Finished Object – Firefly Bralette

I was looking to make another sports bra/bralette, and the Firefly Dress and Top from Peek-a-Boo Pattern Shop dropped into my email on sale with a bralette option, so I figured it was meant to be.

Pattern pieces of a bralette cut out of gray fabric with Pikachu printed all over and a strip of black elastic laid out on a white counter.

I had just enough of this Pikachu fabric to cut the outer pieces, and I had a bit of plain gray fabric to match for the lining. Instead of the 1-inch elastic that was called for in the pattern, I had this 2-inch waistband elastic, so deviated from the pattern slightly in the finished product.

The front view of a bralette with a printed pattern of Pikachus all over and a band of black elastic at the bottom on a white counter

All steps of this, from taping the pattern pieces to completely finished garment, took less than 3 hours (spread randomly throughout the day). The instructions are very easy to follow, and the finished piece fits so well with no runaway bra straps.

The back view of a bralette with a printed pattern of Pikachus all over and a band of black elastic at the bottom on a white counter.

I used the stretch stitch on my Singer Fashion Mate (stitch 14 if you have the computerised one) for everything except the one line of basting you do before attaching the elastic. You could also use a twin needle for the top-stitching, but I like the look of this stitch on the outside.


Finished Object – Lined Up Vest

A white woman with short brown hair and blue glasses models a gray and purple crocheted vest over a purple, long-sleeved dress with her right hand in the pocket of the vest.

I’m going to start by saying I did not make any holiday gifts this season. I gave gifts that I had previously made, but I did not make any gifts. But my mom’s birthday is in December, and I did make her a birthday gift. This birthday gift, to be exact.

The front of a gray and purple striped crochet vest laying flat.

This is the Lined Up Vest by Ila Quinn Designs. Now, right off the bat I’m going to point out that I made some modifications. The most obvious being that I didn’t add buttons. You may be able to see the other modification if you are looking at the individual vertical rows.

The front of a gray and purple striped crochet vest with a purple collar laying flat.

I actually made the upper portion and lower portion two different sizes by utilizing short rows. It’s slightly more obvious on the back because there are more in a row. Not only did I combine two sizes, the sizes themselves were two sizes apart. With a little extra math, it worked out quite well.

A purple and gray striped crochet vest laying flat wth one side open, showing off the gray pocket.

I also tacked down the corners of the pockets so they wouldn’t hang down, since I didnt add a closure.

A white woman with short brown hair models a purple and gray striped crochet vest, facing away from the camera to show off the back and the purple collar.

And now for the details:

Size: M/XL, created by adding short rows at the top and using the cast on numbers from the XL size.

Yarn (held double):

– Purple- 539.72 yards/309 grams (4.12 balls) Capri Eco Cotton by Loops and Threads in Eggplant

– Gray- 613.08 yards/351 grams (4.68 balls) Capri Eco Cotton by Loops and Threads in Pewter

Hook: 9mm (M/N)

Finished Object – In the Forest of the Night Cardi(s)

I fell in love with the “In the Forest of the Night Cardigan” by Desamour Designs and decided that it would be my birthday present to myself. And by that I mean I bought myself the pattern and yarn for my birthday and made the sweater several months later.

I made size medium and used a little over 3 skeins of Knit Picks CotLin Reflections in the color Stratus. (Unfortunately, this yarn is being discontinued.) I added a few extra rows to the top of the shoulders to make it a little longer, and give a bit longer armhole.

I had most of a skein of the yarn left, so I improvised a quick kerchief to go along with it.

My mom saw mine and requested one for herself, so as soon as she got me the yarn I got started on this version:

This one is size XL and used slightly over 9 balls of Paintbox Yarns Cotton DK in Pansy Purple.

Once again, I had most of a ball left at the end, but this time I adapted the stitch pattern of the cardigan into a hat.