Witchy Woman

Sweater: Idlewood by Cecily Glowik MacDonald; madelinetosh 80/10/10 worsted in venetian; my notes and modifications on Idle in St. Marks
Skirt: bcbgeneration "neoprene" pleated skirt (just saw it's on HauteLook today); similar style by Alythea
Shoes: Manolo Blahnik knee-high black boots; some others I've been eyeing include these rather reasonably priced suede ones from Joie which are also available in blue and burgundy (which I adore and want to try on), and these unreasonably priced onces from Gianvito Rossi
Gloves: black leather, elbow length, from a store in Florence; easily found stateside at places like Lord & Taylor
Lips: Korres mango butter lipstick in nude PLUS Bobbi Brown high shimmer lip gloss in Hot

So I don't really do Halloween, but that doesn't mean I can't end up with a totally crazy mashup outfit that's part witch and part ballerina, right? These tights, by the way, were billed as "nude" when I bought them, but when they arrived and were ballerina pink, I decied what the heck, they'll go with everything anyway! I went with black eyeliner and the severe ponytail (newsflash: still no haircut - maybe next weekend), and the black high boots and long gloves. Festive, no?

I have such mixed feelings about this sweater. I absolutely love it. I love the fit, I love the style, I love the color. The yarn...can you tell form the photo that it has not exactly held up as one would hope? I look like a fricking muppet in person because it is so pilly. Now the sweater is knit on huge needles so it would be really easy (ish) to just make another, but the thing is, while the pattern is easy and relatively quick, it is also objectively boring. It is miles and miles and miles of stockinette cowl and I just don't have it in me right now. Also, I don't have a substitute yarn and I definitely do not need to acquire more yarn.

On a housekeeping note: I received a gorgeous skein of yarn as part of a kickstarter reward that I mean to photograph and publicize. Apologies that this has not been done yet. Additionally, in a rare event, I intend to photograph a WIP because I am so darned pleased with the colorwork. Happy Halloween, everyone!

Hair Emergency

Sweater: Cora by Andrea Black; wollmeise dk in Vamp; my notes and modifications (very few) on Jessica Rabbit
Skirt: Hilfiger suede skirt; similar styles by Ralph Lauren and (totally worth a visit to the store at this price) H&M
Shoes: Manolo Blahnik camel pumps; similar styles in suede by Gucci, in leather by Kate Spade, and in d'Orsay by Marciano
Lips: Dolce and Gabbana passion duo gloss fusion lipstick in Sensual

I no longer work in Manhattan. My hairdresser is a) in Manhattan and b) an Orthodox Jew who doesn't work on Saturdays. While both my office and my home are accessible by commuter train, it's not the same commuter train. To stop boring you as quickly as possible, what this means is that I can't get my haircut on a weekday without taking at least a half day off of work. As a result, this is what my hair looks like (coincidentally, as I was looking at my project page, I had similar hair problems then and also solved them with a flat iron). I promise I am really going to try to see him this Sunday even though I feel really strange about asking my hairdresser to work on a day he ordinarily doesn't work. Perhaps paying in cash will assuage all my guilt feelings. Now I know that many of you are looking at me like this is yet another high maintenance thing because it's not as though there's only one hairdresser in the history of the world, and you are just a tiny bit correct. But only a tiny bit. Laurent has cut my hair since my first haircut. In the intervening years, only one person other than Laurent has cut my hair. It was freshman year of high school and I went to Dramatics and I never went again. Laurent is kind of like family. In that he is like family and has shared in our triumphs and tragedies since my father first started seeing him in 1974. Oh, sorry, Laurent cuts the rest of my family's hair as well. So while I know how dreadful and severe my hair looks right now, flat ironing it today means I can forget about styling it for the rest of the week (those at-home keratin-esque treatments actually work quite well) while I find a way to ask a favor of a friend. Knowing my luck there's either a) some obscure Jewish holiday on Sunday that not even my comprehensive upbringing included, or b) he has a hot date on Sunday.

