Crochet Corner

I've been wanting to do this for a while now. Handmade knit and crochet items are sometimes difficult to style. So I wanted to do a series of posts about wearing handmade items in a flattering way. I have been crocheting for a long time and have made many sweaters and vests without a lot of thought about  how the lines of the item will hit me or whether it will be flattering. I would just think it was a gorgeous piece and want to make it. Recently I've been getting rid of any unflattering ones and being way more choosy when I start on a new project.

This grey sweater has crochet in the middle and knit sleeves. If I remember correctly the middle was crocheted vertically in back loop only half double crochet (for those who care).

 It has some telltale wrinkles from storage where I just got all my winter sweaters out of the attic. Oops! Since we actually had fall this year, I'm just now switching out all my clothes.

Quick Change Artist

After a childhood spent avoiding dresses whenever possible, I'm discovering the advantages of dresses and skirts and wearing them more. I associate dresses with feeling restricted as a tomboy child. And panty hose used to be a must which meant sweat in summer and lots of discomfort. In winter they weren't really warm enough.

 Last summer I discovered airy dresses are a great way to beat the heat and now that I've discovered tights, the winter chills aren't a barrier to wearing skirts any more. And sometimes they're just plain fun. Also being a basically lazy person, I realized skirts rarely need washing. I'm sold.

Still when I'm heading out on a road trip after church, it's time for a quick change to jeans.

And here's what I wore to church today. So far I'm mainly branching out to wearing dresses to church because I can change to something ultra casual when I return home. But at least it's a start. Now that I see how slimming this is compared to some of my pants outfits, it may become a regular pattern.  

Tactile Defensiveness and Clothing Sensitivity

Last night I spoke to a group of foster parents about parenting and ADHD.  Somehow I forgot to even mention clothing sensitivity. How could I forget that when both my son and I have that? I think the fancy smancy term for it is "tactile defensiveness" but I just call it "I'm not wearing THAT!"

This would include anything stiff, itchy, tight anywhere on the body, anything with tags, a tight neck, etc. No turtlenecks, no pencil skirts for more than an hour or so, high heels, shirts that button up, structured jackets that don't allow totally free arm and shoulder movement, spanx, thongs, anything that squeezes anywhere, etc., etc. In short, anything remotely fashionable. Or at least that's what I used to believe. After becoming determined to dress myself more attractively, I began to search out comfortable things that still look nice. So while I'm still cutting tags out of my clothes and thanking whoever decided boys tees should have no tag . . . I'm really trying to be more mindful of fit and not just comfort. 

Here's an example of how comfort can either look sloppy or stylish. No, I did not lose 20 lbs. between the 1st and 2nd picture. In fact, they were taken the same day. The 1st is my uniform for Mom cleaning and running errands on a Saturday. The 2nd isn't perfect but it is a step up. Here I have a very soft shirt as the first layer with a soft cardigan over it. I think the jeans are still slightly "mom jeanish" but all my dark wash jeans have disappeared.