Teal Suit Finished At Last

Okay, so in February I didn't finish any UFO's; but already in March I've finished two, if you count this suit as two pieces, the jacket and the skirt. This project got abandoned more than once since I bought the fabric a while back (you may remember it from my December 16, 2010 post "Polyester, Nein, Danke!). Despite my earlier reservations, I'm pretty happy with the way it turned out. The fabric is a synthetic suede, very out of character for me (I tend to be Ms. Natural Fibers). It wasn't particularly easy to work with, and then I lost 30 pounds after the jacket was nearly finished. I couldn't take in the side seams without taking out the in-seam pockets, so I just lapped it farther over in the front for a less baggy fit. Fortunately I hadn't cut the skirt out yet, so the size change wasn't a problem there.

I'm also proud that I didn't have to buy any new notions for the suit; the buttons, interfacing, zipper and hem tape all came out of my stash. (And I swear that I will not accumulate any more such items without having an immediate use for them! She who dies with the most fabric, zippers, hem tape, etc. stored in plastic boxes DOES NOT WIN.)

The jacket back comes to an off-center point at the bottom that is interesting to look at and flattering, too. I can probably use this outfit as an excuse to buy new shoes, since my green ones are too green and my navy ones too blue. Styling it, as they say on Project Runway, could be tricky.

My goal for April is to finish a knitted lace top and scarf. I had lots of time to work on it last week, when I traveled to northern Michigan with DD and her boyfriend. I'm using two yarns, a variegated cotton boucle that I bought from Robin Edmundson and some discolored Knit-Cro-Sheen that I dyed dark blue to coordinate. Stay tuned for details and pictures--I'm on a roll!

Polyester? Nein, Danke!

Some time back, I bought some chunky variegated teal yarn on sale from In a Yarn Basket in Bloomington. (You can read about it somewhere in the blog archives, if you really want to know the details!) Teal is one of my favorite colors, and I thought I would try designing my own sweater. I started out knitting from the bottom up in one piece. The first time it came out way too big, so I unraveled my work and started again. About a year ago I got the sweater to the point where it became obvious that there was not enough yarn to make sleeves. I decided to sew something long-sleeved to go under it, and my mom and I went to a nearby Jo-Ann Fabrics to see what we could find.

I ended up buying the embroidered polyester suede-like fabric you see in the picture above, not because I liked the fabric (I really hate polyester), but because the colors were perfect to go with the sweater. I also had to settle for polyester lining, because I was shopping at Jo-Ann's and not someplace upscale like G Street Fabrics in Maryland where I used to live. Normally I only line in rayon. My mom thinks I'm a snob about these things; you may, too, but hear me out.

We didn't have time to choose a pattern at Jo-Ann's, so I bought enough fabric (I thought) for a long-sleeved top and skirt, and then went on line and got the pattern, Vogue 8627, from voguepatterns.com. I've never been crazy about raglan sleeves, but I didn't want to put too many seams in that embroidery. The jacket had a little waist definition and a deep V neck, both flattering for my Mrs. Santa figure, I reasoned. I cut the jacket out sometime last spring and then let it sit until a couple of weeks ago.

Note on sewing polyester in winter: Don't! The static is awful! One of my fingers is numb from a static shock I got while ironing the lining. Both fabrics stick to everything and make my hair stand on end. The synthetic suede won't hold a press, either. I just tried on the jacket shell and it definitely needs something. I hate to put in shoulder pads (too '80's), but this thing has no shape at all. What do you think? Is there any way to make this project work?

Speaking of the '80's, the title of this post is a reference to a bumper sticker I used to see all the time in Germany in the early 1980's. The sticker said "Atomkraft? Nein, Danke!" which means, "Nuclear power? No, thank you!" Over the years DH and I have used "Nein, Danke!" to express our disdain for any number of bad concepts.