The Sweatshop of Lovers Blog

Built By Wendy Knit Dress

(remember when it was 80 degrees last week? that is when I was running around in this fun knit dress.)

I swear I have non Built By Wendy patterns. I know it doesn’t look like that, since ALL of my finished garments have been Built By Wendy, (this dress and this top) but it just goes to show how adorable her patterns are.

Take a peek at this dress, for instance.

It’s simple and easy to wear. I threw in some silly striping and a front seem to get an off center stripe pattern, just for fun.

The neckline is super flattering. The length is windy day proof (tested it myself!).

(see my knee injury? left over from my fall a few weeks ago!)

And, above all, this dress was SO easy to throw together! I was nervous because sewing with knits is supposed to be hard and puckery and I’d need a serger, whatever that is. But I had no problems! At least any that I can see. Which is all that matters, right?

Built By Wendy Knit Dress Side View

Pretty Princess!

With the stripes in the fabric I knew I had to play with them or ignore them and hope it all worked out. I decided to play with them! I changed the direction of the stripes for the side panels and split them up for the front panels, just to make it a little more interesting.

Racer-back

The racer-back shape is really flattering, too! Shows off my shoulders while allowing for large armholes. GREAT for super hot summer days when you can’t help but sweat, but don’t really want everyone knowing about it.

I’m in love. I want 6 more. And will probably make 6 more. It’s the perfect dress for summer. I love outfits that involve one piece.

I was planning on rocking this dress this past weekend at Colleen’s bachelorette party Saturday night but the weather could not hold out. I rebounded with this not-very-interesting look:

Styling Green Tights

Twin Cities Headband in Blackberry

Black shirt, bubble skirt, green tights, purple shoes, Twin Cities Headband in Blackberry. Not that interesting.

I was not foreseeing, however, everyone else at the bachelorette party to be wearing jeans. When you wear green tights you know you are going to stand out a little bit, especially in the suburbs.

But when you are wearing green tights with 12 other girls wearing jeans you feel a little silly.

Thanks a lot, ladies.

The headband rocks, though.

Twin Cities Headband!

(Just a quick warning: All of the pictures in this post are of me oogling my kitty, Pudge Rodriguez)

Monday I blogged about the new Twin Cities Knit Kits, which I’m in love with and can’t stop looking at in amazement from the other side of the room.

And, more importantly, can’t stop wearing.

And that are flying off the shelves! Get yours at The Sweatshop Etsy Page before they are gone.

I don’t think I’ve left the house without a Twin Cities headband on my head or Twin Cities socks on my feet.

Saturday my friend Jamie (<- follow immediately, and at Nice Jumpshot, too) had a launch party for the new Chicago culture blog Tremble Tremble and I seized the opportunity to yet again style my Twin Cities headband.

All weekend I was frantically putting together the kits. I was sticking stickers to something right up to the party opening bell tequila shot, so of course I didn’t notice that I royally screwed up the hem on this skirt.

This is one of the skirts I picked up at the estate sale in Portland, which didn’t remotely fit in Portland but magically fit Saturday night. The only problem? The hem had fallen out.

Lumpy Skirt

Clearly I couldn’t be bothered to pin it in place or measure anything before sewing it up, because that is one lumpy hem. I tried to just follow the holes left by the first hem. Sigh.

But the rest of this outfit is rockin! It’s the first time I’ve worn footless tights. I don’t really understand the point of footless tights, but I had them and thank god I had the foresight to wear them with heels so I didn’t look real stubby. The fuchsia tights look great with the flamingo Twin Cities headband!

Ouchies

I would hate to see how my knees would have looked if I wasn’t wearing tights when I beefed it down the stairs later that night! I spent all of Sunday under ice packs.

So. Stupid.

And, upon arriving back home after the party, I drunkenly washed the blood out of my tights but didn’t manage to wash my face. I had my priorities straight!

Pre-Knee Bust Up

At least I was looking cute beforehand!