I go back and forth on this sweater. In the pro column is the amazing color. Also in the pro column is the beautiful cable design. In the con column are the raglan sleeves and slightly high, flat neck. The more I look at myself in raglan sweaters, the less I like them. I already have a formidable shoulder profile and I find raglans accentuate that. Not in a dear-god-madam-what-are-you-wearing way, but in a way that reminds me how much better I think I look in set-in sleeves. Since I'm coming off a week of not feeling well which, for me, goes hand in hand with a bizarre combination of self- pities and flagellations, I would like to also mention that my front green area looks homeless, the hair on the top of my head looks especially thin and balding, my nails aren't painted, this photograph is terribly dark, and dear god my yardish area looks homeless. What kind of person doesn't clean up her tomato stakes FROM SUMMER 2013?!? On the plus side, I can guarantee that those stockings are clean as I finally (again, I am kind of a colossal failure at being an adult) got the magicians at Amazon to bring me lingerie bags so I could launder all my hosiery in the handwash cycle of my washing machine.

Reading over this, it's possible I have a case of the Mondays.

Rhinebeck Hangover (A Very Long Post)

I have worn knitwear outfits the past two days, it's true, and I even photographed myself in yesterday's outfit, but I am experiencing a Rhinebeck Hangover and, in addition to the photos being non-straight and cutting off my feet), I look like death warmed over - and not in an amusing way.

Of course, I don't know what I expected from the combination of sleep deprivation, alcohol, and standing outside all day in not enough clothing, but what I was desperately hoping was an attack of allergies, despite the fact I have never suffered from them, is actually, legitimately, a cold. Me + DayQuil + NyQuil + abraded nose from kleenex + pale, wan face that no amount of bronzer can help = you're better off not seeing this. And I assure you, it's only 10% vanity.

Rhinebeck was a [expletive deleted] blast! And not just because I was drunk for a fair part of it. Our previously internet-only friend Megan (who is totes internet famous by the way) is now an in-person friend and even though she is beautiful and talented and delightful in every way, I cannot manage to hate her. It's truly terrible. Instead I might be even more in love with her than I was when she was just some typing and photos on the internet. She's the one who got me drunk. Also she let me wear her hair.



I did not take any photographs at Rhinebeck for a reason that only I think of as a good reason: my capital-C camera is really heavy you guys, my lowercase-c camera is my underwater camera and if I mess with its settings I'll never remember what they were AND it kind of makes a sad noise from time to time and I'd rather not have it die before we go to the Caymans because then I'd have to buy a new camera, and I do not have a phone with a camera. So no photos. Thankfully everyone and her mother took photos. If you've ever been to a fiber festival, you can understand that my first allegiance was to filling my bag to the brim with actual yarn, not camera equipment.



Quick plug: I bought this bag specifically for Rhinebeck weekend and I am so so glad I did. It is amazing and stylish and though I agonized for months over the color, am so glad I ended up with this one! You should totally get yourself one!

The weekend kicked off its wallet-straining gluttony at the brilliant Indie Untangled trunk show. Lisa did an incredible job of bringing dyers and designers together for a no-holds-barred stampede of fabulousness. And yes, I do not regret that Emily and I sprinted to the Astral Bath booth, failing to even say hi to Ridgely before jumping all over the Spectra DK in October so that I could get the skeins that were most perfectly matched! Later in the weekend we saw a woman wearing this excellent store-bought sweater



which I will be using as a jumping off point for a future design using my spectra DK (because I have no creativity when it comes to deviating from colors). I also bought my first ever Skeinny Dipping in the journey worsted base, a gorgeous color called A Barn Raising; I don't know what it will grow up to be, but assume there will be cables. Finally, I picked up a pre-order from the delightful Sandra of Duck Duck Wool (and we really didn't spend nearly enough time together) and then promptly begged her to let me exchange it (which she did because she is magic and sunshine and rainbows) for a color that was assaulting me with its amazingness, September Issue. No idea what it's going to be either, I just knew it was a mandatory addition to my world. So it appears there was an autumnal theme for the evening...

I won't bore you with what 8 women do between the hours of 8pm and 3:30am, suffice it to say that it is not as sexy as one would hope/imagine. But it was a delightful mistake and we were all really really excited to be awake at 7am so we could get to the fairgrounds in time for the moshpit that is Jennie the Potter's booth. Thankfully, all members of our group who wanted dinosaur mugs got dinosaur mugs. I was feeling quite virtuous since an entire hour had gone by without buying anything (note to Dragonfly Fibers: I would have totally totally gotten a sweater quantity of your Super Traveler had there been a sweater quantity; there wasn't anything in any color approaching it, so I was unable to impulse-buy $200 worth of yarn). I have decided that, for my money, Elsa Wool cormo is a far better choice than those offered at Rhinebeck, mostly because it's half the price. Though I did see a beautiful light grey that, were it not identical to the Quince & Co. Lark in Iceland I have knit with, might have been tempting. But all good things must come to an end. While I though I already owned the yarn I am going to make a Sundottir from, a quick swatch told me this was absolutely not the case as the pattern calls for 18sts and I was getting 24. So, after seeing a million and one gorgeous projects out of Shepherd's Wool, I got myself some (ok, fine, on Sunday I got some more after seeing two Shires - Shire 1 and my girlcrush Blair's Shire 2 in the wild and knowing I needed one for myself). And things have just devolved altogether.



