Rita Vest

Gorgeous October is here with its beautiful fall colours and crisp autumn weather. The beginning of cozy season is always a wonderful shift. As a creative person who enjoys curating a handmade wardrobe using slow fashion, this is especially an inspiring time of year. It’s called Sweater Weather for a reason!

Kicking off my seasonal handmade creations with a cozy vest. This slipover/vest called Rita, is a pattern that was released in Wardrobe Toolbox. This is a subscription platform of which I have been a member for the past few years. Wardrobe Toolbox has helped me be fearless in the customization of my handknit garments and the knowledge I have gained by being a part of this community is unmatched. Back to my vest – Rita is a super cozy, super cute and super comfortable layering piece!

The details on this vest are really nice, with European shoulder construction, textured bands around the armholes, and extra chunky ribbing details throughout. There are two versions of this design. One with a longer length and side slits or a cropped style which is the version that I chose to knit.

I used two yarns held together from De Rerum Natura for my Rita to produce a chunky fabric. The yarns are Gilliatt (worsted weight) and Berenice (lace weight). We celebrated Canadian Thanksgiving earlier this week which was the perfect opportunity to wear this vest – cozy without being too warm and in the perfect autumnal shade called “Caramel”.

This was just before I blocked the garment and finished weaving in all the ends. The fabric was quite stiff and my stitches were uneven.

Blocking made such a huge difference! I styled my Rita vest with a (not so) classic white shirt with eyelet details. I could see myself wearing this over a long-sleeved turtle neck as the weather gets cooler and I need more warmth. I will definitely knit this pattern again because it is so versatile and quick to make.

I cannot believe that I have never owned a vest or slipover before and now that I have one, I can totally see the appeal of having more of these in my closet. When these pieces are handmade and customized to suit my taste, it is a winning combination.

Rita Vest (Ravelry Project Page)
Pattern: Rita by Libby Jonson currently only available through Wardrobe Toolbox
Yarn: De Rerum Natura Gilliatt & Berenice both in “Caramel”
Needles: Sizes 6.5 & 7.00 mm

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Springline Tee

I just finished test knitting the Springline Tee for Samantha Guerin and I love it. I have been a huge fan of Samantha’s patterns and I have knit her Salty Air Tee quite a few times. The Springline Tee is just as enjoyable and the design, the fit and the test knitting experience were all top notch.

This knitted tee uses a drop shoulder construction where you knit the front and back separately while you shape the shoulders and the neck and then you join the pieces together and finish the rest of the body. The neckband and sleeves are completed at the end using ribbing.

I loved the pattern instructions for the lace panel to flow seamlessly where you join the front and back and also the neckline shaping is excellent. When designers pay attention to details like this, it makes for a well-thought-out design and gives a nice fit.

I used Knitting for Olive Pure Silk in the colorway “Poppy Blue”. It is definitely bright and poppy and will make a fun addition to my spring and summer handmade wardrobe. The Pure Silk felt a bit crisp and dry to the touch while knitting. This is because this yarn is bourette silk (raw silk) produced from silk fibers collected from broken cocoons after the chrysalises are allowed to mature into moths and escape. I love that this yarn is ethically produced and is free from harmful chemicals. Pure silk has temperature-regulating properties making it an excellent fiber choice for summer garments.

Check out the various Springline Tees by other test knitters over on Instagram and Ravelry. I highly recommend this pattern or any of Samantha Guerin’s desgins. She is most definitely the queen of the knitted t-shirt and so much more!

Springline Tee (Ravelry Project Page)
Pattern: Springline Tee by Samantha Guerin
Yarn: Knitting for Olive Pure Silk in “Poppy Blue”
Needles: Sizes US 3, 4 & 5 / 3.25, 3.5 & 3.75 mm

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Spring Knits Featuring Wayfarer II

I love knitting patterns designed by Libby Jonson of Truly Myrtle. I have been a part of her online subscription group called Wardrobe Toolbox for a few years now and it has helped me make better-fitting garments and embrace the idea of a thoughtfully curated handmade wardrobe. While I have yet to sew any clothes for myself, I have been slowly adding to my hand-knit wardrobe with the rest of the Wardrobe Toolbox community.

Wardrobe Toolbox has pattern releases exclusive to the community for about a year before they are accessible to everyone else. Wayfarer was one of the patterns released during an earlier season of WTB (we are currently in Season 9, woohoo!) I have knit this pattern before and shared it here on my blog.

I loved knitting the pattern and the fit is so nice, especially around the shoulders. I decided I would knit it again with some changes. I omitted the cable panel on the front and substituted the yarn by holding merino and mohair together for a lighter feel.

The result is exactly what I envisioned and I absolutely love this garment! It is perfect to wear during the spring and fall when you need just a hint of warmth and can be layered under a light jacket.

I used my favorite Knitting for Olive yarn combo – Merino + Soft Silk Mohair to produce a soft, light-as-air fabric. The colors I used are Marzipan for the Merino and Ballerina for the Mohair.

