knitting: star sweater and skirt with suspenders
i know i haven't posted much knitting lately, but life has been busy. i am, more or less, behind on life. but i have completed some long-languishing knitting projects for - you guessed it - more kidlings.
Sweater Pattern: daisy, by Stephanie Pearl McPhee, published in Knitty. I knit the year size, If my memory serves me correctly. The only change I made was to redistribute the buttonholes so there are 6 evenly(ish?) spaced along the front.
Yarn: Knitpick's Shine Sport in Turquoise
Needles: size 6 denise interchangeables
Star pattern: I posted in knitting asking for help finding a star pattern after the first one I tried was not exactly what I wished for. I ended up using this pattern, suggested by littlecorrie. To size down the star, I adjusted size of each diamond by beginning decreases when I had 10 stitches on the needle rather than the 26 stitches the pattern calls for. The down side was having to seem together all those little diamonds, but I'm happy with how the stars turned out.
Other details: I bought the buttons in mexico. I worked on this sweater in New York and Texas. This is fitting, as the recipient is a little travel: her parents live in Sweden but travel somewhere warmer for several months every winter. My original vision for the sweater involved intarsia or duplicate stitched seahorses, but I was so frustrated with the seahorse attempts that the sweater got put aside, mostly finished, for months. The stars were a suggestion from a knitting friend, and I'm happy with the end result. I just hope the recipient will still fit into it!
front:
back:
elbow patch close-up:
Pattern: Baby Style, by Debbie Bliss ("Snowflake Skirt", pattern on page 24). I *think* I knit the 12-month size
Yarn: Jaeger Matchmaker Merino 4-ply in Bloom, and Jaeger Baby Merino dk in Flannel (I think that was the name?)
Needles: #4 metal circs (I think). Sadly, this was done a long time ago and I'm not sure where my notes are.
Additional Notes: I had so many ideas for this skirt, but the project seemed to have a different mind about all my ideas (inserting a cabled Celtic heart motif, knitting it from the bottom up, using a lighter, dustier rose yarn). In the end, I added no significant embellishments. The main changes I made to the pattern: seed stitch hem rather than garter stitch, and I changed the strap pattern to seed stitch bordered by 2 or 3 garter stitches on each side. Also, I added another set of buttons to make the strap length more flexible. I've knit patterns before where a few different buttonholes are made to account for various sizes, and were I to knit this parttern again, I might reverse the buttons & buttonholes so that the buttons are on the waistband and the buttonholes are on the strap.
front, full view:
back, strap detail:
detail - inside the waistband to show the elastic i wove in
you can even see me knitting to the sounds of the staff concert at kerrville this summer:
x-posted to knitting on 12/29
Sweater Pattern: daisy, by Stephanie Pearl McPhee, published in Knitty. I knit the year size, If my memory serves me correctly. The only change I made was to redistribute the buttonholes so there are 6 evenly(ish?) spaced along the front.
Yarn: Knitpick's Shine Sport in Turquoise
Needles: size 6 denise interchangeables
Star pattern: I posted in knitting asking for help finding a star pattern after the first one I tried was not exactly what I wished for. I ended up using this pattern, suggested by littlecorrie. To size down the star, I adjusted size of each diamond by beginning decreases when I had 10 stitches on the needle rather than the 26 stitches the pattern calls for. The down side was having to seem together all those little diamonds, but I'm happy with how the stars turned out.
Other details: I bought the buttons in mexico. I worked on this sweater in New York and Texas. This is fitting, as the recipient is a little travel: her parents live in Sweden but travel somewhere warmer for several months every winter. My original vision for the sweater involved intarsia or duplicate stitched seahorses, but I was so frustrated with the seahorse attempts that the sweater got put aside, mostly finished, for months. The stars were a suggestion from a knitting friend, and I'm happy with the end result. I just hope the recipient will still fit into it!
front:
back:
elbow patch close-up:
Pattern: Baby Style, by Debbie Bliss ("Snowflake Skirt", pattern on page 24). I *think* I knit the 12-month size
Yarn: Jaeger Matchmaker Merino 4-ply in Bloom, and Jaeger Baby Merino dk in Flannel (I think that was the name?)
Needles: #4 metal circs (I think). Sadly, this was done a long time ago and I'm not sure where my notes are.
Additional Notes: I had so many ideas for this skirt, but the project seemed to have a different mind about all my ideas (inserting a cabled Celtic heart motif, knitting it from the bottom up, using a lighter, dustier rose yarn). In the end, I added no significant embellishments. The main changes I made to the pattern: seed stitch hem rather than garter stitch, and I changed the strap pattern to seed stitch bordered by 2 or 3 garter stitches on each side. Also, I added another set of buttons to make the strap length more flexible. I've knit patterns before where a few different buttonholes are made to account for various sizes, and were I to knit this parttern again, I might reverse the buttons & buttonholes so that the buttons are on the waistband and the buttonholes are on the strap.
front, full view:
back, strap detail:
detail - inside the waistband to show the elastic i wove in
you can even see me knitting to the sounds of the staff concert at kerrville this summer:
x-posted to knitting on 12/29