The mega Empire skein I wad lusted after, but put on hold while I tried to convince myself I didn't need it, was replaced (sorry, Jill, though I am about to buy more yarn from you because design inspiration hit me in the car this morning) with 4 skeins of Lisa Souza BFL Worsted which looks way prettier in person, and I think the final nail in the coffin was a cone of Bartlett Wool sport in a tweedy brown that will become a super preptastic v-neck to go with a TBB (to be bought) plaid skirt). I bought too much yarn.

Other important things to note: I did not finish my Rhinebeck sweater. Here's a photo of me knitting it on line Saturday morning. You're welcome.



Between design work and no longer having a train commute to work, my knitting time has been eaten up (and also I'm not yet convinced I will wear this sweater when it's done, though I am amending the collar so that it is no longer shawl because that might give me some more options for wearing it - I do ADORE the yarn and will be buying many more sweater quantities of it as soon as I can remotely justify additional sweater quantities. See above. But from behind, you can't tell that I am an abject failure - though I did manage to bindoff the second sleeve as we started taking these photos!



And before you all die of boredom, I think I'm going to stop there. I can't guarantee I'll feel any better or that there will be any less rain tomorrow, but I promise there will be more self-indulgent pics of me to come.

Wheeeeeee!

Sweater: Better Breton by ME! wollmeise dk in admiral and natur
Jeans: Madewell Rail Straight jeans (possibly discontinued; replacement (?) style is Alley Straight
Shoes: Sperry Top-Sider Hayden Loafers in Sahara; similar styles (with tassel) and in patent from Bass
Nails: Butter London flawless basecoat which makes a pretty good matte nude...
Lips: Make Up For Ever Rouge Artist Natural in Aubergine N50

Today is kind of a big deal.

It's my first for-sale independently published pattern. And, to be Californian and British for a moment, I'm properly stoked. Since we already talked about this sweater a couple months ago, I'm not going to bore you with rehash. What I will say is that writing a pattern is both easier and harder than I anticipated. Easier in that numbers don't lie. Provided you start out with good notes and proper measurements, applying a to b is not that difficult. If your gauge is 24sts over 4" then to have something 32 inches wide requires 192 stitches. The End. But transposing that simple truth across ALL the measurements needed is a bit tedious and more than a bit nerve wracking (cause it's so easy to make a mistake and never realize it). Which is why (and because if I'm asking someone to pay me for something, I ought to make sure it's good), I enlisted the help of a tech editor, Joeli on ravelry, to point things out like the fact I had copied and pasted the totally incorrect and nonsensical final measurements from some (likely notepad) document onto my "final" doc.

It's also a bit difficult to trust the standards especially when you, yourself, aren't so standard. My personal neck to underarm measurement is shorter than average; my bust to waist differential is larger than average; I prefer a shorter sweater. How to reconcile those preferences with a garment that will be universally (or will aspire to be...) applicable is challenging. Do I make the adjustments to my version but write the "real" numbers into the pattern? I didn't. I made my version according to Hoyle - and I'll make my next one a little more to my norm. This not only made the process easier, but also allowed me to feel as though the sweater I was selling was also the one I was actually wearing.

So we'll see how this little experiment goes. I'll be at Rhinebeck this weekend as will ALL of the other extant Better Bretons. So if you'll be there too, look for us on Sunday and maybe, just maybe, buy yourself some yarn to make one of your own!

Follow Friday | October 10

So this makes no sense. Every time I think about it, it makes less sense. Because, you see, I actually know today's Follow Friday, Michele Wang, and I have known her since before she was that Michele Wang. I'm pretty sure I knew her when she said something like, "one day I'd like to quit my job and do knit stuff full time." So the fact that now that I'm a knitter and she's Michele and we don't knit-hang is patently ridiculous. And you know her too. In addition to being stupidly talented, she's also nice and fun and snarky and, like me, was with her now-husband for a ridiculously long time prior to signing the papers, so we had that in common before we had yarn things in common. When I met Michele, I didn't knit.

