Floral Granny Squares Cardigan

Similar to my crochet granny squares blanket, I crocheted a cardigan out of flower-shaped granny rounds.

The cardigan is inspired by one I saw at Anthropologie, though mine is much thicker and is suitable for winter. The Anthropologie one is probably inspired by the Summer of Love since there were many hippie retrospective exhibits and events going on in San Francisco during the summer since it has been 50 years since 1967.

I designed the cardigan as I went, piecing together 3 different flower designs. I used 13 balls of 100% wool yarn in four colors - 3 balls each of golden yellow, mixed green, and mixed purple, and 4 balls of grey.

I used a long cardigan I already had as a guideline for the shape of my crochet project, though the edges of my crochet cardigan is more irregular due to the shape of the rounds. To help hold the cardigan closed, instead of adding buttons or toggles, I crocheted a long string using the same colors of yarn in the project to weave through any of the holes in the jacket. It works well as a robe-style wrap.

I love how colorful and fun and unique my new cardigan is. It pairs nicely with a plain long-sleeved top and an overall dress. I found it most difficult to shape the sleeves, but I don't mind that they are a little bit lumpy.
<3 Mandy

Halloween Costume: Björk Swan Dress

I wanted to my costume this year to be a little more funky and creative. I like Björk's confident and unique style, her song "It's Oh So Quiet", and Jonny Pierce's (from the band The Drums) inspiration from her album "Homogenic" (which he calls his favorite album of all time). Inspired by Björk's performance on Kerid Crater, which I visited earlier this year in Iceland, I decided this Halloween was the perfect opportunity to channel her spirit. For my costume, I made the swan dress she wore to the Oscars in 2001. I think her dress may have been inspired by the picture of Leonardo DiCaprio holding a (live) swan in 1997.

I had a white silk dress with ruffles on the skirt that I had never worn, which I thought could work as the dress body, but the ruffles weren't dramatic enough, and the dress was too nice to alter by attaching tulle. So, I made my own ruffly tutu out of elastic and tulle. Starting out with a strip of white elastic a little wider than my waist, I sewed the ends together to make a loop. I bought 10 yards of white matte tulle, which I cut into strips to loop around the elastic. It took awhile to piece together, but I could see my progress as the skirt bulked up. Since my tutu is white and has lots of long, loose pieces, I felt more comfortable wearing a white lace slip underneath for some modest protection. The same white lace skirt I wore under the shift dress for my Mrs. White costume worked perfectly under the tutu, keeping it from looking too sheer without taking away from the look of the skirt.

To make the swan, I used scraps of black fleece, some orange felt, and remnants of a soft white fabric. I lined up some black scraps of fleece to make a swan eye shape to match Björk's dress. I cut two identical orange beak shapes and sewed the edges together, except for the end that connects to the head, and attached the black eyes to the beak. After measuring the white fabric by draping it around my neck, I cut a wide long strip with one rounded end (for the head), and folded it in half and sewed its sides together. I sewed the eyes and beak in place, making small adjustments to fit properly, and stuffed the beak with white polyfil stuffing. I also filled the head and neck of the swan, filling the head more densely to keep it round, and the neck more loosely so it would fit comfortably around my neck without being too bulky. I added a few layers of tulle, ruffled down the neck, to blend into the skirt. A safety pin connects the neck to the rest of the skirt and to the lace slip.

Björk is wearing a nude mesh bodysuit and tights underneath her dress, and I had several ideas for what I could do:
-wear an old rhythmic leotard, which has nude mesh sleeves (but is too delicate to wear outside, and might fit too small)
-buy a nude long sleeve shirt (but then never wear it again, and doesn't give me a chance to be creative and make something!)
-wear a light brown long-sleeve shirt (what I wore)
-make my own leotard! (for a look more similar to Bjork, but decided I didn't have time to make a leotard. to be continued in a future post!):

I happened to already have white sandal heels (wedges) that look really similar to the ones Björk is wearing. The last time I wore them was for my high school graduation! I'm glad I had the opportunity to wear them again and make better use of them, and that they worked so well for the costume.

Have a spooky and fun Halloween!
<3 Mandy