This project has been on my needles longer than I expected. Usually, knitted garments for the girls are quick projects, but this time, the yarn was a challenge.
Here it is:
What the camera isn’t picking up is the glitter. This is a sparkly yarn with a bit of metallic thread included in it. It’s structured with a central cord that might be cotton, then the lumpy-bumpy-glittery color bit is wound around that in a spiral. When you knit, the spiralled thread slides up and down, which makes for some bigger bumps – and a bit of frustration. I don’t know what the yarn actually is as I found it without a label at the thrift store, but I’m sure it’s not intended to be knit on 2mm needles.
Finally, finally, I finished the dress. This is the Blue Glitter Dress from Stickatillbarbie.se. It’s pattern number 619 – here’s a Ravelry link, and here’s the link at the Wayback Machine for that page (patterns #601-650).
The glitter really doesn’t photograph at all. 😦 Too bad, because it’s very shiny, just the thing for a festive party. Without the sparkle showing, it just looks lumpy. (Although this makes me wonder if I should use the rest for a tweedy little suit. Hmm.)
I didn’t love this pattern as much as some of the others from this designer. It’s a top-down knit, starting with 60 stitches – which is a lot. I see on Rav that some knitters have taken that down to 50 stitches, and I would do the same if/when I knit it again. With this one (and part of that might be the yarn. It’s pretty crunchy) the shoulder band is way too big. I ran a few rows of stitches through it on the back side with buttonhole thread to tighten it up.
I did modify the pattern to knit it in the round. The body is knit fairly straight according to the directions, but I substituted my shaping from the dresses with the fur skirts.
I could not get the stitch counts to work out on the mermaid flare. Picking back this yarn a couple of times really wasn’t fun. 😦 The increases are done before and after a knit stitch, and those two M1’s so close together were a challenge in a yarn with no stretch. I’m not sure what I did wrong, but after picking it back twice, I rewrote the instrcutions for the flare increases. You can see in the picture that I divided the skirt into quadrants, offsetting the increases so they’re centered on the right front, the left front. It’s the same on the back. They’re still on either side of a knit stitch, with 3 rows worked plain in between each increase row. This way, my stitch counts worked out.
There’s four rows of garter at the hem before binding off, which echoes the six rows of garter at the shoulder band. I’m pleased with the dress now it’s done, but the next one will be in regular fingering weight yarn. I think it will be in that solid black baby yarn.
It’s possible that I’ll add another set of increases and made the skirt a half an inch longer. It really looks short on the Silkies. I’m also wondering about adding a tulle ruffle under that flare…
There’s something classic and feminine about a Chanel suit, so I’ve been seeking a good pattern to make them for the girls. Here’s one pattern I tried recently.
This one is Coco from HankieChic. This designer has moved from Etsy to another host since I last posted about one of her patterns: you can now find her patterns here.
I wasn’t sure about the big bow, but tried the pattern anyway. The top and skirt are actually a dress, and the top is a halter. It’s shown with an added belt. Both the dress and the jacket are lined.
I cut the suit from a yarn-dyed silk obi in taupe, and the blouse from a scrap of silk leftover from a blouse I made for myself ages ago. I cut the skirt and jacket lining from Bemberg rayon, and lined the halter top with the same silk fabric.
The jacket has raglan sleeves and a shoulder dart, then princess seams. The skirt has side seams and a center back opening.
There aren’t grainlines on the pattern pieces, which is characteristic of these HC patterns. I guessed, making the grainline vertical on all the pieces. I had some bias stretch on the front edges of the halter so if I made it again, I’d stabilize that edge by putting it on the grain.
Here’s the finished suit:
I think the neckline on the jacket is a bit wide on this one, and to me, the shoulders of the jacket are a bit big for B. There’s a gap between the neck of the halter and the jacket that could be addressed by adding maybe 1/8″ to the neckline all around. I might do the skirt differently too, with darts or pleats in the front and back. Also, I’ll probably lengthen the sleeves. I’m not much for a bracelet length sleeve on a jacket, though it’s common for dolls (probably because it’s easier to get a shorter wider sleeve over their hands.) So, modifications planned for this one. Overall, though, it’s quite cute – and I like the bow better than anticipated. 🙂
I also cut out a pillbox hat in the silk, using the pattern from that first suit, but haven’t sewn it together yet. They are fiddly to make.
