Well, I finally got my act together and finished the knitted trousers I started all the way back in October.
At first they seemed to take ages to show any progress and then suddenly it was a case of oh blimey, I'd better cast off! I tried knitting them in the round (as the original pattern intends) but three colours of yarn on 5 dpns was just too much fiddle - needles falling out, yarns all tangled... So I knitted the whole thing flat and sewed it together afterwards with no regrets.
The yarn is Sidar Recycled which is a lovely soft cotton DK. I used Clay, Demin Wash and Canvas, and all the colours are slightly muted and washed out looking which really goes with the softness of the yarn.
Had I realised however, I would have used something more mercerised because I don't know how much crawling on one knee they will take before they wear thin (the green ones my mother has knitted seem to be much more robust). It is a lovely yarn though- although it tends to split a bit - and I will definitely be using it for other projects, just not ones that involve knees sliding on the floor.
These were made just after Christmas and are from Butterick 5092 (which looks like it's been discontinued). They're a pretty baggy fit even with a cloth nappy but I suppose that's better than being too tight to wriggle in. The beige outer fabric is from Ikea and the same stuff I used to make these trousers, and the lining (which doesn't come as part of the pattern) is a white flannelette which I dyed with Dylon Tulip Red. Unfortunately it came out more of a dark pink than the red I was after, but as will only show on the turn-up I can live with it.
I did a bit of zigzag embroidery on a back pocket for bottom interest.
And finally another pair of overalls from the Jackie Clarke pattern, made with a lining for the first time.
The lining is more of the red/dark pink dyed flannelette, and I used an remnant of Ikea's Berta Ruta fabric that waved at me the last time I was there. I find with trousers you can get away without a popper crotch fastening for nappy changing, but with overalls it is just too much fuss taking them on and off completely so I put in some of the snaps I got last year. The pattern calls for poppers that come ready attached to a tape which you just sew in, but I have only found this stuff with poppers about 6" apart (so useless for baby clothes) and about €15 per metre which is astoundingly expensive.
Oh and remember how I said I would definitely be making a Charlie tunic for KCWC? Well, I finished that last night (talk about catching up) so I'll take some photos of it and try to post them later in the week.
