Category: Fashion

On Ascot day, you can wear an Ascot dress that has been styled in the best way to make you look and feel polished and practical on the day.

Cap Sleeves

Cap Sleeves

Cap Sleeves are short in length and will cover the top of the arm. This style is designed to be narrow and will not add bulk to the dress. Cap Sleeves are a great choice for fitted dresses and A-line dresses. They are perfect for a warm June day and as long as the dress covers the shoulder, you will be within the enclosure rules for the Royal Ascot’s official dress code.

Three-Quarter Sleeves

These are ideal as they come down to just below the elbow ensuring that you can wear your Ascot dress to the appropriate Royal Enclosure event whilst keeping your arms covered. They are ideal for midi and tea-length length dresses.

Flutter Sleeves

The flutter sleeve will give a dress made from chiffon or crepe a nice movement to the garment without weighing down the dress. The sleeves will flatter most arm shapes and are a good balance to a fitted bodice.

Long Lace Sleeves

A sheer lace sleeve will give full coverage but also feel light and elegant. A long lace sleeve is a common feature of many Ascot dresses and they use the sheer material of the lace to create texture without weight.

A useful reference for Elegant Dresses for Ascot is aimeejoycelondon.com/ready-to-wear/elegant-dresses-for-ascot/.

Sleeveless With a Cover-Up

A sleeveless dress offers the greatest flexibility, and can be covered with a tailored jacket or a structured wrap to comply with the enclosure’s dress code. It is wise to choose a cover-up of the same fabric as the main part of the dress, or in a tonal colour to create a cohesive look rather than a bulkily layered one.

You should choose a sleeve style for your Ascot dress before the race day as it will shape up the overall look of your outfit.

While you may typically like to crochet in your home with your feet up in front of the TV, there is no need to limit yourself to that. Instead, take your crochet projects with you wherever you may go.

Where can you crochet?

Good places to crochet can be on a train, in your work lunch hour, while your children have their swimming lessons, in a restaurant while waiting to be served, or while waiting for an appointment. But there aren’t many places where you can’t crochet, so if you want to add your crochet kit to a rucksack and take it to the top of a mountain, then go for it! Basically, anywhere with somewhere to sit and your hands are idle is a possibility.

What can you crochet when on the go?

Again, there aren’t many limits to what you crochet, but some ideas are more practical than others. You will have to be able to carry with you the essentials like your pattern, yarn, crochet hooks, scissors, and stitch markers, with a bag for easy storage when it is time to move on. Generally, small projects that aren’t too bulky will be easier, but the choice is yours. Crochet kits like those at /www.woolcouturecompany.com/collections/crochet-kits are a great option as they will have the right amounts of yarn that you need.

Project ideas

Small projects like hats, mats, and coasters can easily take away the time on a train journey. But let your imagination run wild and see where your crochet projects for on-the -go can take you.

Sometimes you need the joy of a finished project now, not in another three months. These easy weekend knits are ideal projects for beginners to make to build their skills, gift their creations or just use up that one amazing ball they have been holding onto. The trick is sticking to stuff with basic shapes, chunky yarn and simple stitches.

Ten Quick Knits You Can Actually Finish in a Weekend:

1) Chunky ribbed beanie

A beanie in a super chunky yarn is speedy and demonstrates ribbing, decreasing and shaping.

2) Basic cowl (worked flat or in the round)

A cowl is just a tube: minimal shaping, maximum cosy. Great for practising knit/purl textures.

3) Mug cosy

Tiny, practical, and very giftable. Add a button for practice, or keep it simple!

4) Headband/ear warmer

They work up fast, are wearable, and great for that small single ball of yarn! They look great but are still easy to style. For a Knitting Kit, visit a site like //www.woolcouturecompany.com/collections/knitting-kits

5) Dishcloths or washcloths

Great way to practice new stitches without a huge project. Cotton yarn plus texture = Awesome results.

6) Baby hat

Small circumference means fast progress. A basic baby hat is a great first tangible project.

7) Baby booties

While they appear complicated, most are just well-disguised fold and sew. Just whip out a pair over an afternoon once you get in the groove.

8) Hot water bottle cover

Cosy, practical, and a quick project in chunky yarn. It’s also a little forgiving if your tension is off. This makes the hot water bottle cover the perfect practice project.

9) Cushion Cover (Front panel only, without filler)

Just knit a basic square in an eye-catching stitch, and sew it onto fabric or perhaps onto simple swing cushion covers. Big impact, low effort.

10) Scrunchies

Great stash-busting ideas, you only need a tiny bit of yarn! Turn this tube on the elastic and sew it, voila!

How to finish by Sunday

Oversized yarn (some people refer to it as super bulky/thick or think of a soft baby blanket, thicker-kind-of-yarn) and large needles.

Pick patterns with minimal seaming

Just try one new method, not five, for example.

Tools to have handy: a yarn winder, and make sure you have the pattern with you before starting.

The weekend knit is not a product of perfection but simplicity. Choose one project, cast on and get cracking this weekend.

Let’s face it – nothing is quite as scary to a knitter as finding out you’re going to run out of yarn with three rows left at the finish line. It’s not even bait and switch – it is as though you have eaten all but the very last morsel of your favourite cake, then found out that someone had swiped that piece from under your nose. Devastating!

Don’t worry. You don’t need a PhD in mathematics or some grubby old crystal ball to calculate your yarn amounts. It starts with a little bit of forethought and some more or less apparent tricks.

The Golden Rule: Buy More

But seriously, let’s share an important reality that every knitter learns the hard way: Always buy an extra ball. Dye lots can change, and that “matching” yarn you locate half-a-year down the line will be like a red flag in your completed project. For Knitting Kits, visit www.woolcouturecompany.com/collections/knitting-kits

Start with the Pattern

Many patterns give you the yarn requirements, but those are generally for the smallest size in suggested yarn. A larger size or substitution requires an adjustment. Examine the finished measurements of that pattern to see if they jibe with your target size—and therefore whether you might need more yarn. Revolutionary, right?

The Swatch Method

Ah, yes… the gauge swatch. Except here’s the kicker – your swatch is basically a little yarn computer. The knitted swatch should measure 4 inches, and then you need to unravel it very carefully. To know how much yarn was actually used in the measurement process! Multiply this by the total square inches of your project, add 10% to that just in case and hey presto – there you have it!

Weight Watching

Different yarn weights behave differently. Watch the yarn weight and yardage per ball when substituting. So, a 50g ball of sock yarn might have 400 yards in it but the same weight could only make you an 80 yard chunky.

Digital Helpers

Today we have modern things called apps and online calculators that do most of the heavy lifting. Just tap in your measurements, yarn deets and stitch patterns — the magic of technology will do everything else.

The Bottom Line

Estimating is a science, an art and somewhere in between. When in doubt, round up. Then, you’ll thank yourself when you’re not scrounging around trying to find yarn that matches.

 

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