I’m also in the midst of trying another suit pattern (the quest continues!) and will show it to you when it’s done.
I seem to be finding a lot of ways to avoid setting in the sleeves of my black cardigan in Kidsilk Haze. That’s certainly not a job for the evening or even one particularly suited to the dark days we’ve been having. I need to turn on a bright light, buckle down and get it done.
But in the meantime, I’ve been knitting dresses for the girls. I saw a picture on social media of someone’s knitted dresses for fashion dolls. They were unspeakably cute with fluffy skirts, knit of novelty yarn. She said she was using a free pattern, so off I went to hunt down options. I chose #146 from Sticka till Barbie as my base pattern, then made a bunch of modifications. Mine needed to fit vintage Barbie with her curves and the existing pattern had pretty much a straight bodice. I added decreases and increases. I also modified the instructions to knit the dress in the round, and made the increases/decreases mirror each other because that makes me happy.
And here are the girls, posing in a diorama-in-progress that I’m making for the 16″ girls:
The diorama, of course, is another timesink, but a lot of fun. I like working in the foamboard – it’s easy to cut and light, and the gratification is almost instant.
The gift boxes are from an Etsy vendor who sells printables. It’s right here. They are a bit fiddly to assemble, which is why I’ve put together just two even though I bought this almost four years ago. So cute, though, and they fold up so precisely.
Here’s a better look at the dresses.
For these skirts, I used an eyelash yarn called Bernat Boa. (That’s a Ravelry link.) This yarn is discontinued, but I found my little stash at the thrift store. The bodices are knit of fingering yarns – the black is an acrylic baby yarn, the purple is leftover MadTosh. I made the skirt longer for the purple one (15 rows before decreasing instead of 12). The bodice looks longer on that one because the articulated Silkstone is thinner and taller than vintage B.
It’s interesting how the same yarn can feel different in different colours. That always mystifies me. The purple Boa doesn’t feel as silky as the black and red. I remember a lot of colours of this yarn, so will keep checking the thrift store for more. (I also have some variegated pink, but no fingering weight to match.)
I think the original pattern was knit of something more like a fringe yarn than this eyelash yarn, because the skirt isn’t as puffy in the pattern picture. I have some Lion Brand Fun Fur (also a thrift store find) so will try that out next.
That’s a link to the Lion Brand website – how lovely for a manufacturer keeps the link live after the yarn is discontinued! Here’s a Ravelry link so you can see what other knitters have made with it. I hopped into the advance search and sorted for doll clothes – sure enough, there are a few versions of this dress.
These are also like potato chips. It’s hard to knit just one. I need to find something to go with that pink, and try out the other yarn…
I’ve had a disappointing run of making this fall, with more failures than would be ideal, but here’s something that came out well. It’s a silk suit for the girls.
The pattern is Phoebe from Hankie Chic. You can buy the pattern right here. The pattern is for a two-piece suit, with a straight skirt and a fitted jacket with a peplum that opens at the front. The jacket has a small collar and 3/4 sleeves and is lined.
I cut mine of that striped silk in green. I thought the back was too wide – the instructions say to put the back edge of the pattern on a fold, but I subsequently seamed it. This made the back 1/2″ narrower. The jacket is a very precise fit for the Silkie girls (and will be looser on the articulated Silkies) but I’d need at least half of that seam allowance back for it to fit the vintage B girls better. Right now, it goes around the doll and the front edges match, but they don’t overlap.
Here’s the suit on Dusk to Dawn:
Those are little gold shank buttons from I Sew For Doll. I love this shade of green on her!
Because it’s a lengthwise stripe, the direction of the stripe changes in the garment. The bodice top is cut in one piece, without a shoulder seam, so ended up on the bias at the front. I like this construction a lot, as it’s less bulky. I cut the peplum lengthwise and crosswise, planning to use the one for the facing that I liked least. The grain on the center back ends up perpendicular to the front edges – I liked it best when that was lengthwise at the back (even though it means the peplum is crosswise at the front.)
The peplum is much longer in the back than I’d expected. It’s almost like a frock coat. It’s also a lot more full – it was tight to jam in all of those gathers and I’m not sure they’re all needed.
I topstitched the collar and the hem of the peplum. I also understitched the sleeve lining and the skirt lining, all at the hems, but that’s not visible. It stabilizes the hem, though.
