Thank you!

Posted by Alexandra at Studio Alexandra


A big huge THANK YOU to Lisa and Kat who have nominated me for this award! It feels good to know that people whose creations I admire stop here to read about mine.

Now the seven bloggers who inspire me (in alphabetical order, and some of them have already been nominated by others):

1. Carolyn who can take one pattern and turn out a bazillion different looks
2. Dana who sews some seriously classy clothes
3. Faith who knits and spins and weaves and cooks - all that with a smile and four very cute kiddos
4. Gigi who works knits like it's nobody's business
5. Notamermaid who has an enviable closet full of cool retro dresses
6. Toy who usually turns out one cool garment after another (but currently is in need of some extra positive vibes so please send her some)
7. Trena who can turn a sweater into a hat or a dress.
   

Thank you very much!

2009 #1 Machine knitting sampler - part 4

Posted by Alexandra at Studio Alexandra

Here's the latest installment of my sampler project - the knitweave (or knit weave) sampler. In this technique, the resulting patterns look very similar to the fairisle sampler, but in knitweave the pattern is actually formed on the purl side. This is a rather involved technique because it requires the machine operator to move the contrast yarn from one side of the carriage to the other after each row. No zip-zip like some of the other techniques.



From left to right: cards # 1-4, 7-9, 11, 14, and 20.
Not all cards are suitable for knitweave. Long floats are bad enough on the inside (as in fairisle) where they can be protected with lining. On the outside of the garment, they're a disaster waiting to happen. Even some of these cards produced floats that are not acceptable to me, although yarn thickness is probably a factor here.

I'm guessing that if I were to use a main color yarn closer to the higher end of the thickness spectrum that the machine can handle, the floats would be shorter in the end product. I've been knitting the Wool Crepe on tension 5 so the fabric is quite stretched on the machine. The contrast yarn has to cover the whole distance between the end needles during knitting so when the fabric comes off the machine and relaxes into its natural narrower state, there is extra contrast yarn length in each row. This is a problem when the floats are three stitches or longer. Any knitweave projects will require samples not just for gauge but for the resulting texture as well.

I really like #1 and 7. They would produce a lovely tweedy looking fabric suitable for jackets. I'm thinking a solid main color and a variegated contrast yarn. Or a nice boucle yarn that would be a PITA to knit (but easy to knitweave because it just lays over the needles as it's woven into the fabric).
I also like #8, the herrigbone. I love herringbone - it's such a classic pattern. With the right combination of yarns, it could be quite spectacular.

A while ago, Kat asked "Okay, okay now! :) What machine is this and where did you get it?"
So, let me introduce the wonderful Singer 700 Memo-Matic.


It's a standard gauge (4.5 mm) machine that knits yarns from fingering to about sport-weight. I got it in probably 2001 or 2002, from a lady in Canada whose ad I found online. It was not working well in the beginning and it took a few years to find someone who knew anything about knitting machines. It turned out that it needed a new sponge bar, a part that is not mentioned anywhere in the manual. After that, it worked like a charm.

This machine has all the bells and whistles that a mechanical machine can have - a 24-stitch punchcard reader for patterns, knit radar for knitting shapes from sewing patterns (rather than row by row counts), and a built-in row counter. I also have a lace carriage for this machine; it comes with its own set of punchcards for lovely lace patterns. And I have a ribber, which is another long bed of needles that can be mounted in the front at an angle - together the two beds can produce ribbing patterns and other things that I have yet to explore.

Mary said "Very nice...makes me want to get a knitting machine now, but where would I put it?" Hmm... let's see, mine is in what's supposed to be the dining area. (We don't have a dining table; we eat at the kitchen counter bar.) But then, we don't have a traditional living room either because I needed the space for my sewing studio. It's all a matter of priorities, right?

On TNTs and the holy grail

Posted by Alexandra at Studio Alexandra

Just as I was patting myself on the back for having traced out and adjusted four new BWOF patterns in a weekend, Carolyn posted about her weekend sewing. She has two new skirts to show for it; I have pieces of paper and muslin. I was going to feel sorry for myself but then I realized that maybe there's a message in her post that I missed on the first read-through.

If you've been reading my blog for at least a month, you know I have at least four well-fitting TNT dress patterns. Why then did I feel compelled to trace out and adjust three new dress patterns? I have a theory - the holy grail theory. We're all looking for the holy grail of fitting, and justifiably so considering the deterioration of fit in RTW. We read books and watch DVDs about fitting, spend hours adjusting paper patterns and making mock-ups in muslin or inexpensive fabric, and participate in the multitude of threads about fitting on sewing-related forums (fora?) in an effort to look our best.

