My Garment-Making Woes Continue . . .

[cgd]

Sometime back I found a pattern I like in 24-Hour Crochet Projects by Rita Weiss, the Must-Have Blouse. Looked simple enough, just a nice short-sleeved summer blouse made with sport-weight yarn. I had some Paton's Astra, for once the yarn actually suggested in the pattern! I tried sometime ago to make it in medium size. It was waaaay too big. So I got it out again today and went down to an E hook and tried the small size. It's still 2 inches or more too big.

 

I don't think I'm a particularly loose crocheter. I've done OK with hats--sometimes having to go down a hook size but nothing radical. I'm not sure how whoever made this blouse got gauge. If I put yarn on my hook much tighter, I won't be able to slide the hook into any stitches.

 

 

Maybe I have bad garment karma or the garment gods hate me, but this is getting ridiculous! Granted, I'm no seamstress and have no real crafting gift. And I'm not Einstein, but I think I'm at least somewhat intelligent. But it's a good thing my life doesn't depend on my successfully crocheting a top for myself!!!

[nucki]

Oh man... I can "see" your frustration like a neon sign! I don't know what to tell you, since the closest I've come to making a "wearable" is a shawl... but since you seem to be repeatedly beating your head against the proverbial brick wall.... I thought some of these wouldn't go amiss:

 

[cgd]

Aww, you're too sweet--thanks for the cyberhugs! I think I'm going to switch gears and get back to my afghan.

[funkyreporter]

 

 

 

Maybe I have bad garment karma or the garment gods hate me, but this is getting ridiculous! Granted, I'm no seamstress and have no real crafting gift. And I'm not Einstein, but I think I'm at least somewhat intelligent. But it's a good thing my life doesn't depend on my successfully crocheting a top for myself!!!

 

Truly, truly I understand your frustration. I had mentioned before not being good at garments - still looking for the eight-foot-tall woman to wear the shawl I made...

 

Last night I made slippers for hubby... Are slippers even a garment??? And this was not something difficult, this is "Bev's easy slipper pattern" that has floated around the 'ville free (comes up whenever someone posts 'I need an easy slipper pattern') and it goes something like this: chain as long as you want the slipper to be, double crochet until it fits around the foot, fold the rectangle in half, sew up one end which will be the heel, weave yarn through the other end and pull it tight which will be the toe, sew from the toe to about two-thirds up, add a couple rows of double crochet around ankle opening if you want them snugglier.

 

I really TRIED (again) last night, and I felt so good about those slippers... until he put them on. You'd think I was making slippers for sasquach or something - big old point hanging off the heel. GEEZ. My only hope is that they will shrink in the wash (100% wool) but knowing my luck they'll come out the size of a leprachaun!

[cgd]

Yeah, most patterns were designed for that 8-ft-tall waif! I haven't tried slippers yet but am sure I'd probably get it wrong. Thanks for the support.

[yarndiva]

What really helped me was outlining "my shape" on some posterboard...have someone draw your outline while you lay down...and then cut it out maybe 1/2 inch from the lines and crochet your garments according to your "shape". You will definitely get better results that way. I used to make a gauge, but that made my items too big too so I had to resort to measuring it to my "shape"

 

HTH!!

[JoBug]

Well TRUST me when I say I CAN NOT make garments....

YarnDiva, great idea, BUT I am wondering where I coud get a piece of cardboard that big for MY outline...

[yarndiva]

Butcher paper and then glue it on poster board??

[Roli]

Yarndiva has the right idea, Cindy. You are always better off to go by your exact shape and measurements. If gauge doesn't come out right, try making the next smaller size. Or add or subtract stitches. You may have to work with this a little but eventually you'll get a feel for how big to make your back pattern piece in all types of yarn weights.

[Auntie Kellie]

It does sound like the gauge in the pattern is the problem. Or maybe super-sized shirts were popular at the time? Maybe you could try the pattern with a smaller weight yarn to get the fit you want from it. But to prove your not alone in being teased by the garment gods, here's what happened at my first attempt at a sweater.

 

My youngest wanted a sweater but one made from Mom's Bouncy Brain. For some reason, she thinks our brains bounce around in our heads. So I let her pick out a colour and she choose burgandy. I figured with it being winter, I'd make something warm and textured. The sweater looked like it was going great, everything was measuring up nicely on my 4yo model and the front and back pieces fit together perfectly. Then I sewed it together and that's where it turned out all wrong. In all my careful measurements, I forgot to make the neckhole big enough to go around her head when she put it on. After the disappointment of attempting Breanna's Burgandy Bumpy Bump Sweater, I have not had the courage to attempt another garment except for shawls.

 

Hugs and Cookies

Auntie K

[PBLKNP]

Sometime back I found a pattern I like in 24-Hour Crochet Projects by Rita Weiss, the Must-Have Blouse. Looked simple enough, just a nice short-sleeved summer blouse made with sport-weight yarn. I had some Paton's Astra, for once the yarn actually suggested in the pattern! I tried sometime ago to make it in medium size. It was waaaay too big. So I got it out again today and went down to an E hook and tried the small size. It's still 2 inches or more too big.

 

Don't be too hard on yourself. I crochet garments all the time and I couldn't get this one right, either. I think that one should just substitute a much thinner yarn for this pattern--Astra is way too thick to get the right gauge. The pathetic part was that I had ORDERED the Astra for this blouse!!! I ended up using it instead for a Project Linus baby blanket.

 

What I may do is try the blouse again, only perhaps with Patons Grace or some similar weight yarn.

[Mom w/a Motif]

I have never made this sweater. But what everyone said sounds good. Sometimes it is the pattern. Like Paulette said with the slippers; I did the same thing! I wouldn't give up on the garment making though! Maybe you could try a different pattern. Have you tried the BICO? (Baby It's Cold Outside sweater)? It is super easy and always turns out. People are making them in all different sizes, in the BICO CAL. (Just a thought.)

 

Tina

[cgd]

Good then, it's not just me! I agree that Astra isn't the right yarn for this. I thought, since it was the suggested yarn, that it would work, but I guess not always. I assumed that meant that someone had actually made that pattern using that yarn.

 

Roli, unfortunately I was making the next smaller size. I'm a medium, and I tried to make the small, which is as small as the pattern gets. I suppose I could do the math and calculate what an extra small would be. PBLKNP, I too had ordered Astra for this. Hopefully I can try something else with it because I love the feel of it.

 

I guess I do need to outline my shape, but I do NOT look forward to this!

[funkyreporter]

What really helped me was outlining "my shape" on some posterboard...have someone draw your outline while you lay down...and then cut it out maybe 1/2 inch from the lines and crochet your garments according to your "shape". You will definitely get better results that way. I used to make a gauge, but that made my items too big too so I had to resort to measuring it to my "shape"

 

HTH!!

 

Funny you would mention that 'cause I was just pondering what my next afghan would be and had decided I would do a simple double crochet and then put the outline of a body on it! Thought it would be cute!

[Addey]

I'm about to attempt my first real wearable, other than the poncho and a few shawls I've made. I'm making my mother a vest. I can't find a pattern anywhere that I like. She's sewn vests for herself and has a fabric pattern that fits her just right. I have a stitch pattern all selected that will increase or decrease nicely. My plan is very similiar to the 'make it to my shape' post. I was planning on stealing one of her finished vests and crocheting to it. Now it sounds even more plausable!