Tanit-Isis Vintage Shrug

So, after the teaser on Saturday, were you dying to know where you can get your hands on this adorable shrug pattern for yourself? I suspect many of you actually recognized it. 

My failed attempt to look as cool as Tanit-Isis. At least you can see the drapey sleeve.

The pattern is from the lovely and talented Tanit-Isis, and is available for free on her blog. I know, how awesome is that?! Click here for the pattern.

I made this out of a houndstooth burnout knit from FabricMart. Since the pattern only has one seam , matching the "stripe" of the houndstooth was effortless as long as your layout was on grain. the edges are all finished with self-fabric bands, which makes for a very easy and quick make. From printing to wearing this took me about 2 hours, but that includes some kvetching about what fabric I wanted to use.

The shrug fastens with a button on the neckband. The pattern calls for a buttonhole, but this knit was way too thin to support a buttonhole well, so I just used an elastic loop. Isn't the button pretty? It is vintage glass and seemed appropriate for this.

The only trouble I has was that this knit isn't particularly stretchy and I should have taken that into account and made my front band a bit longer to compensate. I have some rippling around there that isn't very attractive up close. I'm pretty sure it isn't going to stop me from wearing this though.

I did make one alteration to the pattern, which was to lengthen the sleeves. I generally like a 3/4 sleeve personally, but I wanted to wear this over long sleeves. I just extended the sleeve length to the full width of the fabric, tapering in to the wrist. I love how snug this sleeve is, although in my not very stretchy knit, it is a little tricky to get the band over my hand. Live and learn. The 3/4 length wouldn't have this problem, even in a particularly stable knit, and the style is unfitted enough that the stretch isn't needed for fit. So, this was a trail of the pattern, and I intend to use it for a lovely soft mohair knit my mother sent me. I'm not sure that I want to finish the edges with the bands in that fabric, so I may play with some different finishes. I'll keep you posted with what works for me.