Wool

A winter project, but I am behind on posting…

Yarn: Fisherman’s wool brown

2.5 skeins = 1162.5 yards (1063.0m)

Hook: 4.5 mm

Pattern: Big Bow Cardigan from Interweave Crochet Winter 2008, size small

Buttons: coconut shells from JoAnns

There is a lot of crochet to be done for this pattern and very very repetitive, so you should be a quick crocheter to attempt it.

Crocheting through the back loops only creates a body hugging fabric, very elastic.

I did have to alter the pattern a lot with the yarn I used. Here are my notes from Ravelry:

lengthened front and back by 10 stitches.
Lengthened sleeves.
Left side: added more rows, should have made the collar too on the left.
Made smaller buttonholes.

I added length to the sleeves and bodice, and added many more rows plus additional bands of single crochet to the left and right front pieces so that they overlap in order to button them up, creating sort of a border after the buttonholes.

I also gave up on the big heavy bow and crocheted a high neck instead, simply find it more practical and less heavy.

Silk

Silk and wool keep you cool. They are all natural fibers, renewable, fast drying, moisture wicking. I enjoy sewing and wearing silk for summer, nothing compares to it, feels so airy and almost naked like. People worry about washing it, or are afraid of it thinking that it can only be dry cleaned. I prewash my fabric before cutting, so it handles great even after it is sewn together, a quick hand wash with hand soap and line dry does the trick. It is amazing how fast it dries. A great source for silk is online at the fashion fabrics club, really good deals.

Fabric: hammered silk charmeuse

Pattern: Burda 06/2009 model 123 with the 122 sleeves and no frills.

The blouse in the magazine has some great sewn beads around the collar and along the frills, but I could not get the frills to be as delicate. The pom poms are made out of fabric strips, wrapped around two round pieces of cardboard with a hole in the center, then cut in between the cardboard pieces and tied together through the center. I’m not going to write another tutorial for this, there are plenty online. Here is my favorite: http://techknitting.blogspot.com/2008/05/how-to-make-pom-poms.html Awesome blog by the way, the techknitting.

This magazine does have some other great patterns that I keep on my list of things to sew, like the 128 dress

the 102 top that I have sewn and love, that would look just as good as the 101 dress.

108 is also pretty nice as a top or a dress and I just have to match it with the right fabric.

113 is also on the list from a jersey I got a while back in Israel.

Plus, it has a shirt dress, from the cover and many great plus sizes patterns. Great Issue!

Do you sew from “old” magazines? I think Burda patterns are too classic to go out of style and use old issues all the time.