There are no grainlines on the patterns from this company, so you have to guess how to lay out the pieces. I put the center back seam on the straight of the grain, which is why the fronts ended up on the bias. It might be interesting to try a variation with the center front on the straight of the grain, which would put the CB seam on the bias. I’ll also likely try one with a shorter peplum, perhaps one that is less full than this one.
I have ideas for many variations and experiments, but the suit came out well as it is and I’m very glad to have a small triumph!
This fall, Mattel introduced another Silkstone Barbie BFMC. She’s the second in the series of new dolls that launched with the Sapphire girl, who moved in here in the summer.
I had mixed feelings about her, even though she’s pretty. I don’t love the articulated body, I wasn’t sure I liked the pink velvet scrunchie bit and I wasn’t loving the price. (She was $175CAD plus shipping and now is $190CAD plus shipping.) Someone in a forum noted that they could buy a vintage Silkstone for the same price, and I had an AHA! moment.
Silkstone Barbie Continental Holiday Gift Set from 2002 joined my collection. Here’s one of the promo shots of her from the original launch.
I like the gift sets because they come with more accessories and garments. Here’s how this one was packed:
She has lingerie and stockings, a second pair of shoes, the outfit in the first picture plus a pair of pants, the overnight bag and the clutch purse, plus sunglasses and other goodies. (A passport! How cute is that?!) Mine was NIB and I think she was glad to get out of the box after 22 years in there. We tried on her clothes, but it was hard to get her coat over that blouse with the wide collar.
Here she is, chez moi. She’s wearing the Trench Setting coat in shot linen and the dress that matches the lining in Tana Lawn.
I’m not sure what to make of her hair arrangement. It’s kind of a double ponytail. The two sides at the front are pulled back into a low ponytail, then there’s a higher ponytail and a bunch of loose hair in between. Here’s the back.
At least it isn’t stiff with glue or spray. I’ll leave it as is for now, but the elastics on her ponytails are over 20 years old and will degenerate soon. Then I’ll have to decide about her ‘do.
Behind her in these pix is my latest DIY carrier for the girls. This one has all of the girls’ original garments, accessories and shoes, sorted and labelled. Instead of putting braces for the dolls on the door, I covered the inside of the door with hooks (each made from a head pin with a bead) to hand and organize all the goodies. It’s lined with the same Italian paper as the first one. Putting this together and hanging everything up gave me enormous satisfaction. (There’s another clothing bar behind the front two for longer gowns, too.)
I also have been fiddling with that Advance pattern again, In Paris 4750. (You might remember that I made the Balenciaga ballgown with lace overlay.) I printed out the pieces for the Bar Suit (Christian Dior’s iconic New Look) but it ended up too big. I’ve reprinted it at 90% and the fit is better. Still fiddling with this one, but should be able to show a result to you soon. I made it of cotton this first time and will remake it in silk once I have the details right. It’s also made me realize that all of the girls have their hair down, and I need one with an updo to model the Dior suit.
That also meant I had a good look at this new girl’s clothes and bags, with a mind to copying them. I never like the fabrics chosen, and there are shortcuts that I might not emulate – the skirt, for example, isn’t lined – but there are other potential take-aways. At the very least, I may remake some of the original garments in fabrics that I like better. There’s always something with the girls!
Sorry to have been quiet lately. I’ve had some projects that didn’t come out as well as I’d hoped which – like books that need a tweak – are in the midst of revisions. I’ll show you them when I’ve fixed them up the way I like. I also was finishing up a book and publishing it.
I have finished the knitting on the black KSH cardigan of doom. (Phew!) I need a sunny day to seam the sleeves and set them in. My Ravelry project page says that one’s been on the needles for eight years – I hope that isn’t true, that I created the project before I cast on, but even so. I have projects that have been on the needles longer than that. Gah. I have a belated case of finish-itis now. I’ll show you that when it’s finally done.
Today let’s talk about purses for 12″ fashion dolls. This is a silly little project that keeps going on and on. The thing with making for the girls is that I always see more variations. I could get stuck exploring the possibilities of one pattern for a very VERY long time, which is kind of what has happened here. I’ve made a lot (a LOT) of these little purses. They’re quick and easy, and they come out really well. It’s almost instant gratification, and I’ve needed a bit of that lately.
