Welcome to my sewing and crafting update for June! I am pleased to start this post off strong reporting that another summer sewing project is in the books. And I got to check off another one of my planned “Make 9” pieces, too! This was a really quick skirt project, in spite of a few hiccups along the way, mainly because I had cut out the pieces for this pattern ages ago. McCall’s 5612 skirt pattern is a pretty basic A-line skirt with a waistband and back zip. Any issues I had with the pattern were all self-inflicted. First off, I believed the waistband was going to be too short after pinning up the skirt seams and quickly trying it on before stitching. So I cut a new waistband that was longer, and I also left off the small gathers at the waist that the pattern called for. Then when I tried it all on after installing the zip and putting on the waistband, it didn’t fit properly at all. I ended up going back and unpicking a few inches of the waistband from either side of the back zip, then put in a dart on each side of the back. My darts weren’t long enough the first time, so I then had to go back and sew them again. Then I sewed up the waistband again, cutting off a lot of that extra length I had added, and finally everything fit properly!
I also chose to add pockets, which were not originally included in the pattern, and I set them in a little higher than I probably should have. They were an afterthought I had as I was sewing up the first side seam, so I just stuck them in where I had stopped stitching when the idea came to me…so I tucked the pocket template I made in with the pattern in case next time I use this pattern again, I will have it and can plan ahead better. Adding the ruffle at the bottom was a little fiddly just because I always struggle with evenly gathering things, but I do love how it looks now that it is finished! This will be an easy skirt to wear all summer, especially since I have several white/off-white tops I can throw on with it.
In terms of other crafts, I haven’t finished any knitting WIPs, although I did frog the Slip Knit Socks I posted about back in February. They ended up feeling very stiff instead of being at all stretchy, and I knew I was going to run out of yarn before I finished both socks. After ripping them out and balling up the yarn again, I cast on a pair of Broken Seed Stitch Socks by Hanna Leväniemi, and they are working up so much better. I ordered an extra ball of grey yarn because I knew that one ball wasn’t going to cut it for this pattern.
Of course, I couldn’t just order one ball of yarn…so I also picked up several skeins of VikingGarn Bambino in the Olive colorway. I didn’t mean for it to, but it turns out that it matches my skirt fabric perfectly! So now I am working on a little summer tank top that I am designing on the fly! The plan is to use crocheted squares for the yoke (maybe the straps), then knit the body in plain stockinette, and perhaps add a strip of the same crocheted squares for a trim on the bottom, depending on how much yarn I have at that point. When I get it done, I will try and post my notes of what I did, although it won’t be a true pattern, per se, but more of a recipe. So here’s hoping it all works out the way I envision it, and I can share that in a month or two!
Well, that’s about all I have to share for June makes! I do have a dress cut out and ready to start sewing whenever I have the time to sew again, so hopefully next month’s On the Needles post will be a big one! Until then, happy stitching, friends!
Kiel