Headband: Twin Cities Headband in Flamingo

Deep V Lace T-Shirt: Target a million years ago

Polka Dot Vintage Wrap Skirt: Portland estate sale

Fuchsia Footless Tights: Target

Pointy Black Heels: Payless

Mrs Darcy: Ready for a Night Out!

We are all freaking out about the weather in Chicago right now. As I’m writing this it’s 73 degrees. The windows are open with summer blowing through them.

So looking at these pictures of me wearing layers and layers of clothes is kinda funny.

And, in the interest of full disclosure, I did not keep Mrs Darcy on for long. Even Saturday night, when I rocked this outfit for a night out with friends, it was way too warm in the bar for this wool sweater.

This wool sweater I’ve accepted, warts and all. The warts being how freaking curly the front edges are.

See them? They’ve been haunting me. But, whatevs. They are there. There is no changing it now. There is no fixing it now.

The accentuate my neckline, right?

Kinda?

Boobs

I mean, look at that accentuated neckline. That is all the curled edges of the sweater.

Hey Skinny Lady

The best thing about this sweater is how flattering it is! Between the twisted rib center panels and the deep V-neck, I’m practically see-through when I’m in this sweater. In a good way.

It’s a little cutsey. But I’m a little cutsey, so I don’t fight it.

Sweater: Mrs Darcy Cardigan

Top: H&M, a million years ago, dyed a few times

Tank: Prague

Skirt: Target, pinned up to make shorter

Tights: Target

Shoes: My mommy bought them for me!

Librarian HOTT

I promised a Style Your Knits was coming really soon and here I am to deliver!

Even more than just a regular Style Your Knits, though, this is a Style Your Knits: Brother’s Wedding Edition.

(And yes, it is perfectly acceptable to dress like a sexy librarian when your brother gives you a one week notice he is getting married.)

I’ve got to give myself some credit for rocking this look as hard as I am. These pictures were taken at about 2:30 EST. After I drove 4 hours (traffic getting out of Chicago was nuts and added over an hour to the normally manageable drive). After I trained up to O’Hare to rent the car. After I woke up at 7 CST to finish unpacking from Portland and packing for Michigan.

Not that I’m complaining. I’m just stating facts. It’s not every day your little brother gets married and I would have driven a lot farther, CTAed a lot longer, and woken up a lot earlier, to be there.

LOVE That Sweater!

I’m just saying that I pulled it together in the clutch. Just like Kirk Gibson during the 1984 World Series, commemorated on the wall behind me.

Sexy Lean

My mom’s house is a pretty great background for these pictures. She weaves all the baskets hanging from the ceiling and on the walls. The wood walls make everything look better. There are books on every wall and hand made things sticking out of every corner.

That pile of red on the table is my Mrs Darcy Cardigan.

And full disclosure: I haven’t taken Dollar and a Half off since I’ve finished it. This is officially the fifth day in a row I could have shaped a Style Your Knits around this sweater.

It. Is. Perfect.

Sweater: Dollar and a Half Cardigan

Top: Target, a million years old

Skirt: Old Navy

Tights: Meijer

Shoes: Ann Marino, and yes I wear them any time I have to dress up

Bag: Estate sale in Portland

It is amazing how much can be accomplished in just one little year. Today is my one year blog anniversary! I honestly had no idea what I was getting myself into a year ago, but I am so happy I did. I’ve written more in this past year than I wrote in four years of writing school. I’ve knit more this past year than I ever have before. And I’ve taught more classes than I ever have before.

And, of course, the launch of the Knit Kits is a huge step forward for my little Sweatshop. And to thank you for being a part of this crazy year we are hosting a Madison Kit Giveaway!

Brynn Rockin Out

Win a Madison Cowl Kit or a Madison Hand Warmer Kit! To enter, leave a comment about which knit kit you want, which color, and how you are planning on wearing it. Tweet it with a @sweatshopoflove for bonus points!

You have until the Super Bowl (that is Sunday, February 7th) to enter! Our winners will be announced Monday, February 8th.

HOTT!

And you can take your style cues from our Madison Kit model, Brynn! She rocks the Madison Cowl and Hand Warmers so well it was like we made them for her.