But there's a darker side to this relationship. An embarrassing side. Topiary? In my library, never knit. Bedford? It's been OTN since December and I've considered frogging it. Hell, last weekend I bought yarn FROM Michele to make her Stonecutter and yet the chances I'll cast that on this cold-weather season are next to none. I'm pretty much the worst. Because when I look at her designs, there are actually many more that appeal to me: Rowe, Slade (for the man in my life), Emery...I'd be happy to have all of those in my wardrobe. I just need to frickin' prioritize. Cause you see the aesthetic is a little more casual than mine, so even though I know I would love the warm, wooly, cabley goodness, I choose the fitted, pencil-skirt appropriate alternative every time. I pretty much suck.

But I'm going to attempt to redeem myself somewhat. Did you notice how I said that I had bought yarn from Michele last weekend? That's because she is doing a totally brilliant thing for the next three months: running a pop-up yarn store in Greenpoint, Brooklyn called Gauge + Tension. And if I can make it to wherever Greenpoint is, so can you. What Michele has assembled is a delicious assortment of highly covetable yarn, including Western Sky Knits, Julie Asselin, Hedgehog Fibres, Quince & Co., Brooklyn Tweed, and several others (including an amazing camel yarn I am kicking myself for not getting - I hope there's some left when I go back for round two). Michele's patterns are on display and, trust me, if you dismissed Stonecutter because you thought it would be unflattering, think again and get yourself to Gauge + Tension to try it on because it looked good on everyone in my group.

Here are the details and you can feel free to buy with abandon because I was there at 10 minutes to 11 on opening day so that I could have first crack. And I'll be back, likely in December because I've been regretting not buying a couple of things when I had the chance.

You Keep Saying You Got Something For Me

Sweater: Taqrian by Thayer Preece Parker; wollmeise dk in sternschnuppe; my notes and modifications on Happy
Skirt: J. Crew; similar color (and an incredibly amazing style) by Marni, really cute style at Kate Spade Saturday, and in my new favorite fabric neoprene at Piperlime
Boots: Manolo Blahnik, winter '00-01; this year's far less streamlined version, and the one I would buy were I in the market is from Christian Louboutin, but to be perfectly honest, I would probably wait and see what comes next - I prefer my existing boots (which still have many more years in them) to anything currently on sale
Jacket: Reiss midnight leather moto jacket; similar styles by Veda and on sale Marc New York
Lips: Dolce and Gabbana passion duo gloss fusion lipstick in Sensual
Nails: OPI for Sephora in Break A Legwarmer

I have decided that my eccentric fashion thing, that thing I'm known for (ok, maybe the second thing I'm known for since I think I might already be known for shoes, but that doesn't seem like a "thing" - lots of women like shoes, frankly it's a hahafunny thing that pisses me off, "oh you ladies, always out shoe shopping...") is going to be leather jackets. I'm going to try to score one on sale every year and have a collection of them because I really, really like them (provided I do not pay a lot of money for them). I never owned a real leather jacket until 2012 (I had a two terribly hideous thrift store finds in my HS/College years that were terrifying - and they were 1970s men's jackets because I was too fat for ladies' vintage). I honestly didn't want to buy something of value for a body I didn't value. It's why, by the way, I own all those shoes. When I was unhappy with my shape, I didn't want to spend money to dress it. My feet, on the other hand, weren't going to fluctuate with my weight, so they could have beautiful things. I used to swan about pretty much every day in $20 dollar clothing and $500 shoes. So I bought my first leather jacket from a Canadian company, Danier, which I can highly recommend for great bargains and great quality. I started with a center zip, fitted, burgundy jacket. AND LOVED IT! Oh my, it just makes a girl look so cool to toss on a leather jacket. So this past winter, I started looking at other styles, and I fixated on the classic moto. All the cool celebrities have one (I think Balenciaga and Yves Saint Laurent are the faves), and it makes a good girl appear tough. Soon the hunt I went. I knew what I wanted: the good old fashioned classic black moto with the chrome features. I wanted these things right until the moment I tried this one on at Bloomingdale's while I was shopping for something entirely different. It fit really well. And more than that, the style fit me really well. I'm not butch, no matter how much I might think I can play at it. My tough is a different kind of tough - I'd dare to call it steely, but it's definitely not an out there, let's take this outside, kind of tough. I kept thinking of Katie Segal in Sons of anarchy and how frickin' awesome she is and how I simply do not have that same look. The midnight blue, flat matte detailed, motorcycle jacket was just...me. The non-showy kind of tough. It went on sale, I hit buy, the rest is beautiful history. I love this jacket and I love it more than I would have loved its traditional cousin. It goes great with a dress and with jeans and is trying just hard enough without trying too hard. We're a good fit.

