SWAP Item 3

The third completed item for my SWAP, an over dress from the same fabric as the jacket I made before Christmas.

The pattern is McCalls 5464 and I did view B, the longer version, with no pockets.

My fabric wasn't very well behaved and despite stabilising the back seam with fusible stitch reinforced tape, my invisible zip was all too visible, due to the hideous wrinkles created alongside it as I sewed it in. Luckily the stretchiness of the fabric could be made into a positive feature; I took the zipper out, sewed the back seam up, and it now goes on over my head quite nicely. This did mean I couldn't line it as I had planned, but I have a half slip that I can wear with it that should ensure the back doesn't seat too badly when worn. The fabric seems to have good recovery as well so hopefully that will help a bit to preserve it for a longer life.

The trim is the same as the jacket, a wool fold over braid donated from mum's stash. I only had six inches left when I'd finished the dress and jacket combo, so that was lucky, as it wasn't likely I could ever get any more.

In a lot of ways, this is a very boring item. Its very beige, very basic. However, it works with eighteen different tops in my existing wardrobe, as well as three jackets and one cardigan. I have three belts I can wear with it, two pairs of boots, one pair of shoes, and a couple of scarves that work too. So it will be a hard working piece, a basic that can be dressed up or down. This is the third version I've made of this pattern, and I've worn the other two really regularly, so hopefully this one will be just as good.

In other news, this week, I have completed a small shawlette to wear with my black outfits to cheer them up a bit. The pattern is Lintilla by Strickmische and is one of four Hitchhikers Guide to the Galaxy inspired shawlettes which are all created by the same designer. I bought all four patterns as they are a nice size, and are easily customisable to the amount of yarn you have, perfect for one skein knitting. This yarn is Baa'tat sock yarn in colourway Licorice. Love the colour but it has bloomed quite badly and one end is a bit faded where I had to pull out the first part when I wasn't getting gauge and thus wasn't getting enough drape (should have done a gauge swatch, but I almost never do them for shawls since gauge isn't crucial). Note to anyone considering this pattern; it is a VERY difficult and frustrating pattern to frog. I knit maybe four inches of the tail part before frogging and that took about two or three hours. It took me eleven hours to frog the work because the wraps and turns for the short rows on the frilled edges meant all of the yarn had to be pulled back through each stitch individually, no "pull the tail and it all unravels" in this pattern. So don't be like me; do a gauge swatch.

The pattern is super simple to knit as its just garter stitch, you do need to be able to short row, but there are videos and instructions galore on line about how to do this, so its very suited to inexperienced knitters and those, like me, who want to perfect their shortrow technique.

The next project on the needles is a "knit it and see where it takes you" project. I have 38 grammes of Mobair laceweight in a colourway that I don't know the name of. The composition of the yarn is similarly a mystery. I got it from a grab basket at the wool show in September. It was in four tiny skeins which I spit spliced together. I have cast on a shawl that looks as though it can be easily customised for size, and am just hoping it comes out big enough to wear.