Granville Shirt 2.0

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I started my second Granville shirt on Thursday, and finished it on Friday. I mentioned in my previous post that this shirt has a tower placket - this is what it looks like after it is sewn up, but before the cuff is attached. This is an awesome placket, which isn't terribly difficult to sew, but does require accuracy and patience. The end result is worth the effort, in my opinion.

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I bought this fabric last week at Dressew, which is an awesome store. They have such an incredible selection of fabrics and notions, however they only carry Burda patterns (which I've never had good results with, personally) and they only take cash and debit, so leave your credit card at home. If you want to read more about Dressew, there's a great post about the store on the Sewaholic blog. I bought all of the fabrics for the wedding there, and spent less than $80 total for three dresses. There are great deals to be had, though every time I walk in the store, I know I'm coming home with things I didn't plan on buying. I may have also bought some awesome rayon for an Oakridge blouse.

This fabric screamed at me, because it needed to be a Granville. Anyone who knows me well knows that I cannot resist purple. I gravitate toward earthy, warm, autumn colours, and this fabric has all of that going for it. I only wish I'd found more cottons appropriate for Granville shirts... Maybe one of these days I'll splurge on some Liberty fabric. I'd rather not use quilting cotton for shirts, as it doesn't drape as nicely as fabrics meant for garments.

I paid around $7 per meter for this fabric, and bought enough to make a nice summer skirt or sleeveless top. Time will tell what the remainder of the fabric will become.

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I absolutely love the fit of this version of the shirt. I decided to grade the hips of the pattern down just on the side seams, to a size 8, which I think is perfect. I took 1" off the bottom of each side on the black floral Granville I made, which was the equivalent of about 1". I'll keep this in mind for future patterns, as I now know I'll need to grade the hips.

Oddly enough, the sleeves on this version feel a little snug, but that could be due to the fact that this fabric feels a little stiffer than the black floral. I didn't prewash the fabric, but I noticed after playing with swatches of it that it does soften considerably after having been wet. If that doesn't help, I'll likely add a little bit to the upper sleeve in future shirts, as it is the bicep that feels a little snug.

Again, this pattern does not disappoint. I promised my sister in law that I'd make her some shirts too, so hopefully you won't get tired of seeing different versions of my Granville shirts!

Free yarn!

In November, 2013, this gorgeous little puppy joined our family. Her name is Stella, and she's a purebred Samoyed. I'll spare you all of the details of how and why she came to join our family, because frankly, this is a craft blog, not a dog-lover's blog...

Of course, if you're interested, just say so and I can go on about her for hours!

Why am I posting about dogs in my craft blog? Partly because she's my constant companion, and I knit a little bit of her into everything I make now, but mostly because she's a big, wooly, 62 pound SHEEP.

Some people I talk to think this is really horribly disgusting, but you can spin dog hair into yarn and knit with it. I've heard of people doing so to memorialize their pets after they pass away... so long as the dog has an undercoat, you can spin it and knit or weave it.

Stella is fully grown now, and I've been saving her shed undercoat ever since she started blowing her coat last summer. Needless to say, I have a lot of fur to spin. Dog hair often is used blended with sheep's wool, because it is a very warm fiber, and blending it with sheep's wool makes a cooler garment. Another benefit of dog hair is that it is water resistant, so it will keep you dry. It makes excellent hats and mittens.

Samoyed fur, in particular, has what we knitters call a "halo" when it has been knitted up. It behaves much like angora or cashmere, with a soft fluffy halo where the wispy ends of the fibers stick out of the knitted fabric.

A friend of mine sent me a couple of spindles to try out, and I discovered that dog hair is pretty easy to spin. I preferred the top whorl drop spindle that she gave me, and after about 45 minutes, had enough yarn that I could legitimately say I'd spun yarn!

It wasn't very much yarn, as you can see here, and it had a real thick and thin weight to it, because let's face it, I'd never spun yarn in my life... but I was happy to know I could do it, and it did look awfully soft and squishy. I really should have blocked the finished yarn, but I was excited to try knitting with it, so I skipped that crucial step, because it was just an experiment and I wasn't actually going to make anything with it.

