Eve's Rib Tunic, by Doris Chan
I started this over Christmas. This was my second crochet project at the time, so I was very hesitant, as the fail probability was obviously very high. But I fell in love with
Doris Chan's designs, and felt I just
had to at least give it a try. And I managed! Doris Chan's patterns are very exhaustively explained, so even though you
are making something rather structured, she really guides you through it.
My only newbie trouble occured after I'd done the underarm joining and wasn't sure how to join the yarn again; I
asked for help on Ravelry, and lo and behold - Doris herself responded in minute detail within the hour!
This is an adapted version of Eve's Rib Tunic in Doris Chan's book Everyday Crochet. I knew from the start I wanted to turn this into a short dress to wear over leggings and a black fitted top. The pullover version would have looked like this:
But I wanted something a bit more special than a pullover.
The yarn is called Multico, and is made by a French brand, Plassard. The colours immediately reminded me of P'tite Mignonne's fur.
I did crochet the ribbed collar as per the original design, but it turned out too bulky on me even when crocheted with a smaller hook, so I frogged it. The next challenge was the blocking. I blocked the dress onto my mattress (
no carpet here!), and the stitch pattern opened up beautifully.
If you want to read the journal of this dress's making, check out this page in my ravelry profile.
This may further explain to you my current obsession with crochet. Now I have gained enough confidence, the possibilities are endless. My friend Molly was spot on in her comment the other day: what is fantastic with knitting/crochet, is that you are actually creating your own fabric, with the structure of your choice, and in the shape of your choice.
Of course, it also means that if you make a project a size too large or too small, you can't let seams out/take seams in as with sewing. I just finished a bolero jacket in the yarn I showed you last time, but it's turned out too large for what I had in mind, so I'm going to frog it all and restart.That's not the end of the world. I enjoy the sheer act of crocheting, so it'll get done when it'll get done. Crochet has greatly contributed to my relearning how to keep stress at bay and put things in perspective.
I am also currently working on a top for Spring - another Doris Chan design, the Belle Sleeve Pullover, which is
available as a free download.
I also just finally put the finishing touch to the
teal capelet - I was waiting for inspiration to strike regarding the closure, and it finally did, so I'll have to model it soon. :)
Hopefully the sewing purists among you are not too appalled by the current yarnie turn of this blog. :) I still feel that I am creating style and enriching my wardrobe. And I do swear I
have a Mad Men dress to show you... As soon as I get around to hemming it! LOL That one was pretty work intensive and I got a little burnt out, so I put it aside for a while.
In parting, I wanted to share the freaky weather that struck us on Sunday. We've been having snow here. Snow! In Montpellier. There isn't supposed to be snow of any kind here,
ever. Let alone in March!
This was the view from my balcony on Sunday evening: a palm tree loaded with snow (this was at the beginning of the snow storm and it got much worse overnight).
The same palm tree tried to murder me the next day, by dropping an avalanche just in front of me as I was trying to make my way to the station. Surreal. To think I was walking around without a jacket the day before...
I wore it to work yesterday. Yay me! I am already paying the consequences of this short break, but I was going to go insane if I didn't get to sew at least a little over the weekend. I cut out the skirt on Saturday and whipped it up in a couple of hours on Sunday evening.
