Mystery and Study Hall

Hot off my needles:






Summer Mystery Shawl knit-a-long by WendyKnits
yarn: Malabrigo Sock, color Africana Violeta, used about 70% of 1 skein
needles: US 7

A mystery knit-a-long is when the directions (or "Clues") are released bit by bit over a designated time frame. The knitter doesn't know what the final project will look like... an exciting way to knit something, for sure!

Also from under the needle:



This is the Study Hall Skirt by Anna Maria Horner. I had this school-themed fabric kicking around for a while, and thought it'd be a good marriage with a school-inspired pattern! This reminds me a lot of my days spent in a cheerleading skirt, only this is quite a bit longer (ahem). As for the pattern, I cannot give it 5 stars, even though I'm very happy with the end product. I made the size XL, and was very upset to find one of the bottom band pattern piece did NOT fit on the fabric yardage as stated on the back of the envelope. So I had to put seams that particular pattern piece, which required some figuring so that they would fall somewhat hidden within the pleats. It may have fit if I did not wash/dry my fabrics first, but the directions told me to wash/dry, so wash/dry I did. The method of constructing this skirt seemed a bit convoluted to me as well. After sewing the backside by the book, I abandoned the directions in favor of common sense and experience when piecing the front. I also installed the invisible zipper (center back) a different way than directed. I was also put out that the directions reminded one to buy extra fabric for one-way designs, but then neglected to offer cutting layouts for one-way designs. Since I cut this out late at night in a rush, I forgot to do this and ended up with some upside down handwriting in two of the inverted pleats. I didn't have any fabric to spare, so I had to let it ride. All that said, I would not recommend this pattern to a newbie seamstress, but someone familiar with clothing construction should be able to figure it out with no problems. There were lots of great diagrams to help along the way.