Would you believe that even though I hadn't blocked the yarn (this step is important because it sets the twist) it only took me 20 minutes to knit up this little swatch? Look at how FUZZY it is! It is really soft, and not the least bit itchy. Did I mention that it is soft?

The only thing I didn't like about knitting with my hand spun Stella yarn is that sometimes, in spots where I had put a lot of twist into the yarn, it tended to loop back on itself... but like I said, I opted not to block the yarn, which sets the twist. Not important if you're just playing with the yarn, but if I had to knit an entire garment like this, it would drive me crazy.

I am pretty happy with my samoyed yarn. It's soft, warm, and unique. I don't particularly care if some people think it is weird or disgusting. Frankly, my dog is cleaner than the average sheep. I washed up the bags of undercoat using dish soap to get it totally squeaky clean, then let it dry for what felt like forever. Next I have to card it and sit down and do some spinning... but probably not for a while yet. There are other projects calling my name, specifically my Oakridge blouses...

Granville Shirt

©Aspiring Threads

Well, I did it. I sewed my Sewaholic Granville shirt! It was a challenging pattern for me, even though I've sewn some pretty fancy dresses. Why? Because I've never sewn a collar stand before, or tower plackets.

As I mentioned in a previous post, Sewaholic patterns are drafted for a pear shaped figure. I decided to just stick to the size 12 measurements, because I didn't think the hips would be all that far off.

As you can see from this photograph, it appears I was wrong. There are flappy sticky-outy bits at my hips! When I first tried the shirt on, before it was finished, I thought it would be okay, but once I had buttons on it, I decided that the extra fabric at the hips would bother me, so I took it out.

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This is so much better. There's still a little bit of fullness at the hips, but I didn't want it to fit tight around the hips. I actually like it this way.

My FBA was perfect on the first try, which is a relief. I've had more than a couple of projects that needed repeated attempts on the FBA, so it made me really happy that it worked out as well as it did. There's absolutely NO pulling or drag lines at the bust, which you can't really see because of the pattern on the fabric, so you'll you'll just have to take my word for it.

I was a little worried about the length, because the patterns are drafted for a 5'4" woman, and I'm closer to 5'8", but everything is exactly the right length. In fact, I could have shortened the sleeves by 1/2", but I'm happy with the way they fit.

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I did have a little bit of trouble with my topstitching at first, because I didn't grade my collar points quite enough. I had uneven weirdness on the points, and that's always something that bothers me in a handmade garment. If you're going to go through all of the trouble to sew for yourself, take the time to do it right. I'm by no means a professional seamstress, but that doesn't mean I shouldn't try to make my garments look like I know what I'm doing.

As I mentioned, this was the first time I'd ever sewn a collar stand, and I think it turned out quite well. My buttonholes are placed perfectly, and my topstitching is even.

I'm really looking forward to my next Granville, which I'll be cutting out today. I've already modified the pattern to fit my hips properly, but other than that, this pattern didn't require any other modifications besides my FBA.

Here are a few helpful tips if you're interested in making your own Granville...

• The instructions are quite clear, but there are a few things that did need thorough reading to understand.
• The tower placket tutorial on the Sewaholic blog was incredibly useful, and I highly recommend that you read it at least twice before you start your plackets.
• I didn't realize it, but the Sewaholic blog has several posts on the collar as well, which I missed. I'll go over them again before I tackle my next Granville.
• Speaking of plackets, take your time! A glue stick is extremely handy, as it saves you some pinning.
• If you're doing an FBA, the CSC tutorial works perfectly!
• Don't skimp on your fabric when you buy it. I only had about .2 meters remaining after I cut mine, and if you're doing an FBA, you might need extra. It can't hurt to buy extra, in case you make a mistake or decide to add pockets (I didn't put pockets on my shirt).
• Most of the markings on this pattern are done using notches. In fact, the only places I needed to use other marking methods were the bust darts and sleeve plackets. I marked my buttonholes after construction using tailor's chalk.
• Accurate measuring is essential for this pattern. You can't just eyeball it when you're pressing a seam, or you might mess up the alignment of other pieces. A seam gauge is your friend!

I'm off to cut out my next Granville... this time in another large floral, but white and purple instead.

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Recent knits

More sharing! Here are some things I've knit in the past several months...

