If you’re me, you come away with a sewing project.

The only Costume Proper in the store that particularly interested me was only available in Small, and that ain’t me. So I went back to the car…but the gears started turning. There had been a green velvet cloak that I might have bought to wear over the unavailable costume, and maybe it was worth buying… I can’t reconstruct how I got there, but on the strength of that cloak and the fact that I owned suede ankle boots and a leaf pin I’d only kept because it was reminiscent of the ones the hobbits get in Lothlorien in the movies, I concocted a plan to be a wood elf.

I went back in and got the cloak; there were elf ears but they were the kind that’s a big production to put on and were also a sickly yellow color so I passed. That evening and the next day I accumulated brown tights, an antler headband (since I didn’t have ears), plus two yards of tan faux suede (found in clearance!), a remnant of sage green heavy slightly-stretch cotton, and a large skein of brown cotton yarn.

Tuesday night I set to sewing. I made a coordinating face mask from stash elastic and fabric (a brown leaf-patterned batik and unbleached muslin), cut out and started sewing two drawstring belt pouches, and cut the entire 190 yards of yarn into 4-yard lengths. I tied the lengths of yarn into a bundle at one end, combed them out into equal 3 sections, and braided them, tying them off at the opposite end afterward.

I also set the headband to stretch a bit since one-size-fits-all headbands tend to give me a headache.

Wednesday I started the tunic dress. Some poking around online for “simple tunic pattern” had reminded me of the scheme of 4 tall rectangles, sewn into a cylinder for the lower stretch, and with the top edges sewn to make shoulder seams. The unsewn upper part of the rectangles becomes a sharp V neck and the armholes.

The width of the fabric went around me quite comfortably so I measured and cut what seemed like a suitably generous length, and cut it in quarters the other way. My approach to making sure it worked out was to sew the seams only far enough that I knew they would work, then try it on and extend them as needed. I did the center front and back and the shoulder seams first, and decided after sewing about an inch near the bottom of the armholes that I would insert a narrow panel in each side seam. With no stretch to the fabric at all, I thought an additional couple of inches around from the waist down would help my mobility a lot.

I cut those side panels that night, but the rest of the sewing happened Friday, when I was off work.

When I tried the tunic on after assembly I thought, well, it’s really bulky and unflattering but it will do. After that I sewed all the seam allowances flat and hemmed the armholes and bottom (I’d done the neck already), and threw it in the wash.

Then I turned my attention to the drawstring pouches. I finished them as planned and hung them from my braided “rope belt” by their drawstrings – to realize that would have them banging into my thighs every time I took a step. Not enjoyable. Also, they would be much more out of reach. So I cut two strips of the fabric and folded them in thirds, then made a loop out of them to sew to the pouches for hanging. That worked well. I had to thread them onto the belt before putting it on but that wasn’t as awkward as I expected.

Once those pouches were done, I was done. And rather amazed I’d made it in time for our big Friday night Halloween event!

When the tunic dress came out of the dryer I was pleasantly surprised at how well it draped, given that it has less shaping than a paper bag and no stretch to the fabric at all. Stitching down the seam allowances and washing it had somehow made it much less bulky. I did wish that I’d turned more fabric under at the shoulder end of the neck opening, but I’d already done an inch there tapering to the half-inch seam allowance at the center front, and I don’t know if non-stretchy fabric could do much bigger of a taper easily.

I accessorized with green and metallic eyeshadow and a tiger eye pendant, and the hubs and I went to a park by the river to take photos in the late afternoon.

That night I added a tree-patterned shawl secured with my leaf pin, and of course my face mask. I actually liked the face mask as a costume component because it kind of looked like I was going into battle. I had my phone in one belt pouch, and my keys and a pair of gloves in the other.

Suitably geared up for the Friday night festivities! No one had any idea who I was. In reality, or in costume. Such is life.

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I realized that my current dress pants fit great right out of the wash, but as the fabric relaxed (mine all have a little lycra in them) they would sag down on my hips, ending up too low – they didn’t look or feel good and they became too long. I envisioned pants where the legs were made of the gently stretchy fabric but the waist was made from something with no stretch at all, and realized I could mimic that by stabilizing the waist with something non-stretchy.

So here is the technique! I did my first round of waist stabilization back in February, so I can attest it does work. It shows from the outside, but isn’t obvious, especially if you wear your shirts untucked as I do.

Acquire some narrow grosgrain ribbon, or another non-stretchy material.

1. Pin the ribbon to the inside of the waistband, just far enough from the top edge that stitching through its center will be below the top of any belt loops the pants have. You will have to pin from the inside of the waist but sew from the outside of the waist, so have the points of your pins sticking out on the outside of the waist or buried between the layers of the waistband.

