It is coming along nicely, though I’m starting to get bogged down in the details! Waist shaping is done, so back onto increases to get my hips covered, and I’m starting to plan my front bands and figure out how much farther I have to go before adding a hood and doing my edge finishing. I-cord in the Mountain Mohair is currently my favourite option, but I’ll probably be trying a few other ideas. I’ve picked up stitches all around the short v-neck, so I’m now knitting one giant circle around the hem, front edges, and neck, and working decreases around the neckline and increases at the neck/front turn and front/hem turn.
Sleeve decreases are done, and after spending a few hours fiddling around with a couple options for seaming the sleeves, I finally decided to try the “I wonder if…” idea I’d had the night before, and made a perfectly reversible and decorative seam: I picked up stitches (or popped live stitches from the cast-on edge onto needles) along both sides using the blue Mountain Mohair, and then I used Silk Garden to graft (purlwise) the picked up stitches together. I left the grafting fairly loose, so that the sleeve edges would butt together underneath and lie flat rather than being pulled into a bulky seam. The grafting was done on both sides (picking up the back loops of the stitches done in Mountain Mohair, and then using another strand of Silk Garden) so that the sloppy sleeve edges are totally hidden. Next time I make this, I WON’T slip the edge stitches- I found it made for a loose, messy edge that left a lot of holes when I seamed- and I’ll remember that I intended to do my sleeve shaping on the underside – which would be in the middle of my knitting – not at the side edges that wind up being on top of the arm!
Love those miters, eh? The sleeve miters wind up sitting just at my elbows, and I chose to go for a shortish sleeve length since I plan to be wearing this around the shop for the rest of the chilly spring days, and next fall and winter. When I wear it out, I’ll just pop on some lovely arm warmers or elbow-length gloves!
These colours make me so happy! I am thinking about doing a fairly pointy hood on this, so that when it is pushed back, it will break up those long horizontal stripes across the back… the rest of the jacket is so interesting with al of the miter lines, that this one section winds up being a bit plain! When this is done, we’ll be asking all of you to vote on your favourite side – the garter stitch pinstripes, or the reverse garter stitch colourblending… I keep flipflopping between the two, which keeps me dedicated to making it perfectly reversible.
Want to get started on your own? I DO recommend starting with a Baby Surprise Jacket first, so you can work out your personal preferences for increases, decreases and edgings while working on a smaller size. This would be a great project to bring to my Knitters Helpline classes! We’ve got them scheduled for Tuesday afternoons and early evenings, and Wednesday early evenings (right before the Knitting Circle) beginning in April. (my March classes are full, woot!) Can’t make those times, or have a little one in tow? I am doing my own parent-friendly knitting classes at Little Nest cafe on Charles St, just off Commercial Drive, on Wednesday afternoons from 2:30-4:00pm starting THIS Wednesday. Email me at [email protected] to register for Little Nest classes or call us here at the shop to register for the in-shop sessions!