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I joined over 18,000 other Ravellers in knitting Cookie A's Monkey Socks. I called them my Lemming Socks, because well, 18,000+ other people have knit them, so I must be a lemming.

I made these on our honeymoon. Or rather, I made one of these on our honeymoon. Despite being on an airplane for hours and hours, I didn't actually get a lot of knitting done... the second sock was knit here at home.

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I joined a Ravelry knitalong inspired by the TV adaptation of Diana Gabaldon's Outlander series. The pattern was a challenging knit, and sadly I don't find the finished shawl to be very wearable, but it did turn out beautifully. The shawl is just a little bit too small for me to actually wear, unfortunately. Here's the link to my project page.

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This shawl was a fun, easy, mindless, enjoyable stashbuster. I had a bunch of bulky weight superwash in my stash, but I couldn't remember what I bought it for, so it sat in my bin, neglected.

The yarn was charcoal grey, which is very versatile, but doesn't particularly excite me, so after knitting the shawl, I overdyed it with Jacquard acid dye that I had in my stash. I don't do a lot of dyeing, but it is a nice option to have when you're just not crazy about the colour of your yarn.

I wear this shawl frequently. Sometimes just by itself, but more frequently as an extra layer over a hoodie or a light sweater when I'm not sure what the weather is going to be like. Link here.

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These are my go-to mitts. The pattern is Eunny Jang's Endpaper Mitts, but with charts by a Ravelry member named napkinpoem.

I love these charts, and the colours I picked are so warm and earthy. I don't like gloves, because I can't use my touchscreen and my fingers get cold in spite of being covered, so fingerless mitts are the ideal option for me. My fingers are available for using my phone or picking up after the wooly monster (aka the dog), but my hands are warm. If my fingers get chilly, I can just tuck them inside the palm of the mitt in a loose fist until they're warm again.

I want to make another pair of these, but in different colours. I might make my own chart, but I'm undecided. I like the original charts, and I don't want to make an identical pair to these. Decisions, decisions... I have a while before I need to make a decision though, since mitt weather is coming to a close. Again, link to the project page... here you go!

Full bust adjustment on the Granville blouse

I lost a few days last week to some unforseen circumstances, but I'm back to sewing today.

As I mentioned previously, I'm working on my first Sewaholic Granville blouse. Sewaholic patterns are drafted for a pear-shaped figure, which translates into small bust, small waist, and larger hips. I, however, am more hourglass shaped, with a large bust, smallish waist, and hips that match my bust.

For the sake of transparency, here are the measurements I took today...
High bust: 36"
Full bust: 40"
Under bust: 32"
Waist: 34"
Hip: 42"

The measurements for Sewaholic patterns don't match up to my measurements, unfortunately. If I were to sew the size closest to my measurements without any adjustments, I'd end up with a shirt that fit like a tent everywhere but at the full bust. I've talked before about how, when you're bigger than a B cup (not necessarily your bra size - like with ready to wear sizing, sewing pattern cup sizing follows different rules), you can't just go by your full bust measurement and have a garment that fits. You end up with extra width across the upper chest, which makes for weird armhole bagginess, and a big waist and hips.

This is why we do full bust adjustments.

Tasia at Sewaholic has posted several great tutorials on the blog, discussing how to make her patterns work for other types of figures. Just because you're not hourglass shaped, doesn't mean you can't fit Sewaholic patterns to your figure. You just need to know how to adjust them! This post specifically addresses the basics for many of her patterns, telling you just what you need to keep in mind if you're sewing for other figure types.

In my case, with the Granville, I'm sewing it based on my high bust measurement, waist, and hip. This would make it too small at the full bust, but I'll adjust for that with an FBA.

This post by Tasia was very helpful for me to understand the sizing of Sewaholic patterns. The pattern is drafted in such a way that the full bust is 2" larger than the high bust. Therefore, if my high bust measurement is 36", I should sew the size for a 38" bust. Looking at the pattern envelope, that puts me in a size 12/14 as I'm in between. I'll go for the size 12, because I'm only off by 1/2". My waist measurement puts me in a size 14/16, as again, I'm in between sizes. I'm right in the middle, so I could grade between sizes, but if you look at the pattern envelope, the size 14 has a finished measurement of 39" at the waist and the size 16 has a measurement of 41" at the waist. Because I don't want my blouse to be baggy at the waist, I'll sew the size 14 waist. As for my hips, my measurement puts me in a size 10. Why is this size so much smaller when my measurements are reasonably proportionate according to most sewing patterns? Because as I mentioned, these patterns are drafted for a pear shaped figure. I could grade down to a size 10, but to make things easier, I'll use the size 12 for my hips.