Love It!

She had some lovely things to say about what she was modeling, too! “I am amazed at the vintage feel of the pattern; it makes this set especially unique.  I’ve never seen anything like it.  I also love how the gloves are like little coats for your hands!  I can still rummage through my purse, flick my hair out of my face and get things done without constantly pulling gloves on and off.  The cowl feels like a hug around the neck! It not only kept me warm doing my chilly morning shoot, but it didn’t feel confining.  Vintage fashion meets function – yes, please.”

Thanks, Brynn!

How sweet! And how cute is her outfit? I couldn’t NOT make this a Style Your Knits.

Navy Floral Strapless Dress: Vintage (Knee Deep in Pilsen)

Cropped Tuxedo Jacket: Twenty8Twelve

Pale Pink Wool Cardigan: I bought it in like 9^th grade!

Faux Croc Leggings: American Apparel

Belt: Vintage (Knee Deep in Pilsen)

Suede Booties: Aldo

ZigZag Bracelet: Vintage (Randolph Street Market)

And Tara took all these cute pics! She wanted to give a shout out, “To Atomix and it’s awesome patrons for being so cool with us shooting in and around the coffee shop. Everyone was really radical about it.”

Remember my Summer Sweater I knit last summer? I rocked it out last night!

Summer Sweater Winter Style

And Here Less Angry!

I had an outfit planned for last night that was not this outfit. It involved a Sweater That Shall Not Be Named, and that is still an open wound so lets not talk about it! lalala

I had my heart set on a Style Your Knits post, so I had to make it happen.

While it is unseasonably warm in Chicago this weekend, it is nowhere near summer levels but I thought, why can’t this be an all year around sweater? I can make it happen.

And I did! How cute it is with the black belt and tights combo? Instant winterization.

Sweater #2

I threw a black sweater over it, too. Little did I know Relax Bar, the scene for PT’s birthday party last night, is kept to a near hell like temperature. See my shoe option two in the back ground? Flats would have been just too easy.

Summer Sweater

I love this top. It’s so fun and pretty and was fun to knit. And I got groped all night by adoring fans of this lovely sweater. Win win!

(AND a very happy birthday to Mr. PT!)

Top: Summer Sweater, knit by me

Sweater: Kohls

Belt: Stolen from PT

Skirt: Made by me from an old pair of pants

Tights: Target

Shoes: Ann Marino, again

Feet? Check.

HOTT? Check.

I got a sweet idea while I was getting ready to go out Friday night! I know some knitters have trouble styling their knits, I sure did when I first started knitting. So why not show examples of how I wear my knits to help show how easy they are to work into perfectly normal outfits?!

Enter: Style Your Knits!

(I should have thought of this when I was rocking my bow headband on New Years Eve, but better late than never)

OOhhh Belt!

So here we’ve got my cabled party belt that I finished last week worn over an Alternative Apparel tshirt PT won off a blog contest and didn’t like and under a black cardigan.

Full Disclosure: I was worried about the belt slipping off since there was no real way to secure it, since it’s not a belt buckle but a purse handle, so I used some bobby pins to make sure it didn’t go anywhere. This was a great decision! There is no way it would have stayed on all night otherwise.

Also, it was really hard to sit in. When I sat down it would slide up unattractively because the buckle was so big.

Worth it? DUH look how cute I look.

Feet: HOTT

And here we’ve got some purple toe up socks I knit over the summer with purple peep toe heels I bought a million years ago at Target. They are Isaac Mizrahi for Target, that is how long ago I bought them. I went a little crazy because all the snow is melting and it was like 25 degrees Friday night! I love how my long jeans look with these shoes.

There you have it! I styled those hand knits and I can safely say that no one in the world was wearing the same outfit I was wearing on Friday. I love that about making my own clothes.

Shirt: Alternative Apparel deep V

Sweater: Kohls

Belt: Hand knit by me, Vogue Knitting pattern

Jeans: New York & Company low-rise bootcut

Shoes: Isaac Mizrahi for Target

Socks: Hand knit by me, my own toe-up sock pattern