Yes, it took me four years to knit this sweater! But I finally finished last night. Right now it is drying outside. I gave it a little bath in some SOAK, rolled in a towel to remove excess water, and then put it onto another towel to pat into shape.
I guess I did ok for my first sweater! My tension got screwy in the yoke/neck area, it is looser than the rest of the sweater. Not sure what happened there. I can clearly see the decrease rounds, and that bothers me. I also don't like the bunching, and don't know why that happened. I was hoping it would be nice and flat like the body. Blocking has helped a lot though.
I made the body longer than sweaters typically are, since the recipient requested it be done that way so when he bends over, .... well, you know!
I am happy this project is done, I learned a lot. Especially that I don't care for knitting sweaters, and most likely will not make another one any time soon.
I made this with Cascade 220 using EZ's percentage method in the round. It was really easy, and I am glad I decided to make the sweater this way, instead of having a bunch of parts to seam up. The underarm seaming was enough for me, even though I love the magic of kitchener stitch.
Duplicate Stitch is a super easy way to embellish and add color to your knitting. All you need is a yarn/tapestry needle, and a different color of the same yarn you used for your project. Preferably the same, or at least the same weight, of yarn. This really isn't set in stone - feel free to experiment with different types of yarn if you like. Just do a small swatch in the yarns of your choice to see how you like it, before going right to work on your finished item.
If you decide to use a different yarn for your motif, keep in mind that if you plan on laundering your item, the two yarns should have the same laundering requirements.
Basically, duplicate stitch is just tracing or covering up your stocking stitch Vs with another yarn. For your first stitch, you will want to leave a short tail, about an inch, and hold it in place with your finger while you finish the first stitch, just to make sure the yarn doesn't get pulled all the way out.
While doing the heart in my sample, I worked from left to right on the first row, then right to left on the row above, and so on. Try not to jump around here and there too much, in order to keep the back of your work as neat as possible.
Also, don't pull too tightly on your yarn, as this will cause your fabric to bunch up and it won't look pretty at all.
To weave in your ends when you are done, just tuck the tails under a few of the stitches on the back of the work.
Step One:
Come up at the bottom of your V.
Step Two:
Cover the right leg of your V. Slip your yarn needle under the two legs of the V above the stitch you are currently working on.
Step Three:
Cover the left leg of your V. Push the needle down into the same spot you came up at in Step One.
You have now made one duplicate stitch.
Repeat this process until you have drawn your motif onto your project. If you make a mistake, it is really easy to fix. Just work the steps backwards to remove the stitch(es) you don't want.
Here is the video. Happy Knitting!
PS
If you like the nails, you can find the Gradient Tutorial HERE
Hi everyone! My friend Judie from Heavenly Hues Yarn asked me to share this photo of a scarf knit by one of her customers.
This was knit with Candy, from Feza Yarn.
Judie sells Feza Yarns exclusively. Please stop by Heavenly Hues Yarn and check it out. In addition to the Feza Yarn, Judie has other knitting goodies including Eucalan, buttons, and tote bags. She also serves up great customer service!
Sample knit with Debbie Bliss Amalfi on US Size 7 needles
Knitted Broomstick Lace, no crochet hook required!
I first saw broomstick lace a few years ago, and gave it a try, but didn't like fussing with the crochet hook. The whole process was just too fiddly for me. Imagine my surprise to learn that you can knit broomstick lace. I saw this process in the Summer 2012 issue of Love of Knitting. Along with instructions for the broomstick lace, there are a few patterns in the magazine.
The process is fairly simple.
Work with a multiple of 5
For the first row K1, YO(2) across the row. That is, knit the first stitch, make a double yarn over, and repeat to the end of the row.
Next, you will be slipping the knit stitches and dropping the yarn overs. Slip a total of five stitches to the right needle. These stitches will be long/loose.
Then, place the five stitches back on the left needle. You will now K1, YO, K1, YO, K1 into this group of five stitches, and drop from left needle. Repeat this to the end of the row.
Love of Knitting did not specify how many rows of plain knitting to do in between the above steps. I suppose it does not really matter, however, if you look at one side of your work you will see a strand running across the fabric. You can see the strand in the picture of my sample from the front; it is more noticeable on the back. If you work an even number of rows between the lace stitches, your strand will always be on the same side of the work. You could set it up so that the strand shows alternately on the 'front' and 'back' of the work. For me, I actually like the look of the strand running across the fabric, so consider this a reversible fabric. Try a sample and see what you think.
Here is a video of the process. I misspoke and said I had 25 stitches on my needles, I only worked with 20. Happy Knitting!