I found this image on PInterest when I was ogling gorgeous suits for Silkstone Barbies. (There is some fabulous stuff there and many very talented makers in the world.) It’s in Japanese and from a book for dolls called My Favorite Dolls. That’s pretty much all I know from that one page. You can see that there’s a purse and a pair of jackets illustrated. I’ve no idea where the jacket patterns are – maybe on the facing page? – but there’s the purse pattern right there. I grabbed a screen shot and printed it out. There’s also no scale, so I just guessed it was from a page roughly 8.5″ by 11″ and printed it to fit the page. My purse pattern came out about 4.25″ long and the scale is great for the girls.
And then the fun began.
The directions are in Japanese, but like so many Japanese patterns, it’s pretty easy to figure out what to do. Japanese patterns always include such lovely illustrations in the instructions.
Here are the first ones.
I used my go-to fake leathers first – the shiny black I use for almost everything and a matte burgundy. They’re the two in the top row. The burgundy one has a brass-like button with a butterfly on it. 🙂
For each purse, I folded the handle and glued it – nothing fancy here. I used a gluestick, then put a weight on it until it dried. I did learn over the first couple that it’s easier to do as much as you can while the purse is flat. So, I sew on the half of the snap under the flap and the decorative button over it, then put on the handle. I use a seed bead as a decorative accent on the handle, one that matches the accent button on the front. Then I fold up the purse and press the snap into the body of the purse to make an indent where the other side of the snap needs to be, and sew it on in place.
When seaming the sides, I do a few overcast stitches at the top. When turning the bag right side out, there’s a bit of stress on those two seams at the top, so a little extra reinforcement can’t hurt. When I get to the base, I just tack in the top of the flap from the base of the purse. Turn the purse, ease out the sideseams and fiddle that flap until it looks right. Presto, purse.
The next pair are made from the very cheapest fake leather. I bought a set of 12 squares of craft vinyl, each 5×5″ or so, two each of six colours, at the dollar store. Each purse takes less than half a square. These next two, in red and the caramel, are from that vinyl. The vinyl is stiff enough that the purse holds its shape well.
I even cut an extra strap for the caramel one and added a buckle to that one. The strap is the width to pass easily through the buckle. I cut it an inch too long then trimmed it once the bag was assembled. I glued it in place while working on it, but the glue didn’t hold. Good thing the snap halves are sewn through the beginning and the end of that strap, and will hold it in place forever.
The red one has a fleur-de-lis accent button and I thought it needed even more zing. I used a black Sharpie to outline the edge of the flap and I think it looks great.
Next up, some sample vinyl pieces found at the thrift store. The individual pieces in thiis bundle of different fake leathers is about 5 x 8″. Again, that’s more than enough for a purse. There’s even a piece of cork in there but it seemed too thick for this purse. (Will the girls have cork purses before I do? I’m thinking they will.) I used a dark brown from that bundle and a metallic gold, which got extra beads on the flap for embellishment. (It looks silvery here but is more golden IRL.)
The raw edge does show along the front flap, the top of the bag and at those bottom corners. If the fake leather has a light backing – the dark brown one, for example, has a white backing – I colour the edges with a Sharpie marker in a matching colour.
Then I looked at the fabric ones with the bead handles. I chose two brocades, one firmer than the other, and a bit of silk. (The silk is at the top left.) I interfaced all of them with fusible interfacing before cutting out the pattern, then finished the edges of the top and flap of the bag with a zigzag stitch in a coordinating colour of thread. I also used Fraycheck on the other edges to keep them from unravelling. I don’t love this stuff, since it’s essentially glue. It often marks the fabric and leaves it crunchy – that bit is less of an issue for a purse than for a garment, but still. It didn’t mark the white, but it did mark the other two, so I sewed that little base triangle on all three purses to keep the stain and/or edges from showing.
The silk one has a fake leather handle and a little crown button, which is adorable. Sharpies are your friend here, too – where the fabric showed through the thread on the edge of the flap, I just coloured it in with a matching marker.
It looks as though the pattern recommends the beads be on thread, but I wanted a stiffer handle than that. I fed them onto beading wire, then poked the ends of the wire through the fabric and twisted it on the inside so it won’t pull back through.
Finally, I was wishing I had some more fun colours of fake leather and wondered about felt. Why not? It doesn’t unravel. This is synthetic felt and I used three doll buttons in a contrasting colour. The “embroidery” was done with sewing thread held double – I did it after sewing on the button and snap. I think this one is really cute and I do have a lot of fun felt colours. There may be more of these.
