posts tagged: purlsoho

scout tee

scout tee | pepperknit

I bought this fabric when I was in India a few years ago. That fabric shopping trip was overwhelming, and I have no idea what I was thinking when I chose most of the fabrics. I got home and discovered that I did not like most of them!

This fabric, though, I still liked. It was just different enough to not be like everything else I own, but still within my favorite colors. It was a drapey, sort of twill weave but turned out it was VERY loosely woven and in fact basically unraveled the second I cut it into the pieces. I quickly ran each edge through the serger but apparently that was only somewhat successful because after a day of wearing it, there is a hole in the armpit. I sewed that shut and after another wearing and a trip through the wash, there’s the beginning of a hole at one shoulder seam. Those seams were sewn with proper seam allowance; I think the fabric is just too fragile!

scout tee | pepperknit

Sadly I think this one will never be worn again. But I proudly wore it for one fine spring day on a drive with a friend from LA to San Diego! It’s shown here under the pier at Newport Beach and on the rocks around Laguna beach.

purl soho women’s robe

When I graduated from high school 20-plus years ago, I was given a terrycloth robe. It came greatly in handy in college, when I lived in the dorm and would travel back and forth down the hall to the bathroom. But once I started living on my own, I stopped using it—I went from bathroom to dressed, with no stop in between. But the past few years, I’ve taken to showering upon getting home from the day in the summer. Sweaty, salty, and covered in a layer of whatever hangs in the air in the subway, the end-of-day shower is one of my favorite parts of summer. And sometimes after one of them, I just don’t want to put clothing on right away. I kept wanting a robe.

Enter Purl Soho’s free pattern, Women’s Robe. (Well, free if you sign up for their newsletter.) I went to Mood, which has a bunch of Liberty cotton lawn, and agonized over the choices. In general I’m not hugely into the tiny florals of Liberty, but I wanted a super special robe, and this gray/white/blue one was the one. (There are tiny tiny bits of blue.)

purl soho women's robe | pepperknit

The pattern is very very basic—rectangles sewn together, essentially. It is not even a PDF pattern; it comes with no pattern pieces, instead telling you to cut rectangles of certain dimensions. That put a big delay in my process, because I knew the best way to ensure I had everything square was to make the pattern pieces. (I’m so glad I did not pay for this pattern. I’d be incredibly disappointed in how little I got for the money.) I finally sat down one day and did the math to make it work with 8½ x 11 paper.  When I cut the fabric out I was highly conservative with the fabric and had enough leftover to make a shirt! And I even did the long length—it comes to mid-shin.

Of course, even though it’s fall I’ve been loving using the robe. After a shower I don it, put my hair up in my towel, and feel free to swan about for a bit before I eventually put some clothes on.