It seems easy to define fit in objective terms - no wrinkles or gaping, follows body curves without clinging, hides bulges, and has enough room for movement. But I believe there is a subjective component, too - does it look flattering? And this, ladies and gentlemen, is the reason many of us try pattern after pattern, adjusting and tweaking, and moving on to the next pattern. We don't want a pattern that fits objectively, we want one that makes us look and feel great.

The problem is that those of us who have body image issues sometimes end up in a never-ending quest for the pattern that will make said issues disappear. I'm speaking from experience here. I keep looking for a dress pattern that will make my back view look shapely. You see, if I had to draw myself, I'd draw a fairly skinny figure with curves for the front view. For the back view, I'd draw a long rectangle with a head and limbs. My very square shoulders form an almost straight line and my butt looks very rectanglish no matter what I wear. As I reflected on this last night, I realized that what I'm really looking for is not a pattern that will make me look shapelier from the back, but rather my own acceptance of things I cannot change. I mean permanent acceptance rather than the typical skinny/pretty days vs. fat/ugly days.

The holy grail of fitting is not the pattern. It's knowing your body issues, accepting them, and then finding ways to mitigate them. For me this means necklines that dip considerably to break the solid line (collars work well, too) and well-defined waist lines. For others, it may be a proportion thing or a matter of length. Threads has a good article about finding your best silhouette and proportions.

I like my new patterns. When I compared the adjusted pattern pieces to my TNTs, they looked almost identical. So from here on out, my motto will be TNTs work so work your TNTs (and use new patterns only for details). And with that, I cut out a sleeveless sheath dress in a lovely royal blue wool crepe, using not one of my new BWOF patterns but an old TNT self-drafted one.

Marathon tracing

Posted by Alexandra at Studio Alexandra

I love Burda WOF. I grew up with it. In fact, for the longest time I had no idea there were other patterns available. I used to buy every issue at the newsstand. (Then I had a subscription for a few years. Then my life was upside down for a while and my subscription lapsed and book stores in my area didn't carry the magazine. Now I'm back to buying it from a German store nearby. I'll get a subscription when we're stateside again.)

Not every issue is great. There are even some that make me wonder why I'm still keeping them. But every year, there is an issue or two full of patterns I can't wait to make up. Those are the issues that make the subscription worth every penny (my opinion only, your mileage may vary. This year's February issue is one of those gems.

I got the magazine last night, paged through it, and went to sleep dreaming about all the beautiful clothes in it. Today, I traced out these four patterns:

#124 - this dress looks like the perfect summer sheath - simple and elegant, with enough of a cap sleeve to protect the shoulders from the sun. Easy-breezy, made in cotton pique or something similarly washable and unpretentious, this dress could become the backbone of my summer wardrobe.



#122 - this lovely dress will make the perfect beach cover-up or lounge dress. I like my hems to hit above the knee so I shortened the pattern as I was tracing it. I think I might make one in the original length though, because I'd like to see how I look in a maxi-dress.



#110 - I am visualizing this tunic slightly longer, as a dress. Instead of the buttons at CF, I'd like eyelets with lacing. Then I'd like to use more eyelets in a zig-zag pattern as a trim around the neckline, bottom of the sleeves (straight, not gathered), and maybe even at the hem.



#107B - I am totally loving this skirt. From the wide pleats to the cool "belt loops", it looks awesome. I'm thinking linen or cotton/linen blend.


I also like dress # 119, shirt #104, and jacket #112/113 but I am tired from all that tracing, adjusting, adding seam allowances, and cutting so they'll have to wait until next time. I have some muslin ready for mock-ups of all these patterns and I hope to get it all done this week. Maybe for once, I could actually get ahead of the curve and sew for the upcoming season.

2009 #1 Machine knitting sampler - part 3

Posted by Alexandra at Studio Alexandra

Well, the tuck stitch sampler was hard to photograph to show its texture but the slip stitch sampler really takes the cake. The texture is so subtle it's hard to see with a naked eye, let alone in a photograph. But here it is, in all its (barely visible) glory:


Left to right: cards # 8, 7, 4, 3, and 2.


Left to right: cards #9, 10, 11, 12, and 14.

2009 #1 Machine knitting sampler - part 2

Posted by Alexandra at Studio Alexandra

I never realized how difficult it is to photograph texture in solid color. It's has taken me several days, many photos, and learning how to increase contrast without making the picture look grainy/funny. And now, I present to you, the tuck stitch sampler:



Tuck stitch is a technique in which the machine knits stockinette on some needles and hangs loops of yarn on others (without knitting the stitches that are on them). At regular intervals dictated by the punchcard, these loops and the original stitch get knitted together, resulting in a textured fabric. The purl side is the right side with this technique.

