FO: Reeds & Grasses kimono
Pattern: Reeds & Grasses, from Vicki Square's Knit Kimono
Yarn: Blue Moon Fiber Arts' LSS (Luscious Single Silk) in the Kaw Kaw colorway, approx. 3,200 yards (6 skeins plus part of one more)
Needles: US 5 for body; US 4 for cuffs and button band
Started: Sept. 28, 2008
Finished: Dec. 14, 2008
Photos and notes about pattern adaptations :
Reeds & GrassesI took some good advice from readers of my knitting blog, pk_knits, and ripped the sleeves back to shorten them by six inches; the reknitting only took one evening, and then I pinned the jacket out on my "blocking board" (the guest-room bed, covered with a vinyl tablecloth) and sprayed it down with warm water. Normally, I wet-block, but this thing is heavy enough that I didn't want to deal with many pounds of saturated yarn.
This morning, I unpinned it, and tried it on.
I'm very happy with it. As expected, this is a dense, warm, snuggly jacket, suitable for days like today, when the temperature outdoors is in the low 20s and inside, the furnace is laboring to keep it in the mid 60s.The weight, combined with blocking, took care of residual stockinette curl at the bottom hem. And the shortened sleeves, while still abundant, no longer make me feel like a little kid wearing a grownup's sweater.
Happy knitter, big-assed sleeves
Adaptations: The yarn I chose is completely different than the bamboo yarn the pattern recommends, so I had to do a fair amount of calculation to get the sweater I wanted. I was able to get stitch gauge (and a firm, dense fabric) by going down two needle sizes, but my row gauge was off enough that the sleeves initially wound up way too long and had to be frogged back six inches and refinished. I also added about four inches to the sweater's overall length, because this fabric won't stretch out the way the bamboo does (Square uses the drape of the bamboo as a feature to get it about the same length I made mine). Finally, instead of finishing the cuffs in stockinette, I chose to work them in the body stitch pattern.
This is not a difficult knit; the main stitch pattern is a simple four stitch, four-row repeat that's easy to memorize but just interesting enough to make you pay attention. The sleeves are mindless stockinette, except for the edge decreases; be aware, though, that they take almost as much yarn as the rest of the sweater.
I'd like to make another of these in something closer to the recommended yarn (SeaSilk would be fabulous, if I could afford it) for warmer weather wear. Meanwhile, this is a wonderfully snuggly winter jacket.
(cross-posted to my knitting blog)
Yarn: Blue Moon Fiber Arts' LSS (Luscious Single Silk) in the Kaw Kaw colorway, approx. 3,200 yards (6 skeins plus part of one more)
Needles: US 5 for body; US 4 for cuffs and button band
Started: Sept. 28, 2008
Finished: Dec. 14, 2008
Photos and notes about pattern adaptations :
Reeds & GrassesI took some good advice from readers of my knitting blog, pk_knits, and ripped the sleeves back to shorten them by six inches; the reknitting only took one evening, and then I pinned the jacket out on my "blocking board" (the guest-room bed, covered with a vinyl tablecloth) and sprayed it down with warm water. Normally, I wet-block, but this thing is heavy enough that I didn't want to deal with many pounds of saturated yarn.
This morning, I unpinned it, and tried it on.
I'm very happy with it. As expected, this is a dense, warm, snuggly jacket, suitable for days like today, when the temperature outdoors is in the low 20s and inside, the furnace is laboring to keep it in the mid 60s.The weight, combined with blocking, took care of residual stockinette curl at the bottom hem. And the shortened sleeves, while still abundant, no longer make me feel like a little kid wearing a grownup's sweater.
Happy knitter, big-assed sleeves
Adaptations: The yarn I chose is completely different than the bamboo yarn the pattern recommends, so I had to do a fair amount of calculation to get the sweater I wanted. I was able to get stitch gauge (and a firm, dense fabric) by going down two needle sizes, but my row gauge was off enough that the sleeves initially wound up way too long and had to be frogged back six inches and refinished. I also added about four inches to the sweater's overall length, because this fabric won't stretch out the way the bamboo does (Square uses the drape of the bamboo as a feature to get it about the same length I made mine). Finally, instead of finishing the cuffs in stockinette, I chose to work them in the body stitch pattern.
This is not a difficult knit; the main stitch pattern is a simple four stitch, four-row repeat that's easy to memorize but just interesting enough to make you pay attention. The sleeves are mindless stockinette, except for the edge decreases; be aware, though, that they take almost as much yarn as the rest of the sweater.
I'd like to make another of these in something closer to the recommended yarn (SeaSilk would be fabulous, if I could afford it) for warmer weather wear. Meanwhile, this is a wonderfully snuggly winter jacket.
(cross-posted to my knitting blog)