This sweater, on the other hand, is begging for you to pay attention to it. The color is amazing. I called the project Happy because knitting this sweater with this color yarn made me happy - and I knit it at a time when I was anything but happy. This was therapy knitting and it worked wonders. I really did derive some happy from sitting down to knit this. When I originally saw the pattern, I felt certain I would make it in a neutral, but then I discovered this color, which is a pretty perfect yellow and has a bonus, slightly difficult-to-pronounce German name, and realized that I could make the sweater in a decidedly non-neutral. Before I started knitting, I would never have considered wearing yellow; now I have a surprising number of yellow sweaters and an even more surprising number of yellow yarns yet to be bought. And I'm discovering that yellow is more neutral than I thought. There are few colors that won't go with yellow, and most of them (I'm looking at you, pink) aren't colors I would own a lot of bottoms in any way. I also thought it looked pretty good under my midnight moto, which is why they went together this morning.

A note on my hair: it needs to be cut. A lot. It's kind of a disaster. However, I discovered that my slightly Mod look benefited from the old "no these bangs aren't too long, I intentionally bobby pinned them back like this because STYLE" hairdo.

Just A Pop

Sweater: Grey Havens by Maria Olson; madelinetosh dk twist in chapterbook; my notes and modifications on The Precious
Skirt: bcbgeneration black pleated "neoprene"; early identical styles from T by Alexander Wang and Rachel Zoe
Shoes: Gucci alligator peep toes; similar style (and a great deal if you've got a big foot) by Giuseppe Zanotti and for all the feet by Stuart Weitzman whom I ordinarily do not recommend, but at this price the shoes are a good deal
Handbag: Bottega Veneta; similar-ish styles by Donney & Burke and whomever these people are being sold by Century 21, but the bag is leather and $100 is a fair price for a leather bag regardless of who made it
Lips: Make Up For Ever Rouge Artist Natural in Aubergine N50 Nails: OPI for Sephora in Break A Legwarmer (discontinued, but available on ebay - I have a spare bottle for when this one runs out)

It's a beautiful day, I'm in a decent mood, so why such a drab and dark outfit? You know, I feel like grey and black get a bad rap. While I will be the first to admit that this particular outfit would have benefited immeasurably from less opaque tights (a problem that is going to be rectified asap since these were the least opaque pair in my drawer), I never understood why grey and black were automatically docked happy points. This nail polish, it makes me incredibly happy! It's a way to wear a non-traditional color without drawing unprofessional attention to one's self. I love that! Also, look how nice my smudged wine lipstick looks! And, of course, the elephant in the room also gets a bit of a boost: the purple bag. Not my choice, not my purchase, the bag was my mom's, and as I reached for my black bag this morning, a small voice inside me said, "go crazy - grab the purple bag," and I always listen to the voices in my head.

So let's talk about this outfit. The sweater was part of the Rhinebeck 2013 Let's All Wear The Same Sweaters extravaganza and was a slog and a half to get through mostly because it was bottom up and, as you can see, I fail at bottom up sizing. This sweater is too long. Not ridiculously so, but at least 1.5 fewer inches in the body and certainly 2 in the sleeves would have gone a long way. I do like the style and the buttons, I just don't like how it bunches up during the day because it's longer than what I normally wear. Like right now as I sit at my desk, I can grab four+ inches of sweater pooling up at my midsection. Attractive.

So enter the drop-pleated skirt.