As you can see, the swatches are much shorter than on the fairisle sampler. I used the same number of rows (40) per card. From left to right, card numbers are 12, 11, 10, 9, 8, 7, 4, 3, and 1. Most of them are fairly recognizable when compared to the fairisle sampler, but card #3 was a total surprise. It looks like honeycomb, very pretty, but not what I was expecting at all. I am loving the herringbone in the middle. Can you just see it on a shrug knitted side-to-side?

Coming up tomorrow is the slip stitch sampler - another textured solid.

2009 #1 Machine knitting sampler - part 1

Posted by Alexandra at Studio Alexandra

One of my goals this year is to master the knitting machine. I figured the best way to familiarize myself with all it has to offer would be by making samples. I started with fairisle because all punchcards that come with the machine are suitable for fairisle. Here's how it turned out:

Cards 1-4


Cards 7-10


Cards 11-14 (love the houndstooth - such a classic)


Cards 15-17


Cards 18-20


As you can see, I skipped cards #5-6. That's because card #5 is a large flower not suited for all-over patterning and card #6 is a row of smaller flowers that look like a late 80's/early 90's throwback. Seriously, does anybody remember the huge sweater with a large floral motif smack-dab in the middle of the front? Once was enough!

As the card numbers get higher, there is a definite progression from simple 1-2 row patterns to more complex multi-row repeat patterns. For the swatches, I knitted 40 rows of the pattern, followed by 8 rows of plain color. Starting with card #15, several required a longer swatch to show the full effect. Note: card #19 leaves very long floats that will have to be protected by lining or fusible interfacing.

The whole sampler is over 2 1/2 yds long and had to be blocked in sections. It will soon be joined by samplers of other techniques, such as tuck stitch and weaving. Not all cards are suitable for these techniques so these other samplers should be considerably shorter.

Out with the old, in with the new...

Posted by Alexandra at Studio Alexandra

We're three days into the new year and I've set up one of my knitting machines. To make room for its stand, I had to move the old desk into the storage room downstairs. That desk had been a wonderful home for my old desktop computer. Really old - a little more than five years, which in computer terms is just about ancient. You see, I got a laptop last fall that has become my constant companion but I wasn't quite ready to give the old faithful desktop computer so there it sat, used only occasionally. Today, as I took it apart, bundling up the mouse and keyboard (wired - do they even sell them anymore?) and all the other bits and pieces, it felt like the end of an era. A profound sense of sadness came over me as I reflected on all the things I'd learned and done with the help of that desktop computer and those that preceded it.

It was a transition. Transitions are good. They make us reflect on things we've done, wish we had done, wish we could have done differently, and those we'd like to accomplish going forward.

First, a look back at 2008:
I finished 18 garments and three home dec/accessory projects. Not nearly as impressive as some of the really prolific sewing bloggers but quite an accomplishment for me. I also made two wadders (plenty of lessons learned from those) and countless muslin mock-ups of patterns I was considering for various projects.

Of those 18 finished garments, 10 were dresses (the two wadders were also going to be dresses if this makes a statistical difference to anyone).

The number really surprised me because I have lived in pants this last year except for a precious few warm days when I could actually wear a dress.

At the end of last year, I pushed the issue a bit after making the wool jersey dresses - I packed very lightly for the trip to Paris: just the dresses and one pair of jeans that I vowed to wear only if I was miserably cold. Well, what do you know, I ended up wearing a dress every day seeing as how I didn't have that many choices :-) and I only wore the jeans on the last day when I was miserably cold and sick to boot. My point is that if I have nothing else, I will wear dresses even in bad weather. It seems pulling on a pair of pants is just an old habit and so...

Looking forward at 2009:

1. I'd like to wear dresses more often - that means I'll have to sew more of them. Ideally, I would like to increase my sewing productivity to 26 completed garments (at least 20 of them dresses).
   
2. I'd like to master the knitting machine so I can knit some Missoni-like fabric for more dresses.
3. I'd like to start putting embellishments on my creations - it won't be anything wild, it just wouldn't be me, but little touches like piping or tone-on-tone embroidery would be nice.

So there you have it - my dreams for the new year. I am formulating a plan to accomplish them all even as I type so hopefully this time next year, I'll be reporting great success.

Happy New Year!

Posted by Alexandra at Studio Alexandra

Happy New Year!

May this year be better than the one before, with a lot more sewing and fiber-related pursuits, many beautiful creations, and sewing mojos that don't leave us stranded!