Bonus Sweater - The Pattern

I finished my Bonus Sweater and as a bonus to my Bulgarian readers I decided to write my notes into a free design. It is only one size - small (bust 82 cm), but I hope it could be of use to someone and I believe it wouldn't be difficult to adjust it to other sizes.
I often design my own patterns, but writing them up is quite a different trade. Anyway I hope I've managed to write it understandably and I might even consider translating it in English, if I can find some free time.

BONUS SWEATER - FREE PATTERN (Bulgarian)

I'm really pleased with how the sweater turned out and I am quite tempted to repeat the pattern with other colors as well, may be make one for me. Gaby has promised me a modeled photosession soon, so stay tuned :)

BONUS SWEATER (download)

Fishmouth Hat

Another hat for Gaby, to match her new jacket. The yarn was actually harvested from a hat I knit for her two years ago - a beret, which she found to be not very suitable for our cold and snowy winters. I think this double brimmed beanie with thick cable structure should keep her warmer.

Pattern: Fishmouth Hat (personal pattern)
Yarn: Alize Lana Gold Solids, 100 g
Needle: 3.5 mm brim, 4 mm body
Time to knit: three days

You can DOWNLOAD the FREE PATTERN of this hat from HERE

T-shirt Underwear

A while ago I had this idea to try sewing underwear and even bought some picot edge elastic, but my lack of experience with knits and the fact, that I don't have a serger stopped me. Until I came upon Indigochild's free bikini style T-shirt underwear  - an excellent beginner's choice, IMHO. I was so inspired after I read her instructions, that I couldn't wait to finish my work and get to sewing bikinis.
I should mention however, that I had trouble with printing the pattern and the lack of a control box made things even more complicated, but it might have been my computer and/or printer. I managed to get it right in the end and the pattern proved worth the effort - the xs size fits Gaby perfectly.

For my test bikini I used an old Alex's top and Indigochild's instructions for the simplest version, taking advantage of the hem of the top to put an elastic in it.

The bikini came out fitting perfectly, just a bit snug at the waist so I cut the elastic for the next pair a bit longer. The pink pair of undies was made out of an old Gaby's nighty, following the same instructions.

Now I want to try fold-over underwear elastic and some of the extras.

The second free bikini pattern I tried is So-Zo's. The pattern is made very professionally with a test box and printing and preparing it was super easy. However when it came to making the pattern everything went wrong. First - because the T-shirt I chose was long but narrow, I decided to try cutting the pieces not along but across the grain - mistake. I bought 3 mm underwear elastic and finished the leg openings with it, but I don't like it as the picot edge elastic, my stitching is very uneven and very amateur looking. The panties came too deep and too cut-out, sort of 80es style, but it might be just my wrong cutting, so I'll give the pattern a second chance.

In conclusion - making undies is fun and not mission impossible without a serger.  But, as much as I love recycling, the cute and little worn T-shirts I have are from the children and to my surprise they turned too small for a pair of panties and the big old T-shirts of my husband are too worn out and in dull (male) colors. So, having established a pattern, that works well I'll buy some good quality underwear fabric and work with it. But there's going to be some more panty making here soon, that's for sure!

Camellia Sweater

Finally, after a week of cold and rain, the sun is out again and I am able to show you my newest most favorite sweater - Camellia. Based on Kim Hargreave's hat pattern, it is a lightweight, breezy lace cotton blouse with waist shaping, round neckline and set-in three-quarter sleeves.

Pattern: Camellia Sweater, self-modified version
Yarn: YarnArt Summer, 300 g
Needle: 2.5 mm rib, 3 mm body
FREE DOWNLOADABLE  DESCRIPTION OF MY SWEATER

DOWNLOAD FREE DESCRIPTION OF SWEATER

Blue Cotton Cardigan

Yesterday and this morning we had a day and a half of spring-like weather and I hurried to take advantage and photo shoot Gaby's blue cotton cardigan. Only back home I realized that the settings of the camera were wrong for the color and the atmospheric conditions and the cardigan looks overexposed. The color is somewhat true only on the two partial photos (neckline and sleeve).

Pattern: Basic Cotton Cardigan by Pierrot
Yarn: Madame Tricote Camilla 100% mercerized cotton
Needle: 3 mm

I changed a lot of things from the original pattern and, as complacently as that may sound, I am really, really pleased with how this cardigan turned out. And the fit is just perfect (at least for now, she'll probably outgrow it in a year or two :). My detailed description of the modifications is here.

The true color pictures (above and bellow):

Red Borika

Pattern: Borika Gloves (personal pattern)
Yarn: YarnArt Pure Merino, 100% wool, 50 g, 140 m
Needle: DPNs 3.5 mm (US 4)

This is the second pair of Borika Gloves I've knitted, incorporating some minor modifications (improvements) to the original pattern I made for me in green. The yarn is the same pure merino I used for the first Borika, but white and hand dyed in red. Alas, I'm unable to shoot reds with my camera, I really don't know why, but the colors always turn out very different from the real thing. The brim of the gloves is knitted with a small amount of the yarn I dyed with a mixture of lighter and darker red, in an imitation of dye-dipping. The transition is much more subtle and natural in real life colors.

This pattern is free and downloadable in English from here:

BORIKA GLOVES - FREE PATTERN