June 2017 in Review

Onyx and Heather Gray Mini Virginia Leggings 

Ages ago, I decided to use some of my knit fabric scraps to make some leggings for my daughter. I used the Mini Virginia Leggings pattern by Megan Nielsen, which I had received when I tested a different pattern for her. My favorite thing about the pattern is that it's only one pattern piece, so it's super quick to cut out. With my new serger, the seams were sewn in a flash. Sadly, it took a while for me to convince my daughter to try them on so I could cut the elastic to the correct length and hem them.  

For the first pair, I used the Heather Gray ponte knit leftover from my Mabel Skirt, and followed the directions exactly. The instructions call for sewing the elastic to the leggings with a zigzag stitch, and then folding it over to close it. Maybe I shouldn't have used ponte, but it seemed that the elastic stayed stretch out, and didn't spring back like I was used to. Even though I had chosen the size based on my daughter's measurements, and cut the elastic based on her feedback when she tried them on, she declared that they were too big and refused to wear them. (She likes a lot of negative ease in her leggings.) Hopefully they will fit correctly next summer. 

For the second pair, I used Onyx Laguna Jersey leftover from who knows which project. These leggings started out full-length, but when my daughter tried them on, she said they were too long, so I shortened them to capri length. Instead of sewing the elastic to the waistband, I sewed a casing for it, which seemed to work much better. Even so, my daughter turned up her nose at them and they have been languishing in her drawer. After sewing rejected two garments, I decided to hold off on making clothes for her for a while. Oh well. More time to sew things for me!  

Green Stripe Bento Bags   

For Father's Day, I needed a fabric gift bag. Two yards of bright green striped fabric were hanging out in my stash, begging to be used. I managed to cut out three rectangles, enough for two large bento bags and one medium one. I finished two of the bags in June and added the other one to my WIP pile.  

Marled Magic Mystery KAL shawl  

Oh, how I love West Knits Mystery Knitalongs! It's so much fun to get a new piece of the pattern every week, and the community on Ravelry is so vibrant. Since each clue usually comes with its own YouTube video, the "hard" parts become easy and I learn a ton. The Marled Magic Mystery KAL is the second one I participated in and is my favorite so far. The yarn used is sock yarn held double, which is the equivalent of DK yarn. I enjoyed using bigger needles because it felt so much faster, even if it still took me three months to finish. I also loved the pattern itself: the modular structure meant there were no super long rows to slog through, and the variety of stitches was super fun. Now that I've made a modular shawl, I feel prepared to make a Vertices Unite Shawl, which I've wanted to do for ages. The marled fading was delightful as well, and the end result is super snuggly.