clothes

Brooklyn Tweed Hudson Turtleneck

January 23, 2017 By Chie

I’m a complete novice when it comes to knitting, but I could not resist starting a project after looking at so many fun instagram photos of beautifully knitted projects (@kniting_inspiration, @brooklyntweed, @woolandthegang). I started this Brooklyn Tweed Hudson twisted rib turtleneck in the mid Summer to take to my Summer trips in Karuizawa and Atami. I finished it in December so it took five months. I have some experience knitting with circular needles (hat) but this was my first time knitting a sweater. This turtleneck is constructed by knitting the bodice and sleeves separately and then connecting them at the shoulder finishing at the neckline. Making the bodice and sleeves were pretty straightforward; however, joining them all together and at the same time decreasing the stitches was not. I just could not understand the pattern at that point and repeated the process 3 times. By the fourth attempt, I was so exhausted that I gave up on following the patterns all together. That is why the neckline is shaped in a weird asymmetrical way.
Thankfully the yarns I used were navy blue which is very close to black, so it is hard to notice the mistakes. Or at least I’m hoping so. I got the yarn in Yuzawaya Shinjuku at the end of last Winter when they were doing massive store closing sale. This yarn is a mix of wool and cashmere. It’s pretty warm when wearing with my polkadot archer button up.This knitted clutch was made by my friend. She gave me the knitted piece and asked me to just put it together myself since she knew I sewed. I added a zipper at top and lined it with printed corduroy. Also added a piece of plastic at the bottom so the clutch won’t sag when I put a lot of stuff in.
I’ve already started my second sweater project. This time I’m using a Japanese pattern from michiyo. Japanese knitting books provide graphics (figures?) for the patterns, so I’m hoping the neck shaping will go easier this time. I’m making it with pink mohair. More to come! 初めてのセーターを作りました。
型紙はBrooklyn TweedのHudson。
日本の編み図と違って、図がなく、全てが文章で書かれているのでかなり戸惑いました。
下から胴と袖を別々に編んで、肩からラグランスリーブとして繋げていくタイプ。
胴、袖2つのパーツは割と問題なく編めましたが3つを繋げて目を減らしていくところが本当にわからず、なんかネックラインの仕上がりがおかしいです😢
3回やり直してもまだわからなかったので、取りあえず編み進めて終わらせました。
濃い紺色の毛糸なので網目の間違いが分かりずらくて良かった。
8月から編み始め、12月にやっと出来上がりました。

クラッチは友達が編んでくれたものに裏地を入れて自分で仕上げしました。
太い毛糸で編むから1時間ぐらいで編み終わるって言ってプレゼントしてくれて、感動☆
Find me elsewhere:

MADE: Khaki Wrap Dress

August 19, 2016 By Chie

At the beginning of the Summer, I purged some of the clothes in my closet. That purge included ridding some clothes I hand made in the past like this dress, high-low skirt, shirt dress (Archer pattern modification) and this floral skirt (I kept the top). They were made four years ago and worn many times, so the fabric was starting to fall apart. The floral skirt was nice, but the organza insert felt too sexy for me to wear in my daily life as a mom. As sad as I was to part with my creation, it also gave me an opportunity to make new summer clothes!

Since I made this parka, I wanted to incorporate more of khaki color in my closet. I have a lot of white and black as basic neutral colors but just black and white felt boring. As I always do, I browse through Pinterest to collect pretty images of the dresses to pin down what I want to make. I pin those in my “Fashion” board.

{1 | 2 | 3 | 4 }

Here is the end result! I think it looks like the closest to #4 above. I might be able to wear it in the fall as well with a black turtle neck inside. The fabric is from Nippori Tomato, second floor knit section. It’s a medium weight jersey with a bit of velvet like feel in the right side of the fabric. It’s soft and comfortable!

The pattern was borrowed from my recent client work. I lengthened the skirt length by 5cm and added big patch pockets on both sides. I love the pockets and use them often to hold key when I am running out of the door.

最近自分用に作ったカーキ色のラップワンピースです。
クローゼットの中には入れるハンガーの数を決めていて、それにかからないものは出来るだけ人にあげたり、リサイクルショップに持って行ったり、状態が悪い場合は処分して、服だらけにならないように気を付けています。
断捨離についての本読むの好きなので笑

今年の夏も、着ていないものを随分処分しました。
その中には自分で数年前に手作りしたものもあって、別れるのが少し辛かったのですが、
やっぱり生地が駆使されて薄くなっていたり、丈が短く感じて長いこと着ていなかったりのものばかり。
なので心を鬼にしてさよならしました。

クローゼットのスペースが空いた分、新しいドレスを作りました。
カーキ色のシンプルラップ（カシュクール）ドレス。
ポケットもつけました。
出掛けにささっと鍵とか駐輪券とかを放り込んでおけるので便利です。

{worn with Dolce Vita sandals}

Find me elsewhere:

What to Do When Your Wedding Dress Color is Not Right

July 20, 2016 By Chie

A few months ago, I received a text message from a make up artist that I worked with in the past (for this shoot), asking for help. She bought a wedding dress online but the color was not the color she was expecting. The dress was made in pure white polyester satin and organza, and it did not fit well with her skin color. This strapless sweet heart neckline dress came with an organza long sleeve top which she did not like either. She wanted the color to be more of an off-white and ivory shade. So she attempted to dye the dress with coffee; however, the color did not becaus the dress fabric was synthetic.

Here is the before and after picture. I am not sure if I was able to capture the color correctly in pictures, but the one on the left is white and the one on the right is the same dress after the modification, which is off-white.
My plan was to take apart the top layers of the dress, and make new layers in off white satin, lace and chiffon using the patterns of the old wedding dress.Here is the picture of the dress after the dissection. The dress bodice with off white satin and lace layers added.
Here is the completed dress!

If your wedding dress color is not what you like, you can make the top layer based on the original dress. It is much easier and quicker than making a dress from scratch.