It's no secret how much I love knits. And to me, knits have meant hand knits for the past several years, not ready-made knit fabric yardage. When I got into sewing, I started quilting first. It seemed to be much easier than garment sewing. Straight lines, some ironing and the trickiest being the binding. (Of course, advanced quiltmaking techniques make my head hurt, but beginner quilts are fun and easy.) So when I started poking around the garment-sewing world, I started with wovens. I think that goes for pretty much everyone. I guess you could say that a straight-up woven cotton fabric behaves better than a knit. Knit fabric can shift a bit while cutting, especially if you don't have a large enough work area to lay the entire piece flat. And the inherit stretchiness made me assume that I would be warping and twisting it as I went.

Seems like I'm not the only one warming up (a lot) to sewing with knits. Colette just came out with a Guide to Sewing Knits by Alyson Clair.

Of course, I bought it right away. Although there are no patterns in there, it is exactly what it says: a guide. A very clear, concise and pretty guide. I absolutely love it. With my serger out, I'm feeling empowered to keep taking on more knits.

My next project: The Weekender Breton T from Hot Patterns.

No, I will not be making a His and Hers. Just hers. (Although if I can jerry rig this thing to make a dog version, there will be a hers and pooch's.)

When this pattern arrived, I was a little taken aback. The size of the pattern envelope is that of regular letter sized paper. And it was thick. Once I took out its contents I realized why - they use regular weight paper for the pattern. YES!! At a price that's comparable if not a bit cheaper, it's a great deal.

I picked out some striped knit fabric from Fabric.com:

I'm still learning about knit fabric and all the differences between jersey, ponte, interlock, etc so we'll see how this one works. It feels just like normal t-shirt fabric so I think it'll be fine. If I make it again, I may try something a little more authentic for the Breton, like this Saint James fabric I found at Harts Fabrics. Can't decide which one though-

This is an interlock knit which is a bit thicker than a jersey knit. It seems less summery, so maybe I'll make one for the Autumn.

And for all you hand knitters out there - interested in crossing over and sewing with knits? It's a completely different experience, but one just as rewarding. One major benefit of sewing knits instead of knitting knits is fixing mistakes. While you can't always compare the two, because sometimes you can really screw up in sewing where there's no turning back, fixing a sewn mistake is usually much easier and faster. I happily whip out my seam ripper, while I usually have to take a deep moment when I realize I have to rip back half a day's work.

Hoping I can squeeze this in before the end of National Serger Month. There is really no reason for the rush, except I like giving myself deadlines. Fingers crossed!

Krazy for Knits