Part three of the Elizabeth Zimmerman Adult Surprise Jacket: SO addictive! I haven’t been knitting on anything else, because I want to see what the NEXT stripe looks like, and the NEXT one and the NEXT one.. not to mention seeing what the next shaping step does!
Pattern modifications at this point include increases every second stripe at the neck edges to create more fabric over the slope of my shoulders – it has the added effect of increasing the length over my bust in relation to the length at my armpit, which reduces some bulk and gathering that would otherwise occur (you can see this gathering is still present on the back… ah well!)
I’ve just arrived at the point where I plan to add waist shaping, so I’ve started placing markers at the sides (there isn’t anything resembling a side seam in this sweater, so I have to count, and recheck my counts before I start working these decreases) and across the back – I think I’ll be doing something similar to a princess-line placement with the decreases roughly 1/3 of the way in from each of the side markers. I’m not planning to do any waist or underbust shaping in the front – I don’t need this to be THAT shapely of a sweater!
At the same time, I’m also figuring out my neck shaping: I don’t love the stepped neck that the pattern gives, so I’ve put seven stitches on hold at each neck edge (the same number of stitches that I had previously increased here) and will be trying to figure out a graceful way to shape a V-neck from here: haven’t decided yet if I’ll leave the stitches live and just do short rows, or if I’ll work a decrease one stitch in from the edge.. ooh, maybe I’ll go back and cast off those seven stitches, and then do the decrease right along the edge so I have a consistent edging to pick up for whatever band I choose… ooh! The tricky part at this point is also figuring out how to manage the striping – short rows don’t work so well if you wind up leaving your new colour of yarn stuck two or three stitches away from your short row turn location! Argh! Ah well, this is keeping my mind happily occupied, and I LOVE the colours! Yum!
-Christa