2. Looking at the outside of the waistband, sew a straight line down the approximate center of the ribbon. It is more important to have it straight relative to the edge of the waistband than relative to the ribbon. When you get to a belt loop, sew a bit underneath it and then backstitch. Lift your presser foot, pull the fabric out a little (so there is a small loop of thread) and start stitching again past the belt loop, starting with a backstitch to get as close as you can to the belt loop (underneath if possible).

3. Trim the ends of your thread and the loops that bypass each belt loop. Complete!

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If you look at hem stitching with the end of the pants leg downward, it looks like the drawing above: a series of horizontal dashes with little slanted teardrops extending down in between the dashes. The stitching will pull out to the right. If you can easily see what you’re doing, you can pick away at the loose end of the thread – the left-hand end of where the blindstitch overlaps itself – until the loose end is attached directly to a dash, and pull from there.

If you can’t easily see what you are doing, as was the case with me this weekend (busy fabric, probably inadequate light), you can still pull out commercial hem stitch. There are four steps, shown in the diagram: first, cut the thread toward the left end of a dash. Second, pull the dash’s thread toward the right. It will probably get hung up a little (if not, keep pulling!). Third, pick at the teardrop to the left of your cut in order to free the dash thread. Fourth, pull the dash thread to remove the stitching as far as it will go!

When you can’t start at the very end of the stitching you’ll need multiple rounds of pulling to remove all the stitching, but it’s still very quick – especially compared to a seam ripper!

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None of the options I found online were what I was looking for, so I designed my own. It’s made in three rows and then the ends are sewn together. I did it with some boring Lily Sugar ‘n’ Cream (I think the color is called “natural”) held together with variegated embroidery floss for a little color pop.

Here’s the pattern for my headband; modifications and additional information follow.

Chain Link Headband!

Worsted weight cotton yarn, I/9 (5.5mm) hook.

Chain 67.
1. Starting in the second chain from the hook, alternate 2 sc decreases and 2 sc increases across.
2. Chain 2 (turning chain + 1). Skip first stitch and then alternate 2 sc and 4 chains over 4 skipped stitches – your sc are made into the middle 2 sc of each pair of increases from row 1. You will end with a chain 4 that includes the turning chain for the next row and is over only 3 skipped stitches.
3. Alternate 2 sc increases and 2 sc decreases across, starting in the second chain from the hook. Make your stitches into the chains as opposed to around the chains so they shape the way they are intended to.
Your finished flat piece should have a closed ring on the end with the starting slip knot, and two “fingers” on the opposite end. Sew those fingers to the starting end to close that “chain link” – it will be a bit wider than the ones mid-row but not very noticeable. Finish off all yarn/floss ends.

Or abbreviated:
Ch 67.
1. *Dec 2, inc 2* across (66).
2. Ch 2 (includes turning ch). Sk first st; *sc 2, sk 4 sts and ch 4* across. Will end with only 3 sk sts but still 4 chs (includes turning ch for next row) (22 sc, 44 ch + 2 turning ch).
3. *Inc 2, dec 2* across, stitching into ch instead of around ch (66).
Sew ends together and FO.

Fitting!

Headbands are very personal and crochet gauge is also very personal, so this is unlikely to work for you as written. Or perhaps you want to make it with a different weight of yarn. How should you adjust?

To determine your gauge:
Chain 13. Starting in second chain from hook, *sc dec, sc dec, sc inc, sc inc* twice.
It should make a gentle S shape. With your ruler against the two bumps of the S (so you are measuring straight along the overall direction of the work), measure from the first increase stitch to the last decrease stitch. If you follow the pattern as written, multiply that by 11 to get your finished size.

To determine your desired finished size:
Measure your head where the headband will lie and subtract 1-2 inches. I subtracted 1″ and the headband fits, but I could have gone a decent bit tighter. In fact at first I worried it was too loose to be used, but I’ve tried it in some workouts and it’s stable enough to forget it’s there. I do, however, have a large head, so 1″ is proportionally not so much; for a child’s head a 1″ subtraction might be just right. This is quite a stretchy pattern so you’re safe to go a bit smaller than you would normally.

To adjust the pattern:
Is there a multiple of your gauge measurement that is in your good finished size range? If so, that same multiple of 6, plus 1, is your starting chain length. For instance, if you were working larger than I did and had a gauge of 2 1/4″, your finished size for the pattern as written would be 24 3/4″ – probably way too big. If your head measurement is 22″, so you want a 20″-21″ headband, use a starting chain of 55: since 9 * 2 1/4″ = 20 1/4″, compute 9*6 + 1 = 55.

