Works in Progress

This is the tweedy pullover of my own design. I just need to do some sleeves. I'm going to knit some short sleeves with shaped sleeve caps and sew them on. I thought about picking up stitches around the armhole and shaping the cap with short rows, but I think that might result in too many stitches for the sleeve circumference and they would look baggy in the upper arm. I used a double strand of contrast yarn for the single crochet neck border. The slip stitch bow is purely decorative. I left the ends there because I want to attach one or two beads before knotting the ends. I think the sweater will have an Anthropologie-esque look, which is a good thing.

I've also cast on for the lettuce coat, from Custom Knits by Wendy Bernard. I'm going to make mine about 6 inches shorter than the pattern length, so it will be a long cardigan. The brioche stitch looks far better up close and personal than in photos. Photos don't capture the fluffiness and loftiness of the ribbing.

Eyelet front vest is done!

The pattern is #11, the eyelet front vest, from Vogue Knitting Holiday 2008. The yarn is Plymouth Yarn Royal llama silk. I'm not gloriously happy with this garment, but I'm happy enough to include it in the wardrobe rotation. It was a risk knitting it since the photo in the magazine does not show that much detail. I could tell from the schematic that it had large armholes, but I figured that would be okay since it is supposed to be a vest. On the model, it looks like the wide shoulders form a small sleeve capping. However, when I initially tried it on, the shoulders actually fall over the arms and I ended with GINORMOUS sleeve holes. This just looked bad. After the initial disappointment, I looked at it and decided I could just seam up about 2" at the bottom of the armholes and this would create a narrower sleeve. I did that and it still has these pseudo sleeves that are larger than I would like, but it's wearable now. Other than the sleeve seaming change, I added one additional row each of increases and decreases. This pattern is a really quick knit, and the lace section is actually fun to do.

Works in Progress (WIPs)

It's time for an update on my WIPs. First off, I'm working on this pullover that is of my own design. Right now, it looks like a micro skirt, but it's the bottom half of the pullover, knit horizontally. I wanted to knit something horizontally because the horizontal knits tend to stretch in length and drape better, especially if the gauge is fairly loose. The bottom half of this pullover should drape nicely -- at least that's the theory. I used a provisional cast-on and I'm about the join the edges with 3-needle bind off. I'll pick up stitches for the top half. I'll probably put some gathering in the front.

Next up is the lace front vest, #11 from Vogue holiday 2008. Knitting this is a bit of a risk -- I can't see that much from the photo. There is this nice FO on ravelry, but it's on a dressmaker's form, which is still different from being on a real human. I'm done seaming it up -- I just have to do some crochet around the bottom and weave in some ends. I didn't like one aspect of it when I first tried it on, but it's much better after some seam changes. I'll explain the issues when I model the FO later.

Ingenue is finished!

The pattern is Ingenue from Custom Knits by Wendy Bernard. The yarn is Fibranatura Mermaid. My main customization is with the sleeve width. I cast on for the smallest size at 116 stitches, but divided them up into 20 stitches per sleeve and 38 for the front and back. This changes the sleeve to body size ratio and I end up with narrower sleeves. I find that loose upper sleeves on a pullover can make my upper body look saggy. Sagginess is not a good thing. I did 18 rounds of increases, but increased only on the body for the last round. The sleeves are tapered and not flared. My sweater is also a little longer -- I did 5 rounds each of decreases and increases and spread them out a little more. I'm thinking this will be a very wearable sweater.