Modification Series. Soho Dress. Part IV. Details.

Finished ObjectsKnittingModification Series- S...Modifications Series

Jun 21

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I am sorry for the week’s silence - my day job is taking all my time now, including the afternoons. All this paper work is driving me crazy :) But this weekend was a bliss – I finally got my much needed knitting time. I was so engaged that didn’t even notice how I finished the Soho Dress, I thought all the finishing would take me so much longer. But here it is – blocked, seamed and ready to be put on. And I am in love! The whole process of making it was such an indulgence for me. The yarn was the best part, to feel how the natural linen, cotton and silk are slipping through my fingers to create the knit fabric was an incredible tactile experience. It was this kind of project where you feel like you can’t wait to see the result, but at the same time hope it to last as long as possible.

Project Notes

Ravelry page. Soho Dress. Project notes list all the modification posts in order. I still need to work on updating it.Pattern. Heavily modified version of Notched Hem Tank Top by Purl Soho.Yarn. Linen/cotton blend for the main color and raw hand dyed silk for the contrasting details. The full yarn review post can be found here - Modification Series. Part I. As I mentioned before, I was waiting for one special project that would be perfect for this gorgeous yarn.The yardage in silk yarn wasn't enough for a garment and I really wanted to feel it against my skin, so these side details were such a genius idea - they don't take too much yarn, which makes it perfect for leftovers or for these precious skeins that are so out of your yarn budget zone ; they add nice design touch and let you play around with different color combinations.Fit. Knee-length dress with straight skirt.Design details.Texture. There's something about the yarn that brings 100% handmade spirit to the dress. Maybe it is slightly loose spun linen/cotton blend, or the uneven texture and color of raw silk, or combination of both. I love to touch this dress and I love to feel it against my skin. Yarn was just perfect!Side panels. Side panels were the ones that "got" me in the original pattern. I loved the contrast of the reverse stockinette stitch against the classic one and the difference in length. Simple, but makes a huge difference. In my case the panels are also contrasting in color. I was a little bit worried about the silk being too dark against the main color, but these swatches had the last word - they looked so harmonious together. As I mentioned in the the second part of this modification experiment, I knit the dress flat, though the pattern suggested to knit the original tank in the round. So, I had to make two seams on each side. It was pretty challenging to do because of the row gauge difference, but the crochet hook made it so easy breezy. I finished all the seaming in an hour!Neckline. I didn't plan a neckline until I actually got to it. Originally I thought to knit it in the main color in simple stockinette, mostly because I thought side panels would eat all the silk yarn. But I had plenty left. So I got an idea to experiment and echo the reverse stockinette side panels on the neckline. The yarn changing row was the basic k2 *k2tog, yo* k2 to create eyelets. Though you can see in the center stitch it is actually k3tog, but just because my stitch count wasn't even. I was happy to use the silk yarn as much as I could. It's so incredibly beautiful and alive.Ties. I am boring. I almost always accentuate the waist with single crochet ties. It's simple and it's durable. The waist shaping was made 16 stitches from the edge to make visible decrease line from high hip to the beginning of waist.Hem. I love the length difference between the side panels and the main skirt. Thank you, Purl Soho, for such a great idea! To prevent rolling up I knit the first 4 rows in garter stitch.I loved working on this project so much! Really, I was ignited with inspiration from the very first stitch and it didn't leave me until the last seam. If you want to try converting the Notched Hem Tank Top into the dress, you can follow my modification process here - Parts I, II, III. I really hope I covered all the information and details, but if you still have any questions left you can always ask them in the comments, PM me on Ravelry or send me an e-mail alina@giftofknitting.com. I will be happy to help and see what your dress would look like!I hope to make some modeled shots this week! So, Soho Dress to be continued!