Handmade Christmas Show & Tell: Metallic Headlines

Metallic Merino Martha Stewart Scarflet & Headlines Meringue

I’ve actually knit two versions of this Martha Stewart scarflet. It was the first thing I knit when I decided I was going to give this present making lark a go. I grabbed a spare yarn and set to work, but when I was finished I started worrying about the wool content – 75%, with the other 25% alpaca, not the softest for wearing around neck and the whole idea of knitting this particular scarflet for Fiona was that she could wear it in work for a bit of added warmth.

So I came back to the pattern with merino, oh the softness – seriously I love that sheep! And this one has a nice metallic-ness to it that ties in with what I call her “updated little old lady style”, classic with a twist! Also, check out the little crossover section – divide, knit, rejoin – blew my mind when it worked!

When I finished my Minoru jacket I had material left-over and I was worried it would have to be relegated to something like a draught excluder – I could hardly make myself something else to wear, its kind of distinctive. Instead I hit upon making something Fiona, she had been quite taken with the fabric when I showed her what I had bought and I reckoned she’d wear it as a garment – the other two wouldn’t unless maybe it was a bag. (In the meantime I accidentally dyed the fabric while washing it so it now has a sort of pinky purply hue that takes away some of the harshness of the black&white.)

Colette Meringue - front

I was going to draft my own pattern until I discovered that we’re not actually the same size, (I always would’ve said we were – good thing I got her to try on a muslin for one of my skirts!) instead I went with Meringue from the Colette Patterns Handbook. There’s a whole section in the book on accurate pattern marking, which I read but did not apply – making a template to mark my stitching line on those scallops seemed like too much trouble. Instead I eyeballed the points and stuck to the seam allowance. Turning it right side out without clipping had me reaching for the seam ripper & cursing myself for not doing as I was told and marking properly, but a quick clip into the seam allowances later and the scallops literally fell into place.

Colette Meringue - back

I had to cut the back in two pieces rather than on the fold but that let me move zip from side to centre back – as is my preference for casual skirts. I was planning on an exposed metal zipper as I have a bit of a grá for them, but the only metal one I had was far to heavy, so plastic and matching it is!

I learned a very important fact about myself while making these presents – the best way to get me to up my game on finishes is to have the object be for someone else. Gratutious picture of the inside coming up, note matching threads in overlocker, and the hem facing which has been hand stitched to the lining (in the rather ridiculously early hours of christmas morning!)

Colette Meringue - inside (clearly un-ironed!)

Only problem I can see with this present is that I tend to go out with Fiona (she’s even featured in self stitched documenting!) so we’ll have to make sure we never both wear the same material – I think that might be a bit too much!

[Incidentally, the first scarflette had quite the rock'n'roll lifestyle. Finished, worn, "lost" at work Christmas party, returned by one of the guys in the office and then accidentally felted today in my washing machine!!]

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