Persnickety

January 10, 2007

Finally...Lucky!

Design: Lucky Clover Cardigan from Snb Nation
Yarn: Rowan 4ply cotton in Bloom
Gauge: Exactly what the pattern called for on exactly the right needles! Score!
Begun: I can't even remember...sometime in 2004 I think.
Finished: January 1, 2007. It's a new years' baby.

I am ecstatic to have finished this. Ecstatic I tell you! Much along the lines of everyone else who has posted about this sweater, it has taken forever. I am not sure whether this is because of the tiny yarn and tiny needles or if it is just a heart breaking sweater. There are miles and miles of neckband. A wrap sweater is never short work either. Combine that with 'lace' (or really pseudo lace) and trying to match a slanted neck band with a slanted lace pattern and mayhem ensues! (see notes below for more on this nonsense)

Notes on the Clove:

Overall, I really like this sweater. There were some hang ups throughout, but the fit is really great and the color I picked out is really awesome. One of my especially favorite parts of this knit was the tubular cast on I used throughout.

Isn't it pretty?

That being said, now begins the nit-picking. I added about an inch to the bottom of each front and the back. That ended up being fine as it's a wrap sweater and you have to wear a shirt underneath anyhow. But the sleeves ought to have been at least 2 inches longer! I blocked the sleeves about 1 inch longer than directed to begin with. After seaming they were way too short (they looked like 3/4 sleeves) and so I reblocked just the sleeves to add another couple of inches. Still too short for my liking. They look pretty good in the picture but they ride up a lot. Word to the wise, knit longer sleeves for this pattern.

The rowan 4 ply cotton is fabulous to work with. No knots, no funny pieces, no fluffy bits that weren't fully spun. It did bleed quite a bit though. The water in my sink was bright pink after the 20 minute soak I gave each piece before blocking. It must have it out of its system though because it didn't mark up the white tank I wore under it for a whole day this past weekend.

Wearability is a major plus with this knit. It fits so well and hides awkward buldges in the bod. If not for the sleeve issue, I would be totally comfortable wearing this sweater for long periods of time and not worry about it at all.

Ah, the neckband. Here was yet another issue with length. I knit the specified length. It was perfect. After blocking the ribbing was just gorgeous. Not a stray knit stitch in sight. But oh no. It was about 5 inches too short after seaming. How does this happen??!! So I tore out my cast off edge, added more inches, reblocked that piece, re-seamed and moved on. Sort of. I'm still a little bit bitter but luckily (or smartly) for me I started on the side that shows. So the wonky addition to the neckband stays hidden, nestling with the love handle. A small note, and something that's not included in the pattern, is that my ribbed edges are not terribly pretty. Since a neckband is a noticeable piece of a garment, I made an amendment. For every side stitch that would not be seamed and was a knit stitch, I slipped. That same stitch got purled on the flip side so was carried up and made a beautiful side. If you've never attempted this before, that might not be the best description and something that would be better served with some photos. None of which I have to show.

The pieces are shaped differently than any other sweater I've done before. The tops of the sleeves form part of the neckline and so the front pieces come to a nice little point. The points did not want to lay quietly or really be seamed at all for that matter. It must have been something I did but the seaming of this took quite a bit of finagling. Also, I had read that quite a number of people had issues with seaming this sweater. Mine actually came out perfectly the first time after taking note of what knitters like Winnie did. It does make sense after thinking about how to picking up stitches for a neckband or seaming a round piece. I used mattress stitch on the whole whole sweater for nice even seams, and here was no exception. I sewed into 2 stitches on the neckline for every 1 stitch on the neckband. And just like magic, a nice v-neck appeared!

I remember reading that a few people knit the neckband extra long so that it would wrap around the back of the sweater for a more fitted look. I have to admit being slightly baffled by the fact that the neckband just ended at the left front edge. It makes more sense to me for a wrap sweater to have bands that weave through, wrap around the back, and tie at the side. But this works too, sort of. My problem is that the front piece which wraps underneath often pokes out the bottom. I think a small tie to the inside seam will fix that problem nicely. But it's still a problem with the construction.

Ok, final issue, I promise. This was more with my knitting skillz than the pattern. See exhibit A below. Notice how nicely the clover hole pattern sits to the edge of the front. So close, so nice. No gapes.

Notice then, exhibit B. Giant gapes. But no where to put a clover. Strange. No comprendo.

Verdict:

20:50 Posted in 2007 Finished , Lucky Clove | Permalink | Comments (24) | Email this

November 08, 2006

A little something from the closet...

I have not made progress on my log cabin socks, nor on cleaning up my knitting stash which appears to have traveled all over the house. However, I have pulled a couple of WIPs out of the closet to finish up. The first is done, the second is nearly finished.