65m

Closely followed by this one which has the skirt width of view A and took 1.7m.  

And that's as far as I've got until now, although there will definitely be more.  Great in summer just as they are, and in winter with a warm cardigan and boots.

Anna Allen Demeter - irises top & cobalt linen dress

I'd seen several Demeter dresses popping up on my Instagram feed and really liked the look of them.  I'd been meaning to make some looser fitting dresses for ages - initially because I didn't enjoy wearing very fitted dresses in hot weather, but more recently to accommodate the lockdown baking increase in my waistline.  So in April I made these.

I started off making a short-sleeved top (view C) to see whether I would need to make any fit adjustments.  I've had this fabric for years, it came from Classic Textiles in Goldhawk Road I think, and had already cut out and marked up a Vogue 8666 dress but never got around to sewing it up.  I had a metre and a bit left, which was enough for this top.  It's a pretty good fit, but the bust darts needed moving - it doesn't really notice on this busy print, but definitely would on a plain fabric, so I'm glad I made this toile before cutting out a dress.

And this is the first of several linen dresses I've made from this pattern this year (and no doubt there will be more).  A lovely cobalt blue linen - this colour is available from several fabric shops.  I cut pattern view A, with the skirt length of view B.  I didn't give it a 3" hem though - I liked the unhemmed length, so just overlocked it and turned it up by 3/4".  I also adjusted the bodice front with the bust darts moved.

I'm very pleased with how it's turned out.  Linen is great in summer (cool) and winter (doesn't stick to your tights, so no need for a slip).  Love it!

Teacosy

 I needed a new tea cosy and this is what I knitted.  Started at the end of January and finished 9 days later - it's an easy knit.

It's a Patons pattern from this book, which I bought several years ago just for this pattern.  I made this exact same tea cosy back in 2008 and it was looking a bit sorry for itself so I decided to knit another one. 

The only difference this time round was that I knitted a few more rows of navy at the base (can't remember how many now, maybe half a dozen), because I had bought a new teapot which was larger than the one I had used with the previous version of this.

I do like the way it looks from the top!

Dabloon cardigan

Long time no write - time to start updating this blog... 😉

I bought this wool in February 2018 from Easyknits when they were exhibiting at Unravel in Farnham, because I loved the colour.  It then sat in my stash for a while waiting for me to settle on which pattern to use.  I knew I wanted it to be a cardigan but kept changing my mind about style.  In the end I decided I wouldn't use a pattern at all, just get it knitted!  I started it in December last year and finished it in January.

It's a very simple style - front and back knitted in one piece to the armholes, then divided for the top and seamed at the shoulders.  The button band is picked up and knitted on, the sleeves are picked up at the armholes and knitted in the round down to the cuffs.  The buttons are vintage and I already had them in my stash.

It's lovely and warm and had quite a bit of wear earlier in the year and it's now back in rotation for the winter.