I also shortened the length a little bit because I ran out of the mohair. It is perfect as a spring garment and hits me at the perfect mid-hip length. My favorite part of this design is the fitted shoulder shape using set-in sleeves. I like this tailored feature in my knitwear and prefer the fit it provides compared to other constructions such as raglans or round yokes.

I knit size 5 for the body and size 4 for the sleeves and it was not too tricky to make these slight modifications to the pattern. This is one pattern I would love to knit again in a myriad of colors.

Wayfarer With No Twists (Ravelry Project Page)
Pattern: Wayfarer by Libby Jonson of Truly Myrtle
Yarn: Knitting for Olive Merino in “Marzipan” & Soft Silk Mohair in “Ballerina”
Needles: Sizes US 6 & 7 / 4 & 4.5 mm

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LYON SWEATER

I will never get tired of wearing stripes. Anytime I can incorporate stripes into my handmade wardrobe, I will go for it. The Lyon Sweater by PetiteKnit looks like a standard striped sweater at first glance, but there are quite a few details that elevates this pattern.

The upper torso shaping on this sweater is very interesting. I had never knit this type of shoulder construction before and it will not be my last, the fit is just perfect. I have heard of this technique being referred to as the European shoulder, English tailoring shoulder, or couture shoulder. Whatever the name is, the fit is really neat. The sleeves are knit contiguously which moulds the arm perfectly without being too constrictive.

Once these fun upper torso details are done, the rest of the garment is just a standard stockinette-in-the-round which can sometimes get boring. Thankfully, the stripes are fun to create, so this sweater progressed quickly throughout.

I used Marzipan as the colour for the main body and Pink Daisies for the contrasting stripes. A folded collar at the neck finishes this cozy sweater off beautifully. A successful finished sweater that has been in constant rotation in my winter wardrobe.

Lyon Sweater (Ravelry Project Page)
Pattern: Lyon Sweater by PetiteKnit
Yarn: Knitting for Olive Merino in “Marzipan” & “Pink Daisies”
Needles: Sizes US 6 & 7 / 4 & 4.5 mm

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New But Old

Happy New Year!

I logged into my old blog reader and I was delighted to see that so many bloggy people I follow have been keeping up with long-form writing. It is always nice to read someone’s process on how they made something, or how a recipe turned out, or about a fun adventure they had. Such a nice change from scrolling on Instagram and glancing at pictures.

Documenting life by way of journaling, or taking a million pictures, or blogging is always wonderful and this space is where I document the creative part of my life. The art of writing and blogging isn’t dead, hooray!

I have continued to enjoy making bespoke garments and each time I make something, I learn so much about fit, modifications, and style. When I make something and wear it often, I want to knit it again. Sometimes I don’t modify it other than changing the yarn I used for the original and sometimes I modify it quite heavily. The Salty Air Tee is one example. I knit the original version as the designer intended – a cute summer shirt. Then I knit it again and omitted the lacework at the yoke. Now, I am knitting it yet again with more modifications – a fancy winterification!

I bought a few skeins of this beautiful blue yarn and wanted to knit a lightweight winter garment with it. With the colour being so gorgeous, I wanted a bit of a fancy sweater rather than just a plain long sleeve t-shirt. I looked at many patterns online and nothing was quite right. Then I thought about a lace yoke sweater which would work, the lace would give me the “fancy” part and longer sleeves would make it winter appropriate. The Salty Air Tee came to mind and with easy modifications, I could make a seasonally appropriate piece.

I’m delighted to say that this is exactly what I envisioned when I wound up my yarn and began knitting. I have been working diligently on this for a few weeks and I’ve made a bit of progress. But the yarn is skinny and so this is not the speediest sweater to make. No matter, because I am enjoying every stitch using this gorgeous blue yarn. It is a sock yarn from Hedgehog Fibres in a blend of 90% merino and 10% nylon and the colourway is called “Ink”.

Very fancy indeed!

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Summer Knits Part 2 — Tolsta Tee 2.0

I think I found my favourite summer t-shirt pattern – the Tolsta designed by Rebecca Clow of the Creabea Knitting Podcast. This is a simple, yet highly versatile design because the modification possibilities are endless. There are so many interesting versions of the #tolstatee on Instagram and each one is lovely. The stitch gauge for this pattern is relatively large which means that you can churn out this top pretty quickly.

After my previous striped version, I decided to knit a black one with eyelet bands for some lacey texture and built-in air conditioning!


Just like my first Tolsta, I used Rowan Summerlite DK for this one too. This yarn is 100% cotton sourced from Hungary and has a smooth, soft texture. Even though black is not the colour I usually choose for summer wear, I think a little black top is a great wardrobe addition and my new eyelet Tolsta fits the bill perfectly.


What makes this piece even better is the fact that I can continue to wear it through the fall layered under a light jacket or a long-sleeved shirt.


Tolsta Tee (Ravelry Project Page)
Pattern: Tolsta Tee by Rebecca Clow
Yarn: Rowan Summerlite DK in “Black”
Needles: Sizes US 7 & 8 / 4.5 & 5 mm

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Summer Knits Part 1 — Salty Air Tee Revisited

When it’s too warm to even think about warm woolly handknits, I always knit a bunch of summer tees in quick succession. They seem to go quickly and get worn a ton. This was yet again the summer of the handknit tee.


