For most of January, I worked on this Bellows Sweater by Michele Wang of Brooklyn Tweed.
It hasn't turned out to be something that I reach for every day, mostly because I sort of went at the sizing blindly. I knew that I wanted something cozy and oversized but I didn't think very hard about where the oversizing should go...
It turns out, that I like ease around the bust and middle. But I have narrow shoulders and I don't like it when the shoulders slide down my arms. Had I measured a bit more carefully, or compared the pattern schematic to something I already owned, I would have gotten a more wearable result.
However, now that it's spring and I don't need to wear a down coat all of the time, I find myself reaching for it more and more on the way out the door. The stitch pattern is just beautiful and the yarn too. For more fetching versions of the sweater, check out Grainline Studio's and Fringe's.
I don't feel bitter about it. I needed a compelling knit in January and I loved making this sweater. It's definitely not the first sweater that I've cast off happily but without plans to wear it...
I've been mulling over some thoughts on knitting and autonomy. It's so exciting to hear all kinds of women makers speaking confidently about what they're making. This kind of confidence is foreign to me. I've been hand making my wardrobe for, well, decades now on and off but it's always seemed a bit unwieldy to me. As though I didn't really have control over the end result. Like everything that I attempt to make is a great leap of faith primarily. But it's not! There are truth's, no? For example, if I study a garment that I love to wear - specifically, if I measure it and sketch the shape, I'll learn some truths about it. I can use those truths to help me to choose patterns that will suit my own personal style. And I can change patterns to better suit what I like. I know that all of this sounds obvious but it's been a revelation to me.
What are your tricks for making wearable garments?