Adding or subtracting multiples of 6 chains ought to be possible given how much leeway you have for size; if it seems impossible go up or down a hook size and recalculate your gauge. That keeps you from having to alter the pattern itself. At the end, however, I’ll give adjustments for any multiple of 2 in case you really want them.

Using embroidery floss!

If you add embroidery floss like I did you’ll be starting a new length of it every row. There is enough floss in a skein to do both the starting chain and row 2, but there is not enough to do both row 1 or 3 and anything else. So: 3 skeins of embroidery floss. Hold skein 1 together with the yarn for the starting chain. Switch to skein 2 (cutting skein 1) for row 1. Switch back to skein 1 for row 2, and then start skein 3 for row 3. I quite liked the effect.

More modifications!

If you alter by a non-multiple-of-6 number of chains, the ends will no longer match up pattern-wise, but it can be done. You do have to have a starting chain that is (even number) + 1. Take that even number and divide by 6. What is the remainder?

0: Follow pattern as written.

2: Start row 1 with two increases; you will also end with two increases. Row 2 will begin as written and end with chain 2, skip 1 instead of 4, 3. Row 3 will begin and end with two decreases.

4: Start row 2 as written but end with 2 decreases. Row 2 will start with chain 4, skip 3 instead of 2, 1 and end as written. Row 3 will begin and end with two increases.

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My first thought was to use up some of my excess stash by patchworking a bunch of fabric together confetti-style and using it to sew a robe. Such a robe would take a long time to make, though, and need to be double-sided or else have a million exposed raw edges. Before I ever got started on that project we went to the thrift store. After picking up a crayon-colored dinosaur bedsheet I found a beautiful fabric shower curtain.

It had a little fade on the edge of the teal band but otherwise no damage or discoloration. And let’s get a closeup on those branches.

So lovely! I used it for the same pattern I would have used with the pieced robe idea, previously used for my beloved bird jacket. The back of that jacket is in two halves, perhaps because the kimono-style sleeves make it hard to fit the full thing on a standard fabric width, but I joined them into a single piece (making it slightly wider in the process – I box-pleated the extra in at the neck). One advantage to using a shower curtain is that you’d rarely find a standard fabric with a design this large.

I was only able to extend the pattern pieces by about an inch and a half, but I added the teal strip onto the bottom and finished a good six inches longer than the pattern. Plenty long for me. The leftover fabric from the opposite side of the curtain made the front edge band, and leftover teal became belt loops and a hanging loop at the top back. I bought the belt cord new.

Professional bedhead. Do not attempt.

Every once in a while you start a project with an idea of how good it could be, and the project exceeds your expectations. I’m thrilled with this robe!

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Given the trueness of my purple shirt in that photo I have to imagine I really was that red-faced.

Simple Snow Hat Pattern

Worked with 3 strands of worsted-weight yarn held together and a K hook.

You may find my crochet pattern abbreviations and conventions useful.

1. Fsc 46.
2. Sc 14, sc BLO 18, sc 14.
3-4. Sc around (46).
5. 2sc, sc 4, 2sc, sc 35, 2sc, sc 4 (49).
6. Sc 7, 2sc, sc 11, 2sc, sc 11, 2sc, sc 11, 2sc, sc 5 (53).
7. Sc 2, 2sc, sc 7, 2sc, sc 36, 2sc, sc 5 (56).
8-10. Sc around (56).
11. Sc 17, dec, sc 17, dec, sc 16, dec (53).
12. Sc 5, dec, sc 12, dec, sc 11, dec, sc 11, dec, sc 6 (49).
13. *Sc 5, dec* around (42).
14. *Sc 2, dec, sc 2* around (35).
15. *Sc 3, dec* around (28).
16. *Sc, dec, sc* around (21).
17. *Sc, dec* around (14).
18. Dec around (7).

I might make this again with a change: make rounds 11-13 into four decrease rounds, two of 3 dec and two of 4 dec, and maybe also add another round to the “sc around” block that’s currently 8-10. It should make it a little deeper and less boxy.

I don’t think I recorded the brim, but it was to go across 3 times, starting in the unused front loops of hat round 2. I increased a few times in the middle so the brim would stick out and decreased on each end so it gets slightly narrower.

It’s not as warm as my beehive hat (the second one in that link), but with the mild winter we’ve had it’s seen a lot of use.