To make this more readable and easier to follow, these are the sizes I'm using...
Bust: size 12
Waist: size 14
Hip: size 12

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How do you cut these sizes? Easy. You simply grade between the two sizes to make for the larger waist measurement. A French Curve is very useful for this purpose, as it gives you a nice, smooth curve. Grading can also be done freehand, but I prefer to use the grading ruler.

The next step is the FBA, which many people (including myself) have a love/hate relationship with. In this case, I'm in luck, because the Curvy Sewing Collective has a tutorial on how to do an FBA on this exact pattern! The CSC is geared more toward plus-sized women, but they have a lot of great information on the dreaded FBA, so it's a resource I use often.

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 As I mentioned, I needed to add 2" to my bust. Since a pattern piece is typically 1/2 of the front (except in some circumstances, like my wedding dress, where it is the full front), you divide your increase by half to get the full amount to adjust. I like to use my cutting mat for this purpose, as it has a 1" grid, so it makes these adjustments quite easy.

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 It is easiest to use pattern weights, which I need. Instead, as you can see above, I used various small, heavy objects to keep my pattern in place while I slipped bits of paper into the spaces. In this picture, you can see my completed FBA. I've trued my dart, and added the necessary length to the centre front section, so that it matches up with the side, where it got longer thanks to the adjustment.

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Here's my bodice front, complete with FBA, with the dart graded into the original bottom front that I cut off in the beginning of the FBA, per the CSC tutorial. This eliminates the need for waist darts, which are not a design element of this shirt. I've never used this method before, which makes me a little nervous, but I really didn't want to add darts to the waist. This shirt is fitted, but not body-hugging, so I think it will work just fine. Because of this grading, I didn't need to grade separately for my waist measurement, though I did grade the back pieces.

The other thing to keep in mind is that if you have a pattern with a separate button band (like this one), you'll have to add to the band as well, if you do an FBA. Remember in the second to last photograph, there was a section of the front that needed to be moved down? That space needs to be added to the button band as well! It will also change your button placement, so you need to keep that in mind when transferring markings to your fabric.

Next step... cutting my fabric!

Wibbly Wobbly Timey Wimey mitts

Daughter is a Doctor Who fan. Her favourite doctor is the 12th doctor, and I can't blame her. He's a pretty awesome chap. Funny and good looking to boot. For Christmas/Yule, she asked for mitts, so I decided to surprise her. She didn't know what I was making, but she did say she wanted mitts without fingers.

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Excellent. That makes it easy! I knew exactly what pattern I'd use... but there were no Doctor Who Endpaper mitt charts available. What's a knitter to do?

Obviously, the first step is to get appropriate yarn... in this case, Knit Picks Palette in White and Celestial were perfect colours, since she's obsessed with the Tardis and loves the colour blue.

I tried my hand at designing my own charts, but thought I'd see if there were any charts available that I could modify to fit the bill, and came across a couple of different ones thanks to Ravelry.

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The charts were free, which is a big bonus. Thank you to Amy Schilling for your awesome free charts!

I picked a few motifs from the charts. One mitt has a Tardis, a weeping angel, and bowties on it (because bowties are awesome). The other mitt has a Dalek, a sonic screwdriver, and a gas mask (the lost child creeps me out, but daughter thinks they're awesome).

The pattern, as I mentioned previously, is the Endpaper mitts pattern, which I've now knit three times, and will likely make again.

I did have to modify the charts somewhat, to get everything to fit. Mostly on the Dalek mitt, because the Dalek was too tall and too wide to fit otherwise. So was the sonic screwdriver. The end result was a very happy girl with very cool mitts that are warm, reversible, and the envy of her friends. I'd say that they were a big success!

Here's my Ravelry project page, if you want to see more pictures.