Fitted Knits Along

Not knitting this but just had to say...

HI all, hope the sticks are all working frantically for Christmas, I know mine are in a frenzy right now trying to get things finished, I have no idea where it has come from but it's only a month away! Mass Panic!

Anyway, I was wondering through the clothing department in my local department store the other day and just had to mention that I saw a dress on a mannequin that was identical to this Saturday-in-the-park Perfect Dress, I had no intention of even trying to knit this but after seeing one so similar in real life, it looked really nice and I am now thinking of trying it. Of course it would be easier to buy the one of the ones I saw as no assembly is required but where is the fun in that?! Anyone else seen items in any clothes shops with striking a resemblance to any of the other projects in this book?

Kerry

xx

Yokes on me

Hard to believe that below 6 repeats of the mock cable pattern is where the neckline is supposed to come together!

Here's the modifications so far:

1. Gauge is 20 sts/4 inches (rather than 19) on #8 (flat) and #9 (circular) needles.  Yep, my knitting is tighter in the round than flat, and I need two different needles for it to match up in the finished project.  I tested the gauge the pattern is written for, and I felt it was too loose.  I liked the mock cable pattern tighter, and with fewer holes when stretched.  I'm using the 36" pattern directions, but should end up with approx 34" measurements due to the tighter gauge.

2. I cast on the 27 panel stitches at about row 30, about 6 inches from the original cast on.  The tricky part here (and really, it's not that tricky) is continuing the raglan increases every other row while also doing the mock cable pattern.  I just had to carefully watch and read my stitches to make sure I did my increases every other row.

3. This part is coming up.  I'm going to add short row shaping beginning where the neckline was supposed to come together, namely, 9 rows below the underarm join.  It will be done back and forth, and should add about 1/4 inch per short row, so I'll be adding quite a few!  Here's a link to an article on knitty about short row shaping: http://knitty.com/ISSUEsummer03/FEATbonnetric.html

More pictures and updates as I have them!

Happy knitting!

Still in the planning stages

After waiting for a couple months to get the book from the library, I'm slowly getting ready to begin the first project.  The fact that I had 10 skeins of an appropriate yarn in my stash had something to do with the selection.  In any case...

I've got 10 skeins (about 1300 yards) of ggh Solitaire, a wool/acrylic/poly blend (with a great deal of stretch to it) in a lovely sage green.  Maybe army green.  I'm still working on the gauge swatch, as my tension is different when working flat versus in the round.  The mock-cable pattern looks very nice, though.

I've got a few modifications in mind. 

First: the neckline (as mentioned by previous posts) is way too low.  So, I'll be joining the round significantly before the pattern recommends - proabably around 5 inches from the cast-on rather than 9.  Also,  I'll be adding some short row shaping along the bust line, probably enough to add 2 more repeats of the mock cable in the front panel.  And shortening the dress somewhat to make it fit me at mid knee.

It's the short row shaping I'm wondering if anyone else tried.  Each short row adds 2 more rows in the panel, so as long as I add a multiple of 2 (add four rows, a complete mock cable) I should be okay, right?  Or as long as I keep the mock cable pattern can I add any number of short rows (say 3 rather than 4)?  I'm still a ways away from my cast on, and hoping to check in with the experienced folks at my local yarn shop, so I'll share any additional tips they may have.

I blame the yarn.

So, as Linda Richman would say (does that reference make me old?) my Saturday-in-the-Park Perfect Dress is neither  perfect nor a dress. After a few repeats of the faux cable pattern it became clear to me that  - at least as executed by me - it had too many little holes to be a suitable pattern for my , er, more private areas.  I decided to make a top and a skirt with no cable pattern.  So I just continued the cable pattern down the front panel and then ended with one eyelet hem section .