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The first one I made may seem familiar – or not, since it was five and a half years ago that I blogged a photo of some lovely embroidered fabric, matching thread, and tiny matching buttons, with the announced intention of making myself a summer hat with them (and that was more than two years after I posted that photo on Facebook, before I ever had this blog!). I did give an update on the project, but that was still four and a half years ago. In June I came back to it, made another muslin, and realized the probability of getting something worth the very large amount of effort remaining was exceedingly low. I have a wide-brimmed straw hat, and while it’s a bit of a sail when the wind picks up, it’s probable that any other hat that shades me as much as I’d like would also have that problem. Anyway, without further ado:

The pattern was for a swimsuit cover-up (Simplicity 4192); I changed the front tie to a hidden hook and eye. It’s not terribly “me”, to be honest, and after the photo it went into a bag for donation, but no matter.

The second one, this and the first both sewn in July, has given me a good bit of use: a shrug out of very lightweight navy fabric I picked up at the Sew-op. There was a ton of that fabric and I had first made a shrug of the simplest type: essentially a tube with a lengthwise slit down the middle for your shoulders. That was pretty sloppy-looking on, though; I think that sort of shrug is better made of stretchy fabric so it can be smaller around. This second one was assembled from multiple pieces of fabric and has much more shape.

Third – I was cooking! – was also made from Sew-op fabric. Unfortunately the fabric had many flaws, tiny pinholes to big tears, and I didn’t notice all of them before cutting out, but I adore it and its funny little birds. Believe it or not, this jacket was out of the same pattern as the navy shrug (Butterick 5529). I made it in August.

I have yet a third Sew-op fabric to make into a jacket, from a third pattern, but the jacket’s structure and the limited amount of fabric will require me making a muslin to adjust the pattern ahead of time. That would merit a separate post even if I had already made it. Later!

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I wore it to the annual Movie Night anniversary celebration this week. One person described it as like yarn-bombing a person. Three others tried it on at the end of the night and described it as both comfortable and comforting. I would call it a big success – especially since I avoided buying any materials (there are three different white yarns in it) and it didn’t take nearly as long as I expected. It did come out bigger than I calculated or intended, but not as big as I feared before trying it on. And if I ever need a clown costume, I just have to find the right accessories!

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The cable pattern is just beautiful. It looked questionable at various points along the way but always worked itself out in subsequent rows. Following my notes from last time, I used a J hook (6mm) and made the XL size with the S/M ribbing width. I might have been able to make the L, because under its considerable weight it wanted to slouch off my shoulders. I made two fixes to that.

One was to make the ends meet at 90 degrees instead of head on, by placing the buttons parallel to the base of the ribbing instead of parallel to the front edge. That wasn’t enough, so I also slip-stitched from rib to rib on the inside, near the base of the ribbing, to reduce the stretch. That worked perfectly and also made the ribbing stand like an evil Disney queen’s collar, which was a pleasant side effect.

My buttons were marked 1″ and are chunky. I may need to reinforce the buttonholes to keep them from wanting to slip out, but they work pretty well. I like that they look like fancy dice.

Red and purple are hard to photograph…

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I love to make hats bottom-up. You can judge size more easily, and the work gets quicker as you go along. The hat pictured below, shown both ways out, was made with two strands held together and probably a K/6.5mm hook.

I started with hdc worked in rows, each stitch made into the back loop of the previous row’s stitch (the one that makes hdc’s faux teardrop on the back). That gives a sort of ribbing. After slip-stitching that together I used fpdc, starting with the round that was on the sides of the ring of ribbing. That gives the interior the horizontal ribbing you can see in the second picture above. It’s possible it would be warmer worn that direction since the fpdc posts would be compressed together more, but I prefer the look of the post “cables.”

The first image below is of a scarf I made using simplified star stitch, which combined with the yarn choice gives it a cobblestone-y look. I used similar yarns as for the hat, but an N/9mm hook.

Finally we have a piece that was supposed to be for me despite its wool content. I made a Mobius strip using knotted stitch, out of four skeins of variegated, almost metallic yarn. I wanted it to be an upper-torso wrap that would wind over each shoulder and under each arm, crossing in front and passing smoothly across my back in two horizontal lines, but there were two problems: A) that really needed to have a full turn inserted when closing the strip into a loop, not a Mobius half-turn, and B) it was way too big around. It hung like a double bandolier. Since I can’t wear it as a scarf, hanging around my neck, it’s getting donated. Too bad because it’s far lovelier in person than in the photo – it was impressive how the skeins, each a different colorway, played so well together. Someone who can wear wool will have to love it instead.

PS As of today everything in the site is listed in the pattern and tutorial directory!

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