You can see these purses are like potato chips. It’s impossible to stop with just one, or three…or ten.
Of course, I also drafted the pattern a bit bigger so I can make similar purses for the 16″ girls. Purses abound!
Next time, I’ll show you my new girl and get her to model one of the purses so you can see it in scale.
We’ve looked a few times at my DIY doll wardrobes – here and here – but this time, I made a carrying case for my dolls alone.
As usual, I used a trunk made by Ashland that I found at Michaels. I have four of this style, two large ones – like the one at right – which are wardrobes for Tyler and friends, then two smaller ones. To date, those had sweaters and coats for Tyler.
One of them has been liberated and become a carrying case for the Silkstone girls. I have some storage bins for the girls, but I’m an unboxer and when they’re on their backs, their hair gets messed up. I wanted them to be standing.
As usual, I removed one handle from the trunk. This time, that was easy as the handles are knotted cord. I pushed that second cord through the eyelets for the top one, to double up the handle. I also added felt feet to the bottom.
This time, I used foamboard for my siding pieces instead of the heavy bookbinder’s board I used for the first wardrobe. I cut them to fit, then papered them over. I put the “floor” in first – which covers the eyelets in the bottom from the removed handle – then the three “walls”. In each wall, I cut paired slits and pushed ribbon through them so that the dolls can be secured in place. The ribbon is taped on the back side so it won’t move.
Here’s a peek inside:
It’s kind of cozy for the girls, but that keeps them from falling over. This case holds 8 dolls – which means I have room to buy 3 more. (mwahaha) The extra ribbons are tied in place.
I feel like I should add a bar table in the middle with cocktails so they have something to do in there in the dark. Maybe a mirror ball or chandelier overhead…
I put the articulated girls on the door since they’re lighter.
Best to a Tea still needs to have her hair done. (No wonder she’s slumped against the wall. Bad hair days are depressing.) The little white wedge of foamboard needs to be covered to match the floor – I forgot that the girls needed to be elevated a bit to ensure that the door can be easily closed. I also ran out of the ribbon I used in the main case, so these girls get a coordinating one. They don’t seem to mind.
I’m kind of amazed that three of them are wearing dresses made from the same pattern – Trench Setting from Hankie Chic – which means I need to sew them some new things. At least they’ll be tidy and safe from dust while I do that.
Next up, the big girls get storage boxes…and the duplicate box of the very first carrying case I made is becoming a wardrobe, too. Instead of space for three girls on the inside of the lid/door, it’ll have lots of hooks for purses and hats. The girls will be organized!
Two new dolls joined my collection last week, so we’ll meet one of them today.
She’s the Sapphire Anniversary Silkstone Barbie. She’s still available on the Mattel website for members, right here. At right is one of the official pix of her and it’s linked back to their landing page.
I had mixed feelings about this doll. I prefer the older Silkstone bodies over the articulated dolls, but was attracted to the idea of getting a new doll. (That explains my other two articulated Silkstones, too!) In the end, though, I ordered her.
The finishing of the doll itself is disappointing but that was true of the other articulated girls, too. I suspected I wouldn’t like the jacket and I didn’t. 🙂
But I love her blue hair and sparkly eye make-up. The dress is darling, although it has a crunchy lining in the skirt. I may try to copy it in another fabric. This time, they put clear plastic disks between the earrings and the doll, presumably to keep her face from being scratched. (It’s the metal pin in the head that gives dolls green ear, so it won’t prevent that.)
Her stocking-boots are interesting – there are shoes secured in the bottoms. I saw a photo of her with the 60th anniversary pink Barbie which appears to have the same stocking-boots. (That’s an Amazon link.)
She came out of the box and waited just a day before I surrendered to temptation and took her hair down. I don’t know what they use to keep the hair in place, but it leaves the hair stiff and crunchy. (Maybe it’s just glue.) We had a good wash and comb, then another couple of washes. I didn’t boil-wash because I was hoping to just tame the curl not lose it completely.
And here we are:
Her lipstick is evenly applied – it’s just the angle of the morning sunlight that makes it look otherwise. I trimmed a few scaggy ends from her hair, but otherwise, it’s how it came down. She borrowed the purse from Dusk-to-Dawn and it’s possible she won’t give it back. The dress is the one from Trench Setting. I definitely need to make her some black and blue separates.
