So like many people I have a favorite animal, the owl, best classified as "the avian equivalent of cats". They're fluffy and cute while also being fierce, they can fly! and they also have severe RBF (resting bitch face) which I can appreciate as my public transport RBF game is strong.
Unlike many people I have 'categories' of favorite animals based on terrain, so while the owl is my overall favorite, as well as favorite aerial animal, the octopus is my favorite sea animal :) Octopi are pretty awesome to look at, have amazing problem solving skills, can change colour, and are also amazing predators. Don't believe me? watch this informative video, narrated by an impressive Morgan Freeman impersonator (this video is hilarious! seriously go watch it! wait till you see the octopus 'walk').
And thus this tangent brings us to the main feature of today's post: Octopus Bruyere Shirt!
Still working on what to do with my hands in photos....today I've opted for the claw look...
The Bruyere shirt by Deer and Doe patterns has a special place in my sewing library, it was the first button up pattern I attempted and from it sprang forth my obsession with button up tops (which you'll probably experience first hand in the next few weeks as I #madeallthebuttonups recently). That very first Bruyere I ever made was with a stretch shirting covered in tiny bikes, you can see it here in my post on my Escher Cocoon Cardigan (it will probably get it's own post some day but you never know....)
:D Octopi! Also, technically the plural of octopus is octopuses, as explained here but octopi is still an accepted variant for the plural of octopus...plus it's more fun to say!
Like my first Bruyere, I omitted the sleeves as I like to be able to layer for efficient temperature control :) I meant to take this tip from the Grainline blog and trim the arm scythes to compensate for the lack of sleeves to fix some of the gaping I experienced on the back of the shirt but completely forgot. The gaping is really minimal and only I notice it so I'll just live with it. I unfortunately don't have a picture of the issue as it was a chilly day and I wanted to keep my Biston Shrug on for warmth!
Sidenote on the shrug: I knit this yearrrrsss ago it seems but it's definitely stood the test of time! The pattern is the Biston by Brooklyn Tweed and it's knit up in Madelinetosh Merino Light in the colorway Cat Whiskers. Knit in the smallest size exactly as written in the pattern. Madelinetosh is hands down my favorite yarn to knit with, all of their yarns are super soft and make incredibly warm, non scratch, garments.
I really like the way this shirt turned out, it feels funky without being overly weird, I can dress it up or down, and it definitely sparks some intense octopus related conversations :)
I really love how the Bruyere kind of blends between a shirt and a tunic, it's long enough to cover the rear making it easy to pair with tights but also works as a shirt with jeans (I should probably mention here that I did shorten the torso and raise the waistband by 1 inch but didn't alter the lower half of the pattern so if youhave a really long torso it may end up being more 'shirt' like on you). The downside to this is that the end of the shirt tends to wrinkle in the back ifyou sit down for awhile (see below).....but for me the comfort and ease of this shirt make it a 'you win some, you lose some' situation in my book.
wrinkly bottom....meh!
Cute story about how I acquired this fabric, I was on a supervised shopping trip at Spool of Thread (I only pretend to be an adult you must remember, if I'm left alone in a fabric store I'll buy everything...) and I mentioned that I really liked this octopus fabric, in this particular colour way, by Cotton and Steel. There was only a little bit left on the bolt but in a rare moment of responsibility I didn't buy it, mostly to show the #fluffyblondemonster that I could be trusted with money.....although to be honest I pretty much promised myself to buy it later as a reward for a then unspecified 'adult-ing' accomplishment. Fast forward a few weeks and I had my first job interview, that I went to with a raging head cold, and I deemed this event to be sufficiently 'adult' to warrant an unsupervised trip to Spool of Thread. Sadly they were out of this colour way so I bought the colour way that you see here, as the lining for my blue Minoru (I actually had enough left over to make a dress shirt which you will likely see soon, again due to all the button up sewing...). When I went home to lament not buying the colour I loved when I had the chance, the #fluffyblondemonster cheekily smiled and presented me with a wrapped package containing the fabric and confessed that HE was the one who bought up the last of the bolt the day after we had gone shopping. #RelationshipAcheivementUnlocked #awwww :D
To chase away the cheesy-ness of that last paragraph I'll leave you with one last fun fact about octopi, they have 3 hearts! #themoreyouknow