Some recent knitting projects

 It's been a while since I shared any knitting, so I thought I'd write a little post today to talk about a few projects that I've finished so far this year. 

The first was actually mainly knitted last year, but the finishing touches were put on hold while I worked on some gift knitting and so were only completed this year.

The pattern I used here is the Rainbow Cardi (Ravelry link - pointing this out in case you're affected by photosensitivity) by Yelena Dasher from the book Mini Skein Knits (Ravelry link). It's essentially a very simple stocking stitch cardigan, made much more special by all the colourful stripes. The pattern calls for fingering weight yarn and, as you can imagine, all of the stripes are a great use for mini skeins and leftovers. 

For my version, I used West Yorkshire Spinners Signature 4 ply in the Milk Bottle colourway as the main colour (I used about 150g), and the stripes are all leftovers from various socks and shawls. It was fun to knit as you always had the incentive of getting to add in the next colour. I was very pleased to discover that I had the perfect buttons already - by some massive fluke, my button jar has done remarkably well at providing me with the right buttons for projects when we've been in various lockdowns and in-person button shopping hasn't been possible! 

I love how this cardi turned out and it's already been worn a fair few times since I finished it in January.

Next up we have my Lesedi shrug, a pattern by Noma of Bigger Than Life Knits. The relaxed shrug style is kind of like a shawl that won't fall off your shoulders, and the fact that it uses chunky yarn means that it knits up pretty quickly and it's beautifully squishy. Wearing it kind of feels like a hug! 

The yarn I used is King Cole Chunky Tweed in the colourway Skye. It's a mainly acrylic yarn so is pretty affordable, but does also contain 25% wool for added warmth. I love the combination of the main navy colour with the rainbow tweed neps. 

I made this specifically to wear when I'm working at my desk as my office gets sun in the morning but not in the afternoon so I often need to add an extra layer as the day goes on. The Lesedi is perfect for that so it's another winner for me!

Lastly we have a project I finished just last week. The yarn (Willow & Lark Nest in the colourway Bougainvillea) for this project had been in my stash for quite some time. I originally had a cardigan pattern picked out for this yarn, but whenever I went to cast it on something was telling me that the plan wasn't quite right so I had a rethink. I decided to use the Hoxton pattern by Martin Storey/Rowan - I've just realised it's available as a free pattern on Love Crafts if you fancy giving it a try (I used a pattern booklet that I bought in a bundle from a charity shop). 

This pattern is knit in pieces and seamed, and the combination of the simple garter stitch with the single large cable on the front and back was very relaxing to knit. I think it works really well in this yarn, and I'm very glad that I decided to abandon the original cardigan idea in favour of this sweater.

The only slight problem I have with this sweater is that I've made my standard mistake of finishing it just as the weather starts warming up so I probably won't be wearing it much in the near future. Never mind - that just means I'll have it to look forward to come autumn! Now to try and get warm weather knits finished in time to wear them in the right season - wish me luck!

The Patterns Room Joan Jacket

 Hello? Is anyone still there? It's been a while since my last post hasn't it? Over the last few months I was initially busy making Christmas presents, and since then I've mainly made repeats of patterns I've already used, and they never feel like I have enough to say about them to warrant a blog post. They're all on my Instagram (I'm @nightingaleanddolittle) though if you want to check them out. Today I'm back with a new project to talk about - here's my The Patterns Room Joan Jacket.....

I'd never heard of The Patterns Room until I saw the Joan Jacket mentioned in a newsletter from The Foldline. I've been looking for a pattern a bit like this for a while (more on that later...) and I fancied trying something new, so I decided to give it a go.

The Joan Jacket is described as a Chanel style jacket with a boxy fit. It's fully lined and has the options of a collar and patch pockets, and finishes about mid-way between waist and hip. It's available as a PDF in two size ranges (10-18 (bust 33"-39.5") and 20-28 (bust 41-50.5")). I ordered the pattern and had the A0 pattern printed by The Foldline - I really like the fact that they send you an envelope specially designed for storing the pattern when you order PDF printing.

I made the collarless version of the jacket because I thought it would be good for showing off my handknit shawls (for the knitters out there, the one I'm wearing in these photos is my Minimania shawl, which I talk about in this blog post). I also used the patch pockets, because you've gotta have pockets! 

As I mentioned above, I'd been looking for a simple jacket pattern like this for a while. That's because I'd had this teal boiled wool for YEARS. It's definitely my longest stash resident. I'd got it for an absolute bargain price in a closing down sale, but it was a bolt end so I had just under two metres and every pattern I liked the look of needed considerably more fabric. Thankfully I had plenty for the Joan jacket. I've also had the lining for a couple of years - it's a black and white spotty viscose that I'm pretty sure came from Guthrie & Ghani.

I added some fun finishing touches - a bit of positivity in the form of a lovely little label from This Is For Makers, and pretty antique brass flower buttons from Textile Garden.

Sewing the jacket was an interesting experience. I like to be positive, so I'll start with the good points! The pattern seemed to be well-drafted and everything fit together correctly. It also feels pretty true to size - I made the size 18 as recommended for my measurements (my bust is actually between a 16 and an 18), and it gives the boxy fit described but without feeling oversized at all. The pattern is also comparatively simple, so if you've made a lined jacket before then I would think you should be OK with it.

However, unfortunately I don't think I'd recommend this pattern to people who aren't familiar with bagging out a lining, or who aren't confident enough to trust their instincts a bit. 

The instructions are pretty brief in places, for example when it comes to sewing the outer together they literally just say "Stitch to attach all outer pieces". There's nothing about which order to stitch them in or whether or not you need to ease the sleeve head into the armhole (I found I did need to gather it just slightly). They also never actually tell you to stitch together the lining. 

Some of the phrasing used in the instructions is also a bit awkward/just not idiomatic and means that the instructions aren't always easy to follow. 

The instructions are illustrated with photos rather than diagrams, and I never find them quite as clear personally.

The pattern pieces also don't have that many notches and there's no marking of the centre front or the buttonhole placement. 

None of these things would stop you being able to make the jacket (obviously, because I've made it!), but all of them combined make it more complicated than it needs to be. 

For me personally, sewing the jacket went relatively smoothly. I've made jackets with similar constructions before so I was familiar with the steps. The only problem I had was with sewing the buttonholes and that was because for the first time ever the buttonhole function on my sewing machine was objecting to the thickness of the fabric. I got around it by marking out the buttonholes manually and sewing them first with a straight stitch and then with a narrow zigzag. They work fine, but they won't be winning any buttonhole beauty pageants! 

Overall, if you're looking for a simple jacket and are relatively confident that you know what you're doing then the Joan jacket is a good option. I like how mine turned out, and I'm very happy that this fabric has finally fulfilled its destiny to be worn instead of sitting on a shelf. I quite like the idea of making a collared version in a lighter fabric for summer, so there may well be a second Joan jacket in my future!