armpits!
Thanks for all of the flattering Ingeborg comments! What an overwhelming response. To answer some questions:
Okay, now that the Naturespun commercial is over, I have new knitting to talk about! Or rather, progress on old knitting. I knit a bunch on the Vertical Stripes sweater this weekend, and decided to create the armhole steeks at around the 13" mark, about halfway through the 4th pattern repeat. I actually ended up tinking a row and a half (that's about 500 stitches - eek!), because I accidentally created one of the armholes off-center. 21 stitches on each side (the middle three stripes in each of the side stripe sequences) are put on scrap yarn, to later be worked as the bottoms of the sleeves. (Sleeve decreases are done on either side of that stripe sequence, which is pretty nifty.) I was off center on one of those, and the only way to really fix it was to undo the row and a half I had knit before I realized this. I'd probably be done with the 4th pattern repeat by now if I hadn't had to do that, but it was well worth the effort. Here's a photo of what that area of the sweater looks like now, with the baby armhole steek finally in progress:
According to the quick and dirty calculations I did in my head just now, I think I'll need a total of about 7 pattern repeats (about 3 more to go) for the sweater body. Of course, I'll make sure to use a tape measure as I go along to verify that. I've already screwed up at least one calculation on this sweater, as it's crystal clear that I didn't buy nearly enough cream colored yarn. I have plenty of the other colors, but can't figure out how I made such a silly mistake when figuring out how many skeins of the cream to buy. So there may be quite a delay when I'm done with the body, while I wait until I can buy more yarn for the sleeves. I don't think there's any way I'll be able to get the same dye lot, so I'd prefer that the entirety of both sleeves come from the same new dye lot, to decrease the risk of anything looking too wonky.
I've started to think about what I'm going to do for the collar. In the book, there are two rows of icord edging for the neckline treatment. (Though I can only see one row in the book.) I think the sweater might look nicer with corrugated ribbing as a neck treatment, since I have that at the bottom hem, and plan to use it for the sleeve cuffs. Shaping necklines is still something that I don't feel confident in, and which I have trouble visualizing. Let's hope it turns out okay. I'm not afraid to frog whatever I do, if it doesn't come out the way I'd like. However, I am a bit nervous about the initial shaping (before adding the ribbing), which I won't be able to undo once I cut the neck steeks. I think I'll go through other sweaters in the book to get a bit more perspective on the whole issue.
- I believe I ended up with about 2" of ease in the final sweater. That means it was smaller than the smallest size in the book, and definitely smaller than what seems to be traditional. I like it that way. I'm fairly small on top, and have hips that are about the same measurement as my bust, so this worked out well for me. I'd imagine that someone who has a larger chest measurement, or hips that are wider than their bust, would want to go with a little more ease with this sweater, even for a close fit.
- Someone asked about Naturespun. I love the stuff. Okay, I've only worked extensively with the sport weight, though I did use the worsted weight for the body of a pocket creature. (I loved knitting with it for that, but can't really attest to long term wear from that project. I've heard it's pilly when knit loosely but not when knit tightly, for what it's worth.) This is the third project I've used the sport weight for, though, and really can say with a lot of confidence that the yarn is wonderful. I really loved the stitch definition I got when I used it for Elizabeth I. I also used it for Nordic Mittens, which look almost new after being worn all winter. No pilling or fading at all. The yarn also softens up a great deal after washing. It's not all that scratchy to begin with, but after a long Eucalan bath, Ingeborg is very soft. I'm not a fan of Lamb's Pride, but Naturespun is definitely my favorite basic yarn. And it doesn't hurt that it's very reasonably priced.
Okay, now that the Naturespun commercial is over, I have new knitting to talk about! Or rather, progress on old knitting. I knit a bunch on the Vertical Stripes sweater this weekend, and decided to create the armhole steeks at around the 13" mark, about halfway through the 4th pattern repeat. I actually ended up tinking a row and a half (that's about 500 stitches - eek!), because I accidentally created one of the armholes off-center. 21 stitches on each side (the middle three stripes in each of the side stripe sequences) are put on scrap yarn, to later be worked as the bottoms of the sleeves. (Sleeve decreases are done on either side of that stripe sequence, which is pretty nifty.) I was off center on one of those, and the only way to really fix it was to undo the row and a half I had knit before I realized this. I'd probably be done with the 4th pattern repeat by now if I hadn't had to do that, but it was well worth the effort. Here's a photo of what that area of the sweater looks like now, with the baby armhole steek finally in progress:
According to the quick and dirty calculations I did in my head just now, I think I'll need a total of about 7 pattern repeats (about 3 more to go) for the sweater body. Of course, I'll make sure to use a tape measure as I go along to verify that. I've already screwed up at least one calculation on this sweater, as it's crystal clear that I didn't buy nearly enough cream colored yarn. I have plenty of the other colors, but can't figure out how I made such a silly mistake when figuring out how many skeins of the cream to buy. So there may be quite a delay when I'm done with the body, while I wait until I can buy more yarn for the sleeves. I don't think there's any way I'll be able to get the same dye lot, so I'd prefer that the entirety of both sleeves come from the same new dye lot, to decrease the risk of anything looking too wonky.
I've started to think about what I'm going to do for the collar. In the book, there are two rows of icord edging for the neckline treatment. (Though I can only see one row in the book.) I think the sweater might look nicer with corrugated ribbing as a neck treatment, since I have that at the bottom hem, and plan to use it for the sleeve cuffs. Shaping necklines is still something that I don't feel confident in, and which I have trouble visualizing. Let's hope it turns out okay. I'm not afraid to frog whatever I do, if it doesn't come out the way I'd like. However, I am a bit nervous about the initial shaping (before adding the ribbing), which I won't be able to undo once I cut the neck steeks. I think I'll go through other sweaters in the book to get a bit more perspective on the whole issue.
posted by Rebekkah at 12:11 PM
2 Comments:
Yeah, I'm not a big fan of the neck, either. One thing I'm doing that you might find helpful is to look at some of the other sweaters in the book and see if there's a neckline somewhere else that you could swap in without too much fuss. Since I'm making a cardigan, I've been taking a bunch of bits from Crighton, which has the same stitch gauge.
I am a huge Nature Spun fan, too. I have used it in both worsted weight and sport weight with good results for both. I made an Alice Starmore Aran for my son using it and have no problems with pilling. As you said, you can't beat the price, and it is one of the best basic worsted weight yarns around, especially for Aran knitting.
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