Another post about the girls this week. I’m knitting for myself, too, but it takes a lot longer to finish up a project. Right now, I’m knitting the sleeves for a cardigan in black Kidsilk Haze, using the Hebrides pattern. I’ve knit it twice before, and it’s a gem. These little jewel-necked cardis aren’t terribly exciting, but I do get a lot of wear out of them. I’ve wanted a black one for a while, though this may be the last time for black Kidsilk Haze to jump onto my needles. I have the fronts and backs done, and will pick up the buttonbands in daylight on those 2.75mm needles.
I also finished the Storm at Sea quilt, which feels like a huge accomplishment. It’s been a finished top and unfinished quilt for so long. I’m working on the hand quilting for the Pineapple Star – just two corners to go, then I can bind it. It’s time to get all these unfinished tops done.
In the meantime, I finished a little top-down cabled cardigan for the girls and that’s what we’ll look at today. Here’s Tyler modelling it, along with the top from McCalls 3701 and pants from Tyler Wentworth 3522.
I didn’t have a pattern for this, just cast on with sock yarn and made it up as I went. I kept notes so I can do it again. I also kept the cables simple on this one – it’s a two-stitch cable with a purl stitch in between each one – so I could keep track of the counts better. Now that I’ve figured them out, the plan is to make another with more elaborate cables. Those are working buttons with buttonholes, though the small holes are tricky to find.
My favorite detail is the pockets in the fronts. You can just see the one on the left side (the doll’s right). I put the stitches on a holder where the pocket should go, then cast on the same number in the next row. That gave me a slit. I continued to the hem and finished the body of the sweater, then went back to those held stitches. I knit down to make a square, then sewed its edges to the inside of the sweater. Pockets!
You can see the cables better on the back of the sweater, as well as the single stitch on the raglan lines. I worked purl-knit-purl on each raglan line, and increased before and after it. As soon as I had two stitches for a new cable, I started one. The cables are turned in opposite directions on the left and right, then the center back cable is four stitches on each side of the central purl stitch.
The wool is some leftover sock yarn and I worked on 2mm needles. The only change I’ll make when I knit it again is to add a few rows to the collar – it wants to curl up – and I’ll play with the cable patterns, too.
These are the patterns for the sewn garments.
McCalls 3701 for 16″ dolls
Tyler Wentworth 3522
The pink shirt is made of French shirting cotton, which is really lovely and fine. The weft is a slightly different colour, so it changes in the light. (Yes, I made a shirt for myself of this fabric once upon a time.) It’s actually a bodysuit but made of woven instead of knit. It was a little tricky to turn those collar points but a nice little project. Those buttons don’t work – there are snaps behind them to close the fronts.
The pants from 3522 are the ones I’ve made multiple times in pleather for the girls. This pair look a bit like jeans thanks to the fabric choice, but I’ll need to add pockets to the back of the next pair to complete that illusion. They are quick basic pants to sew.
A day late on this post because I didn’t have pictures done. I took one inside but it was dingy – yesterday was sunny so I got a second one.
Malia is a pattern for 12″ fashion dolls from Hankie Chic. (That’s an Etsy link.) There are two skirt variations included for this dress – a fuller below-knee skirt and a straight full length skirt. The bodice has pleats over the shoulders, which form short sleeves. There’s a long-waisted bodice piece, too.
I made this from a cotton with a tiny print in navy. I ordered this fabric from Charlene Lu’s Etsy store, and she has it in several colours in 70 x 50cm squares. It’s really a very delicate print, a great scale for dolls.
This dress is lined with cotton voile and was machine sewn – except for the bodice lining, which I sewed by hand. The pleats that are formed over the shoulder open up when the dress is on the doll in a very attractive way.
Isn’t this a pretty dress?
Here’s the dress off the doll. (I’m not sure the details are more visible, though that was the idea.) It has a couple of snaps at the back waist.
I have another one cut out in cotton, also with the full skirt. I’ll have to try one with the long straight skirt, in a shiny fabric. The one on the pattern image looks like it might be made of that Chinese brocade, which is beautiful but also quite thick. I’ll probably try a crepe back satin first, even though it’s slippery stuff.
Alive & Knitting 