18 July 2009

Me vs. Knits

I think way back in the spring, I promised that May would be my month for learning to work with knits. My friend Adriana lives near the fabric district in LA, and she has put considerable effort into enabling me with frequent care packages of yummy knits. Therefore, I didn't have to work too hard to get inspired by all of the fabrics that I have available in my knit stash. For my first knit project, I chose to self-draft a pair of pants for Miles. I loosely based the pattern on Lotta Jansdotter's simple pant from Simple Sewing for Baby. (Which, by the way, has absurdly inaccurate instructions, so please don't attempt to make these pants if you're a novice).

The pants actually went so well - I did have to take out a little excess on the sides, and redrafted the pattern for the next pair. It was inspiring to finally see for myself why people love sewing with knits. It seemed less time-consuming, and the stretch is forgiving.

And then.....I decided to self-draft a little yoga waist skirt. Things got a little ugly at this point. I'll spare you the details, but let's say it took a lot longer than it should have, and there was a considerable amount of unsewing involved. Ultimately I think I have a workable pattern now, and I'm looking forward to trying it again.

7 comments:

MUM said...

I like Miles pants they are a good fit and agood color. How are you going to hem Zoe'a skirt? I think she is going to like this skirt a lot. I have a few things I may suggest to you about gathering, if you are interested. Good job it is so nice to see a project being finished again.

Anonymous said...

Ah knits. I stupidly tried to make a shirt as a second project with a knit...lets just say it's not finished yet! Let me know any tricks you learned. --Julie

Adriana said...

I can't wait for all the yummies that are going to come live with me!

Heather said...

I love those pants, they are so cool. I am excited for you to teach me how to knit the yoga waist band, and I hoping to have need for it soon :)

Mommyof4 said...

I'm going to hit you up for a basic tutorial on those pants when I see you next! I love them! And the skirt is cute too...think I could do some pants like this for me?

Leandre said...

I would be so thrilled if you would be willing to share your pattern for the pants!

Anonymous said...

Hey B, Where did you find the skirt pattern? I'm looking for some instructions to do some flat wait-bands since they seem so much more comfortable for baby.

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