Diamond and triangle

Time to start making Butterick 3794 in my 'proper' fabric. It's Jane Ecovero viscose challis from Atelier Brunette. Things did not get off to the best start when I gave it a (very cool) pre-wash, and it went from being 140cm wide to nearer 130cm! I managed to coax it back to around 134cm, but this still required a few adjustments to the cutting layout. Thank goodness I had bought a bit extra.

Squeezing the pattern pieces in (with migraine tablets unintentionally to hand)

Other than that hiccup, it has all gone fairly smoothly so far, probably helped by the fact that this was my third time making the bodice. The difference this time was that I made up and attached the central quilted diamond panel - and decided to ignore the pattern instructions.

The method given is to quilt the fabric onto wadding, cut out the panel with a seam allowance, sew it to the dress right sides together, and turn the seam allowances into the centre. A lining panel is then sewn over the raw edges.

Nope

Even with trimming and grading, this gives two layers of wadding along the seam, with more at the points, and seemed likely to be very bulky. So instead I cut the wadding to the size of the finished panel, then folded the fabric seam allowance over and overcast it onto the wadding.

Demonstrated on the mock-up because I forgot to photograph the 'proper' version!

Then I basted this onto the dress. There were already three rows of basting holding the pleats in position, plus two rows of tailor tacks for making the pleats, so that made for a lot of tacking thread - all of which had to be painstakingly removed afterwards.

Baste-o-rama

I slip-stitched the panel into place, and then overcast all the edges to make them lie a little flatter.

Completed apart from the lining

As with the mock-up, I used machine embroidery thread for the quilting. This time however it was intended to contrast rather than blend in, so I had to be even more precise in my stitching. To really tie in with the dress fabric, I alternated beige and green threads, and then discovered to my chagrin that the difference in colours is invisible on the completed piece. As ever, at least I will know that it's there.

It is two different colours, honestly!

I'm still not convinced that having what looks like either a tiny eiderdown or part of an even tinier barrage balloon attached to your midriff is the last word in haute couture, but that's the eighties for you!

I cannot shift these images from my brain

So that's a lot about the diamond, what about the triangle?

Having finished my cardigan, I need a new knitting project to take when I visit my mum. And dull grey February days call for something cheery. So I'm knitting up my Leaf Peeping yarn from Ewe and Ply. Somehow, it had caked up looking like two entirely different yarns.

Two for the price of one

The original plan was to make another Close to You shawl, but I decided that I didn't really need two of the same pattern in the same yarn, albeit different colourways. Happily for me, Stories of Small Things, who knits lovely shawls, had recently posted her Dandelion Air on Instagram, and it looked like an ideal pattern to show off the colours of this yarn. And it is.

38 rows in

However horrible it may be outside, it's impossible not be cheered up by knitting a couple of rows of this jaunty fruit salad of wool!