Polka Dots and Bows - Outfit Along 2014

I did it - I made the deadline for the 2014 Outfit Along! I can't quite believe I knitted a cardigan in 2 months - OK, it does only have short sleeves BUT I was on holidays for 3 weeks without much knitting time so technically it only took me 7 weeks to complete :) Considering I still haven't finished a cardi I started over a year ago, that's pretty good going for me.

Let's start with the knitting part - I made Andi Satterlund's Myrna. For a beginner knitter I thought it would be a great help to do the knit along part with blog posts from the actual designer of the pattern, for instance I would not have had a clue how to join the front and back sections had it not been for Andi's post. There were other new to me skills that Andi did posts on such as short rows and picking up stitches which explained the concept really well and for the details on how to do these, I referred to You Tube or my good old fashioned knitting books (Knit Step by Step by Vikki Haffenden & Frederica Patmore and Debbie Stoller's Stitch 'N Bitch books - great instructions with pictures for knitting newbies). Also the Ravelry forum is a great source of help and inspiration - some of those knitters are amazing and always happy to offer advice.

I made the Small size and pretty much stuck with the pattern except that I didn't do the keyhole at the back. The only thing that didn't quite work out for me was the waist - my binding off was a bit too tight, I need to find a more stretchy bind off in the future or make sure I do it really loosely.

To complete my outfit I made a pencil skirt using New Look 6003 which is a pattern I've made before so I based the measurements on a skirt I made previously. Unfortunately I didn't take into account that the previous skirt had a bit more give in the fabric so my waist band has turned out a bit tighter than I would have liked. Good incentive to lose those extra holiday pounds - ha ha. The fabric was a border print with large bows and I used the smaller bows which were on the other edge of the fabric to make the button band. And yes, my shoes have bows too!

Big thanks to Andi of Untangling Knots and Lladybird's Lauren for hosting this Outfit Along, it's been a really fun challenge. Lauren did some really detailed posts on sewing Simplicity 1803. I didn't make it this time around but this pattern is in my stash and I'll definitely be referring to her blog posts when I do get around to making it. 

All in all I'm really pleased with how my outfit turned out. Despite the tight waist band I love the skirt fabric and the cardigan goes with it perfectly. Be sure to check out some of the great finished outfits on the Ravelry thread.