My mods: I attempted some additional waist shaping, tapering and then widening again.  I also, as described previously, raised the neckline several rows.  I assume Stefanie knows better than I, but it seems to me there's an error in the hem directions, especially at the neckline. If you do as many rows past the turning row as the pattern instructs, the resulting hem will show through the eyelets.  At the bottom I had to reduce the hem by one row, but at the neckline I think I increased one row before the turning row and  reduced by 2 rows afterward.   I'd never done hems before , so I enjoyed learning about that at least. Another thing I thought was strange in the pattern is that it tells you to knit the sleeves flat, which I found impossible to do.  They are already more or less round from the raglan shaping and the joining of the torso in the round.  So I did them on DPNs.

Here's the real problem: the yarn.  I used Cascade Pima Silk, as in the pattern, and to its credit it is nice and soft.  But it bleeds.  And it sheds lint like mad. And it stretches out.  So after all this, instead of a beautifully draping, fitted, snazzy, "perfect" dress, I have a top which leaves red fibers all over my pants, my desk, the floor, my co-workers.... A top that could fit two of me inside, despite the fact that I made gauge initially and made the smallest size... A top that will probably continue to leak dye when washed, as I rinsed it in FIVE changes of water and it still turned it pink. Cascade Pima Silk can bite me.  And I still have 6 skeins, because there's no way I'm making a matching skirt now.

I'm going to machine wash and dry it and see if I can shrink it up a bit.  Maybe the lint situation will improve eventually.

My humble advice to those considering this pattern: use a different yarn.  I think Tahki Classic Cotton would be nice, as both the stiffer yarn and tighter gauge would help with the stretching issues.  It might also support the neckline better so it isn't so revealing. You would of course then have to adjust the sizing to deal with the gauge. Also, swatch the faux cable pattern to make sure you like it! Finally, definitely follow my mods to raise the neckline, as it will still be plenty low, believe me!

Once I get a handle on knitting, I'll have to work on my photography skills

So...I don't know how to make this photo show up better, but the jist is I'm about 8 inches below the underarm on my dress.  The dress that is now going to be a two-piece.

After my cast-on issues detailed in my last post, I realized that the neckline of this thing was still going to flash my girls to the world, so I ripped back and cast on the front neck before finishing the raglan increases.  And I still reduced the increase rows by 3 because apparently I am a tiny, tiny person, and even the smallest size is too big for me (this is only true in Fitted Knits Land; in Real Life, I am medium-sized).

When I got close to the point where I'm supposed to start doing the faux-cable pattern all the way around, I tried it on again and realized that my patterned section had...uh...decorative holes.  I'm knitting this thing just as tight as I can, and using all sorts of twisted stitches and clockwise purl wraps, and this thing is just not tight.  I've decided the holey-ness is just part of the design, but I can't have such a lacy effect carrying down the front of the dress unless I want to show the general public what color underpants I'm wearing.  And I refuse to knit a garment that requires an undergarment (nude full slip in this case) that I don't already own.  So...

I'm going to continue the cable pattern just on the front panel and do the eyelet hem a hip level, binding off for a sweater.  Then, because I'm pretty sure I have plenty of yarn, I'm going to make a top-down, elastic waist skirt with the same shaping and eyelet hem as in the pattern.  Not what I thought I'd end up with, but this will be quite an adventure. I'm already imagining how I'll do the pocket for the elastic: start with a provisional cast-on and work flat for an inch or so, do a purled turning ridge, join in the round, knit another inch plus, fold over and knit my live stitches together with my now-loosed provisional cast-on, then continue on down the skirt.  In my head this makes sense, but we'll see.  The idea of starting working flat is so that there will be a vertical slit inside once it's folded over, and through that I can thread the elastic. At this point you are probably thinking, "how can someone who can't even execute a simple faux-cable pattern without it looking like a cockeyed spiderweb possibly figure out how to pull off a whole two piece suit thing without a proper pattern????" The answer is...I have no idea!  We'll see!

Saturday-in-the-park Perfect Dress - first trouble spot

Hello, all! I'm new to the knitalong, and relatively new to knitting, so I hope I haven't bitten off more than I can chew with this dress.  I'm not very far in, but I wanted to post about the experience so far, in case anyone is as clueless as I and needs tips.