Last summer I knit a Salty Air Tee which is one of my favourite garments to wear. I used Hedgehog Fibres Sock for my first version. Even though the yarn is a merino-nylon blend, this tee is light enough to wear when the weather is warm with its lace yoke and cropped silhouette.


I had a couple skeins of the same yarn in a different colourway and decided that I would knit a second Salty Air Tee but omit the lace yoke on this one. This design is by Samantha Guerin who is a wonderful designer. For this version, I wanted to showcase the fun speckles on the yarn which is why I decided to skip the lace. The colourway is called “Puffball”.


I did not change anything other than substituting plain stockinette instead of the charted lace. The result is a fun little top. I feel like I have a few spring and summer patterns in my knitting library that I will return to over and over again to keep my summertime creativity going.

Warm weather knits are always enjoyable because they are quick and have great memories attached to them of summer travels, music festivals and beach time.


Salty Air Tee
Pattern: Salty Air Tee by Samantha Guerin
Yarn: Hedgehog Fibres Sock in “Puffball″
Needles: Sizes US 5 & 6 / 3.75 & 4 mm

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Stripey Tolsta

The perfect way to welcome summer is with a cute tee fresh off my needles. Once the temps began climbing steadily in May, my summer knitting mojo was in full force. The Tolsta Tee by Rebecca Clow of the CreaBea Knitting Podcast has been mentioned a lot over these past months and Rebecca herself has knit a whole bunch of them.

This pattern is a very simple design but the thing that makes it fun is its versatility. You can knit a plain version, a stripey version (like I did), add long sleeves, add texture or lace or cables. It is more like a recipe that can be altered to suit the vibe you are going for.

I chose to knit mine using Rowan Summerlite DK in a lilacy-pink with the stripes in a lovely antique gold shade. Summerlite is a 100% cotton yarn with a soft matte finish and comes in lots of colours. I think it works really well and I love the outcome!

A cute summer t-shirt with a bit of interest that knits up really fast and is easy to care for.

I have a second Toltsa on the needles and this time I’m using the same yarn but in black. I’m going to add some eyelets and maybe some texture.

Tolsta Tee (Ravelry Project Page)
Pattern: Tolsta Tee by Rebecca Clow
Yarn: Rowan Summerlite DK in “Blushes″ and “Pickles”
Needles: Sizes US 7 & 8 / 4.5 & 5 mm

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Sweater Streak

About halfway through this past year, I realized that I had knit 6 sweaters during the 6 previous months. Shocking, I know! As most of my knitting friends are aware, I am not the fastest knitter. In fact, I’m pretty slow — preferring to savour the process rather than churn out finished products. With six sweaters under my knitting belt, I thought it would be crazy to see if I could knit another half a dozen garments before the end of 2022. What a crazy idea!

It’s December and I’m so thrilled to report, I am on the home stretch of my twelfth finished garment of the year. Gasp, I can’t believe it either!

A couple of these many sweaters were finished in 2022 after being started in previous years. I’ve added them to the list because they are now completed and part of my handknit sweater rotation.

I have learned so much through this year of sweater knitting.

Making and wearing handknit garments gives me so much pleasure and joy.

Seasonal knits can be fun.

I am most definitely a monogamous knitter. Too many projects stress me out!

WPK (wears-per-knit) percentage is important.

Not all my sweaters were successful with the WPK (wears-per-knit) percentage. Some finished garments are in the single digits for WPK and I am happy to pass these along to knit-worthy friends and family.

“Ooh shiny” can be fun, but not always practical.

Sweater fit is more important than trending knitwear designs at least for my body type and personal aesthetic.

I have loved this year of slow fashion and making my clothes by hand. It has been a joyful experience and there will be more – maybe not another 12-sweater-year but you never know!

It’s a wrap for 2022 and I wish you all the very best for a spectacular new year!

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sweater surgery

I’ve got a new sweater on the needles. This one is called “Wayfarer” by Kiwi designer Libby Jonson. This one has some lovely fitting details which makes for interesting knitting in my books.

Wayfarer has a cable panel running down the front and there are instructions and a design chart explaining clearly how things are supposed to be knit. Did I look (glance) at the chart? Yes. Did I read the instructions? Nope!

I was progressing nicely down my sweater and wanted to take a picture for my Ravelry project page. That’s when I noticed a whole cable was MISSING! Big oops!

I had two options, rip and reknit. Hmm… no, thank you. Or I could perform sweater surgery and salvage the situation. I opted for surgery.

I basically ripped out the stitches that were supposed to form the cable all the way to the neckband and picked them back up, row by row. I did the cable chart crosses as per the chart and things worked out.

Now, does the cable column appear wonky compared to the other two perfectly executed cables? Yes. But that will be rectified through the magic of blocking wool. At least, that’s what I’ve convinced myself 😀

Stay tuned to see how I progress with my Wayfarer.

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