Summer Solstice

Happy Summer Solstice!  Now we're slowly working our way back to winter knitting...

After much editing and tremendous help from Megan, Angela, and Marion for test knit, I finally released the new pattern Likin' It on Ravelry. Yay!

Oh well

This didn't turn out as I'd hoped.... Oh well.

Yarn was Elann Lustrado - fingering weight.  Most of the body was knitted in #2 needles, excpet for the bottom 8". 

I was thinking of adding beads to the crocheted circles and make it the top edging of a dress.  Other than that, there was no planning, and problems followed.

I'm not thrilled with the fit at all.  But then again I gained quite a few pounds this winter, so blaming the fit is just a half excuse.

I knitted this from top down using short rows for rounded v neck shaping of the front.   There was no increase just using change of needle sizes aggressively at the bottom for some flare.

It probably would've looked better it it was a bit more fitting through the body.  I'm not sure.... What I'm sure is I better start some workout routine for the summer, I'm at the heaviest I've ever been in my life :(

I'm so not thrilled with how this looks on me that I didn't even bother to sew in the other beads on the 2 adjacent circles as I'd planned. And I just left the back and armhole edge rolled from the St st.

Experiement In Pink

 

yarn: Sanguine Gryphon Bugga, color: Cotton Stainer, 3 skeins

needles: US #4,  and #3 for I-cord edging.

Set-in sleeves scares me a bit.  I figured out how to do the calculations with Valentine Pullover, but it just seemed like quite a bit of math.  I generally have a preference towards knit in round, and especially top-down.  Much of it is out of laziness about seaming, but also, top-down in round knitting provides the benefit of trying on the sweater as I go.

I have used the method with pick up stitches around armhole which still required knitting  front and back separately above underarm. Somehow with this method the sleeves usually turned out wider proportionally  than I wanted.

Lately I saw on Ravelry a version of knitting set-in sleeves in round called Contigous method and I was very intrigued. I read it and found it to be a very smart way of doing top down in round with set-in sleeves knitting at the same time as body. But alas it wasn't exactly what I was looking for.  I really wanted a formula that will make design very easy.

As much as I was a very good math student in high school, I had not touched math since then.  Doing calculations grading multiple sizes for patterns always drove me crazy.  I feel like I'm getting too old to keep track all the calculations in writing a pattern.  So my goal with this formula was that once I have entered it into Excel, I'll never have to do any math again for this part. 

With this formula, I was looking for top-down set-in sleeves knitted in round at the same time as the body.  I was looking for bell shape sleeve cap with the proportion of the curves all predetermined.

After some serious math (I thought my brain was going to explode,)  I was able to figure out a formula that seems to deliver the result I wanted.  Now  all I will ever have to do is plug in the gauges, the desired width of chest, shoulder, neck, sleeves, underarm, and the height of armhole in Excel spreadsheet.  

This formula started with shoulder done in short rows. then the other front/back of shoulder was picked up sts from CO edge.  The second shoulder was knitted separately.  Two shoulders were joined when the desired back neck depth was achieved. The sleeves were then knitted at the same time as the body in round.

During the very first part of knitting I realized one slight mistake in the formula, so I ripped back the knitting, fixed the formula, and started again  from the beginning.  The rest seemed to worked out smoothly.

There was not much design concept for this particular sweater. The bottom and the sleeves elements were decided when I got to it, so was the collar and edging.  I was't particular about the decorative element. mainly focused on testing the formula.   But I got too bored knitting st st, especially after the previous sweater - Stream of Unconsciousness. 

This sweater had zero sewing except for the buttons and button loops.

 


This is just the first sweater to try out my formula.   It looks like the formula works.  I'm gonna try few other different weight yarn to test it more, and fine-tuning how the increase sts are done to make it "look" neater.

I'm hoping all this will help me in widen my range of designs.  I'm pretty pleased with it.  A little happy dance is in order.

 

Snow in June

It's June already.... here is the view outside my window