Sewing tricks and csm grafting socks

 I sent in my volunteer availability to Westfield for the next couple of months, and got my building assignment already.   Since I'm in the Misener house, which means a great woodstove for cooking and baking, I decided to make myself a new work dress.   I've several dress lengths of 1860's prints from when a local store had put them all on clearance.  I got a couple of them on sale for buy 1 yard, get 2 free, and they were already reduced to begin with.

Anyway, I chose the blue one, not because it was my favourite print, but because I looked in the bag and I already had purchased the thread and notions.  That was a no brainer.  

I was trying to find my pattern, which already fits.  I obviously put it in that pit of despair known as a "safe place", and not my pattern file, so I'm redrafting a pattern.   Last week was a write off for getting anything worthwhile done, but today I picked it back up.  I was only able to get a fit that I liked by using an amscye dart, which I've not seen on any photos of that period of garment.   A bit of searching though, came up with instructions on swinging the dart to  a waist dart.   I wasn't sure about doing this, but I bravely cut the first dart and although I had to make it a tad longer, it worked a treat and the muslin now lies flat.   I'm hoping that it fits as nicely.

This is a toe that I just grafted closed with a kitchener stitch.   It's a lot more grafting with a cranked sock than with a hand knit sock.  In this case, 36 stitches on each side to graft together.    I'm not that fond of grafting but it's easier on the cranked socks because you have to do it from the back.   The stitches are held in place by waste yarn rather than needles, and there is no need to make sure you're picking them up on the correct side like pearling or stockinette side.   You do them from the backside and it's just stitching through the previous stitch and the new stitch, previous stitch and the new stitch, until you're one.

The downside is that there are things to get in your way.   If there isn't enough contrast with your waste yarn, you can't see the stitches to pick up.  If you don't have enough light, it's also difficult to see those stitches.  Plus, you have to be careful not to pick up the waste yarn when you're grafting the live stitches.   On the upside, it's pretty easy to do and I found it easy to get the tension pretty close so it's difficult to see where you've grafted.

Another downside is that it sort of looks like a hungry worm monster which wants to eat your arm when you don't get it stitched up quickly enough.   Once the seam is closed, I'll just pull out all the white waste yarn and the sock will be done!  Otherwise, that partially grafted sock could be inspiration for nightmares!