Thursday, April 21
so how do i really feel?
about the cardigan, that is...
if i were to do it over, i'd probably have used the pattern for inspiration and used a different one for the practical elements instead, or made my own, i suppose. i used the men's ribbed cardigan from last minute knitted gifts and well, hmm. the yoke was too small. it would have fit me fine, but, although i have broad shoulders, i am not built like a man. there was no way that yoke decreases every other row were going to fit SOP. no way at all. of course, i had to knit it and block it to find out for sure, but it did not work.
the yoke decreases need to happen on every third row to make this sweater work for a man. plain and simple.
then, there is the neck. it is kind of bulgy in front. SOP likes that, at least he says he does, because he can tuck his chin in it when it is cold, but it bothers me. i am not sure how i would have gotten rid of it, though. maybe i will post on KR and ask that. there are a lot of people there who really know their stuff.
so, the zipper. i used quilting pins to place the zipper first off and made sure it lined up. then i sewed it in by hand, using the first purl valley to hide the stitches. That is one nice thing about the pattern is that the zipper border is kpkp, so you have that valley right where you need it to mask the thread stitches.
the actual stitching:
perhaps it is because of adjusting the stitches to the varying widths of that purl valley, or perhaps it is because i am just out of practice with needle and thread, but the stitches on the back of the zipper are fairly uneven. sop, again, likes this, but i think i would like to get a book on finishing techniques to get some more ideas on zippers and making them look nice on both sides. another nice thing about this pattern is because the collar is sewn down inside after you sew in the zipper, you have no scratchy zipper against your face, just soft wool.
if i were to do it over, i'd probably have used the pattern for inspiration and used a different one for the practical elements instead, or made my own, i suppose. i used the men's ribbed cardigan from last minute knitted gifts and well, hmm. the yoke was too small. it would have fit me fine, but, although i have broad shoulders, i am not built like a man. there was no way that yoke decreases every other row were going to fit SOP. no way at all. of course, i had to knit it and block it to find out for sure, but it did not work.
the yoke decreases need to happen on every third row to make this sweater work for a man. plain and simple.
then, there is the neck. it is kind of bulgy in front. SOP likes that, at least he says he does, because he can tuck his chin in it when it is cold, but it bothers me. i am not sure how i would have gotten rid of it, though. maybe i will post on KR and ask that. there are a lot of people there who really know their stuff.
so, the zipper. i used quilting pins to place the zipper first off and made sure it lined up. then i sewed it in by hand, using the first purl valley to hide the stitches. That is one nice thing about the pattern is that the zipper border is kpkp, so you have that valley right where you need it to mask the thread stitches.
the actual stitching:
perhaps it is because of adjusting the stitches to the varying widths of that purl valley, or perhaps it is because i am just out of practice with needle and thread, but the stitches on the back of the zipper are fairly uneven. sop, again, likes this, but i think i would like to get a book on finishing techniques to get some more ideas on zippers and making them look nice on both sides. another nice thing about this pattern is because the collar is sewn down inside after you sew in the zipper, you have no scratchy zipper against your face, just soft wool.
# posted by xmasberry @ 9:20 AM 
