a new sweater made to look old

 

This cashmere sweater was on mega-sale right after christmas. It was too big, but for the price, I nabbed it anyway. I took in the sides and made it shorter—there is a great tutorial on how to do this over at Elegant Musings, including keeping that bottom ribbing. I then appliqued this lovely beaded bit I bought at Sequined Appliques. I used a little fusible interfacing on the inside of the sweater where I sewed this applique on for some stability, made some tea, got some good light, and a bit of patience. Sewing this on took a little longer than I though it would. I love how it turned out.

Along with my obsession with dickeys I have also been making attachable collars again. All different shapes and sizes. I drafted this one based off a vintage pattern, but made it less choke-y. The vintage collar are tight! I also removed the stay and didn't use interfacing. I don't mind the vintage-tight ones so much really, but it's really hard to find crewneck sweaters that aren't too deep for these collars. So, I enlarged it a bit. Adding the collar to this sweater with the applique might be gilding the lily, but that has never stopped me before. Casey also has a great tutorial for making these collars. I have been working on quite a few different shapes and closures. This one is closes with a concealed snap underneath the fabric covered button.

One tip—I do use a safety pin on one side under the collar to secure it to my sweater. It's takes an extra bit of fusing, but then I don't have to think about it again. Otherwise, it twists, continually, and I end up looking a little tipsy. Which is occasionally funny, but for this prim look, having a collar always being off-center is really irksome.

• Reading: I am done with The Marriage Plot: A Novel and about 30% into The Night Circus . I enjoyed The Marriage Plot but was pretty stressed at the end. I had to talk about it for a few days afterwards to get it out of my system. It just sort of ends, without wrapping anything up, so I was left wondering what happened to the the characters I got to know so well. All of who, at times, were maddening. The Night Circus is a completely different reading experience and I find it pays to re-read pages until I can imagine perfectly the circus and magic she describes. I am really enjoying it so far.

• I was reminded of The Scarlet Letter for book reviews. I spent some time over there in the last week.

• Thank you all for your oil orders! I am packing up like crazy and already shipped some out. I hope to get a huge batch of them mailed this weekend.