Basics

Thank you for your replies to my previous post! 

And there were some questions earlier about the corset and lingerie. About the free corset pattern: I downloaded mine using this link, from Emerald Erin's blog
which works and doesn't require connecting through Facebook. And about supplies for corsets and lingerie: I live in the Netherlands, so if you are somewhere on another continent, the shops I go to won't be very useful to you. In fact, the same materials may even go by different names where you are. As far as I know, powernet is always sold under that name or as powermesh but non-stretch lingerie materials are always a bit of a mystery. Dutch shops tend to call the light-weight variety you use to line bra cups "tule" but I don't think anyone else does... 
If you are trying to sew an item like a lingerie corset/merry widow or some other piece of shapewear, I would recommend finding a specialized (web)shop and explaining what you need. They should be able to help you make a selection from what they sell.

This week, I have just been making some simple things. The sort of basic tops you always end up needing. At least, I always do somehow. 
I didn't make any changes to my pattern yet. I'm considering moving the shoulder seam a bit towards the front next time I use my knit sloper but I'm not sure yet. I made that change on A's sloper (the climbing friend I'm trying to make some tops for) only to find out that a couple of weeks more of training had shifted the balance of the muscles at her shoulders again... 
The shoulder seams on my t-shirts always pulled towards the back a little, so I'm not even sure it is worse now. I think I'll just wear these for a while and then decide, based on that experience.

Anyway, this white and green knit is a bit thin and transparent but nice (and not made from polyester because there is no static cling!). Because I would always have to wear something under it anyway, I gave it a nice, deep, draped neckline. It is not a cowl neck, just a deep scoop with a drape piece sewn on to it (I'll make a little pattern how-to tomorrow). 

The other top is even simpler. Just a long sleeved t-shirt. I've been holding on to this striped fabric for two years now. It's lovely and soft and it cost a little more than I usually pay for jersey. For most of the time, I was saving it for some special project even though it was obviously perfect for a basic top like this. So, that's what I did with half of the fabric after all.

The top may look very simple but it took me more time to make than the green one. All because of the material. I tried to cut the pieces carefully, so I could match the stripes but the fabric is very soft and shifty. It is also made of two layers: The transparent, striped outer layer and a black inner layer. Both are very soft and thin and they are tacked together at about 3 cm intervals. Where the fabric is cut, the layers start to peel apart. 
I managed to sew it up, matching the stripes at the side seams and along the sleeves, only to find out that the fit was too loose and baggy (that's what you get when using such a soft, slinky fabric). I took it in but the stripe matching is less good now. 
I kept the sleeves on both tops a bit long. It felt nice and bigger arm- and shoulder muscles make sleeve pull up so it may work as a long-term plan (or not, because their fit is still pretty slim).

And I made something even more basic: A loop-scarf.
This red jersey is made from nice cotton, knitted in the round. Cotton and nothing else. As a result, it has no recovery whatsoever. I made a top from it once. After one day of wearing, I had to take in about 5 cm at each seam. And it still kept "growing" and didn't keep its shape. And washing didn't restore it either. I still had a meter and a half of the stuff and when I was picking out fabric for the tops, I found it and realized it would work as a scarf. That way, I don't have to worry about fit no matter how much it stretches out. 

So, that's what I did. I also have some off-white and some black jersey in my stash which have the same annoying qualities (all of it was very cheap. On sale for only 1 euro a meter...). I may just give those fabrics the same treatment.
  

A simple thing

All my sewing/crafting time this past week was spent on this rather modest project: It's an infinity scarf.

It took that long because I kind of made the fabric. Rather than using jersey, I knitted using the full width of my knitting machine and some of the very thin yarns in my stash. Because I bought some cones of yarn before I really knew anything about machine knitting, I've got quite a few of this super thin stuff. I made a loop scarf before, sewing three strands together which worked well. This time, I decided to try and see if it was even possible to knit properly with a single strand (I've been kind of worried those cones were actually some kind of weaving thread).
As it turns out, it is possible to knit this stuff although I would like the knitting to be a bit more dense and stable for clothing. For a scarf, this loosely knitted 'fabric' is just fine.

My decision to try the thin yarn allowed me to knit with some of the brightest colours in my yarn stash. I'm quite happy with the combination of the turquoise and red. 
Even with the speed of machine knitting (and no shaping to worry about), it took me a while finish this thing. There are 1320 rows of knitting in that scarf...

Soon, I'll be back to sewing and to experimenting with knitting cables.

Another pair of jeans

Today, we took some pictures of my new jeans.
To be honest, I didn't wait till now just for lack of photo opportunities (last week was rather good for daylight). While sewing the jeans, I had also been dreaming up new things to wear them with and I wanted to work on some of those too.

In the end, only one thing was really finished by the time E had the opportunity to take pictures: this loop-scarf thingy. Is this called an infinity scarf or is that term only for the longer and narrower variety. I was working on a top but it still needed to be hemmed and it didn't really look right with the trousers anyway.

I've told you about the design of these jeans before. It's basically a classic cut for trousers, executed in thin denim.
I'll probably wear a top over them most of the time but I wanted to show you the waistline treatment and the pockets. Those vertical welts (a feature which wouldn't work in more fitted trousers but is absolutely fine here), pleats and fly, all without a waistband.

I'm quite pleased with the fit. Level top edge, no weird folds in the legs and the position of the back pockets looks good too.

The scarf was a really easy and quick thing to make on the knitting machine. For something like this, the fake rib knit option is great. I knitted together three different kinds of really thin yarn: two blue ones and an ocher yellow. I like the tweed-like blended effect it gives and it's a nice way to use this very thin yarn. And it allows me to that yellow without looking sick.

I should still have enough of this denim left over for another pair of trousers and I've been thinking about jeans a lot while making these. So, expect to see more in the time to come.