De-flared Birkin Flares and a Tegna Sweater

Many moons ago (otherwise known as 17 months ago), I made my first pair of Birkin Flares.  They were the first pair of "real pants" that I had made and I was so pleased with the results.  But sadly I quickly outgrew that pair of pants and they haven't been worn all that much over the past year because too tight pants = really uncomfortable.

So when it came time to re-enter the workforce this fall I turned back to the Birkin Flares pattern because I was in desperate need of new pants.  Now 2 things that you should know about my work place:

1. It ain't fancy
2. It ain't clean - so anything I wear to work needs to be machine washable

Now truth be told, this is actually the third pair of Birkins that I made after re-discovering the pattern this fall.  I hope to talk about the other 2 at some point, but let's just focus on this pair of pants for now because they're my favorite pair (shhhh - don't tell the other pairs).

For this go around, I ended up tracing up 2 sizes up from my first pair to a size 30.  I also ended up slimming out a bit of the lower thigh and taking away a lot of the flare.  The pattern is great because once most of the pant is sewn together you can baste the outer legs and loosen or tighten as necessary for a perfect fit since denims can vary in how much give they have.  In this case, I ended up taking in a bit more than the recommended seam allowance.  Oh, and the fabric is Pacific Blue Stretch denim, a made in the US denim that I purchased from Fancy Tiger Crafts.  It was great to work with and I love the deep indigo color.

As for finishing touches on these jeans, I used navy topstitching thread and opted to leave off the rivets, which I think gives it a bit more of a "trouser" feel than a "jeans" feel.  Perhaps that makes them more appropriate for work - or so I'll just keep telling myself.

Now on to the sweater because - surprise - I made that too!  The pattern is the Tegna Sweater pattern by Caitlin Hunter.  Now I should confess that me and this sweater did not get along for the first 2 weeks that I worked on it.  In fact, I may  have cursed everybody's name who raved about how amazing this sweater was to knit.  First off, you have to cast on 300 stitches and then knit a lace pattern and I ended up twisting my knitting when I joined it in the round, which required me to rip out hours of knitting.

Needless to say, I was not a happy camper at that point and was a bit bitter.  But once you get through the first couple of rows of lace (I hate knit 4 togethers!), the knitting was much more enjoyable and I really do love the finished product.  The fitted sleeves with the loose flowy top is unlike anything else I've made.  And the fact that it's made out of ONE silky by Fiberstory, a beautiful wool/silk combo yarn makes it sort of dreamy.  It also made it stretch out in length when I blocked it, so it's longer than I originally planned but we just roll with the punches around here.  I really do love wearing it, which is perhaps one of the highest compliments that you can pay to a handmade item.

The other highest compliment?  That as soon as I finished this Tegna I went in search of yarn to make another.