I had wanted this skirt for almost two years. Or, rather, I had wanted the Alexander Wang version for two years (by the way, this would be a good time to mention (and solicit opinions on) yoox.com. I have only ordered from them once and what arrived did not enough resemble the photos or the quality I was expecting. This has led me to believe that yoox.com might be the J. Crew Factory of designer clothing - the stuff might be seconds or cheaper versions of what gets sold in stores, so buyer beware). But the Alexander Wang skirt had been over $200 and I did not have $200 to spend on a single skirt (nor do I often unless it is made of leather in which case I could be swayed - I am really lamenting my lack of a black leather pencil skirt this year, but haven't found one at a price I'm willing to pay that I really like). So when I saw this near perfect knockoff on Zappos for, I believe, about $50, I hit the buy button before you could blink. And I was overjoyed with what arrived in the mail. No, it's not actually neoprene, but it fits, it's cute, and it wasn't over $200. My husband also likes it as it gives the illusion of a rounded bottom where my actual bottom could balance a level easily. I am not flattered by pleats that start right at the waist, but I have discovered that pleats that start at or below my hipbones are amazingly awesome. More pleats, please!

Finally, these shoes are among my absolute faves. First of all, they were a sick deal. These shoes are actually made of a no-longer-alive alligator, and while that's sad for the alligator, it is divinely decadent for my tootsies. I found these on ebay in 2000 for approximately 17% of retail. In my size. From a seller with impeccable credentials. You see, back at the dawn of ebay, you could actually get a deal, an amazing deal. A sizable percentage of the fancy shoes I own came from ebay because of this. Things have changed as now there are tons of institutional sellers, but occasionally you can find a whiff of what once was. Anyway, these shoes always make my legs look good, always go with everything, and always look super duper expensive (because at some point in their life, they were). I recently retrieved them from the shoemaker who gave left vamp a bit of a patch: apparently having them solidly in the rotation throughout four seasons during 14 years can take its toll. I'm not 100% thrilled with the work they did and might get a second opinion, but the shoes themselves look pretty darned good for being such old broads. And I bring this up because while what I paid for them was a fraction of retail, it was still a fair amount for someone who had only just moved out of her parents' apartment; but they have paid dividends for 14 years and will continue to do so until they literally fall off my feet. It's why I so vehemently defend the idea of spending on shoes. They will last. And far longer than the pair you pick up at Steve Madden. Yes, I take my shoes in every year to get re-soled, re-heeled, and re-polished (if required - I don't do it for sport), but I would much rather spend the money doing that than buying a pair of plastic shoes that will disintegrate before the end of the season. Thus endeth the lecture.

Tubes

Dress: Idlewood by Cecily Glowik MacDonald; Orange Flower Aran Merino Superwash in Woodsmoke; my notes and modifications on As Far As It Goes
Shoes: Ariat riding boots; similar style (and these have held up through a lot of hard use - I've had the zippers replaced, but the shoes themselves have been workhorses - see this photo of them with wildlife...)
Lips: Make Up For Ever Rouge Artist Natural in Aubergine N50
Nails: Butter London in La Moss
Bracelet: Breil stainless steel; similar styles like an olive branch bangle, or something thinner and stackable in gold

Let's get business out of the way first: this photo was taken Tuesday and I had every intention of also writing a post on Tuesday...

I'm sure I'm not alone in impulse purchasing yarn for which no project yet exists. (Please tell me I'm not the only one.) This one-of-a-kind color needed to come live with me, but once at home didn't quite have a purpose. I had loved knitting my first Idlewood even though the yarn pilled terribly, and I love a good knitted dress, so eventually these two ideas coalesced and a project was born. It doesn't hurt that the project is on size 10 or 10.5 needles, so it really does fly. And the dress itself is great. As you can see, it will go with flattish equestrian boots and on my original project page I have it styled with my dressy boots (and perhaps a useless but delightful pair of opera length black leather gloves). However, all that fun quick knitting has, in both cases where I've knit this pattern, resulted in a pilly garment over not that much time. Interestingly enough, this yarn is 100% superwash and my other Idlewood was 80/10/10, so it's not like I can blame the cashmere.

The other problem I have is entirely my fault, but intentionally my fault, and that is because I wanted a very open cowl at the neck, there's very little fabric in the dedicated shoulder area, which means the damn thing falls off my body. Now the enormous cowl prevents this from being accidental nudity, but it is annoying to have to pull your dress up every so often. On the other hand, I have yet to exactly figure out the proper construction which gives a nice open cowl and provides enough support. My Obsidian does a better job, so I might look to it for any future cowl work.

Yet I still heartily recommend the pattern. It's super easy and super pretty and really is just a giant tube. A word of caution, though: consider putting a label in so you know which way is up. On my sweater version, because the cowl is nearly as long as the body, I cannot count the number of times I've put it on upside down. Seriously.