I'm using the recommended yarn (Cascade Pima Silk), which I love, in a deep red color. The pattern suggests size 7 needles, but to get gauge I had to use 9. (At first I thought the gauge seemed awfully  loose, but now I'm pretty confident it's just fine.) I breezed along through the raglan increases (lamenting all the way that I was not yet working in the round and had to purl!), and decided to stop a little early (after 23 increase rows, instead of 25), as it seemed big enough, compared to a raglan sweater I'd made. The pattern says to do 9 more rows before joining to knit in the round, but I don't want the neckline quite so deep, so I cast on the required 27 stitches for the front pattern panel and joined up.  That's where I made my mistake.  I cast on using backward loops, since the pattern didn't specify, and I didn't know any better. This made an edge that was way too loose and floppy, and once I'd done a full pattern repeat I could see that it looked awful, and no amount of edging and blocking was going to help.  So I ripped. I knew it was inevitable I'd have to re-do something at some point, but it still annoyed me!

This time I'll use some kind of firmer cast on and maybe twist some of my knit stitches to firm them up.  I only have a slight idea of how to do that, but I've heard other knitters talk about doing so, so surely I can figure it out!

Next time I won't post without a picture, I promise!

Another red Saturday in the Park dress

Mine was done in Cascade Sierra which I regret.  I think it got too heavy and stretched out but I wanted to use a 20% off coupon I had back in June and this was the only yarn I could get enough of in the right gauge to do the dress from my local yarn shop.  I knew the low neckline would be a problem with my non- existent chest so I stopped about 10 rows higher to join but it still fell below my girls by about an inch.  I ended up "filling" this area in with a few rows of the lace pattern from the bottom before I started the neckline trim.  I also didn't knit as many rows of the mock cable because I needed to start hip shaping and I wanted the cables to sit on the waist area.  On the sleeves I substituted the eyelet pattern again for the mock cable so the sleeves wouldn't get too long but still would have a finished look.  I attempted to block but realized this dress was going to be ankle length and 5X too big on top so the dress took a trip through the dryer on high heat.  As a result it is a little more fitted in the waist-butt than I would like but fits better in length and is somewhat smaller on top.  I will still need to wear a tank top with this if I go out in public.  All that said my husband likes the dress, I just wish it was more "perfect" for me considering the time and money spent on it.  If I get ambitious I might try to do a little seaming to correct the top a bit.  Anyway I hope my experiences will help someone else knitting this.  Kristina's linen choice looks like a much better substitute!

New Project!

Ok so here's what I've started today.  I was having a bit of a dilemma, I really wanted to make the Carie Cropped Cardigan but the yarn I was going to use...well I'm really allergic.  I thought my skin was just sensitive to alpaca, so I got some that was the softest I've ever felt.  Cascade Baby Alpaca Chunky, in a light pink color, and I was planning to double strand to meet gauge.  Well just winding it up in a ball made my skin feel like it was on fire.  It doesn't help that I rubbed it on my arms and neck either...

So obviously that isn't going to work.  And if anyone is interested in taking it off my hands let me know.  I have been trying to get my hands on some kidsilk mohair...

Ok so I was disappointed about that, and then I saw some caron bliss that I've had hanging around forever...and it's chunky, why not double strand that?  So that's what I'm doing, it's sooo soft too.  I didn't quite meet gauge with it but really close and it's fine because I wanted something in between the smallest size and the next one up, so I'm doing the 36 inch bust and I think it will be just a tiny bit smaller.  I figure I'll need 6 balls to have enough but that's fine.  It's an awfully nice alternative.  This is such a fast knit too.  I wanted something quick after that tube top.

And then I've got all sorts of plans after this is done.  Next I will either do the drop stitch tank in this red cascade pima tencel, or the leaf tie cardigan.  I have some mercerized cotton, which may or may not work for it, I'm still debating whether I want that color anyway, it's like a pale lavender rose.

I also have yarn for the saturday dress.  It's classic elite premiere in this gorgeous soft blue color and I think it will really bring out the pattern stitches.  I really want to make the dress, but a little scared of that much knitting!  I'm working up to it.  :)