Did we miss the official FO?

No you did not miss the FO posting of Wicked. She has been done and worn 4 days this week since she was finished. Basically she was worn every day that she was not drying from being blocked. I just had a minor problem with lighting. Monday was beautiful, but the weather went down hill from there. I was happily snuggled up on the couch this week with my knitting and a roaring fire. Today was the first time that all the necessary factors happened together - good weather, a photographer and a model. I tried that self-timer thing. Not so good especially with a tripod that slips with every second that it is left alone.

Pattern: Wicked , worsted-weight version by Zephyr Style
Yarn: Malabrigo Yarn Merino Worsted 3 skeins (100g/216 yds) in Burgundy. (100% merino wool)
Needles: Knitpicks Harmony US 8

Mods: Well not many, but a few for fit. I knit the size 32-35" for my 39" bust. Yes that massive amount of negative ease looks fabulous on me. I have tried many different formulas over the past year and this one works the best. It also explains why all my guesses of what size I was when I started knitting sweaters worked out. I added short rows to accommodate my DD friends on my front side and wrote a tutorial. I switched skeins of yarn every round. If I had wanted less pooling, I should have switched between all 4 of the skeins that I used. I knit in the optional waist and hip shaping plus added the pocket. Because my hips are wider than the patterns recommendation, I did an extra set of increases to get to the next size hip circumference. I also did not stitch down the sides of the pocket because I felt the opening was a bit small for my liking.

Facts to remember: My hips like as much negative ease as my bust so I should not have added the extra hip increases. Also my seed stitch gauge is so much off from my ribbing or stockinette gauge that I need to remember to go down a needle size or two to maintain an even gauge. My seed stitch flares and might as well have been another set of hip increases.

Things I Love: I love the feel of the Malabrigo; I am so happy I chose this yarn for this sweater. I love the pocket. I was a little unsure about if it would add visual weight to my tummy. Not so, it snuggles in nicely and does not distract and adds some nice visual interest plus it distracts the viewers of where skeins 1 & 2 ended and skeins 3 & 4 started. I never want to take off this sweater. It has been worn with jeans and a t-shirt and then dressed up the next night for a fundraiser dinner where I dressed up. This wicked is definitely better behaved than my drunken brawling mohair wicked.

Wicked is done: a bust dart tutorial

Edited: to add PDF download link.

Short Row Bust Dart Tutorial:

Top Down:


The top down method of construction is the easiest to figure out short row placement. Now since you are knitting top down, you will have been trying the garment on as you go. After separating the sleeves off, check to ensure the exact spot of the fullest part of your bust. All of us have a different height of bust. This height should not change often but will change as you age and as your bras lose their elasticity.

1. Make sure that you have 2 markers on the garment, one at each side seam.


2. Knit to the apex of your bust, which tends to be 2 inches from the underarm join.




3. Try on the garment so that you can place 2 more stitch markers (preferably locking stitch markers). Mark the apex of each bust wearing the bra you will most often wear with the garment.
4. Take off the garment and check that the bust markers are equally spaced from the side seams. A=_____ stitches
5. Now measure your torso length from shoulder to waist on your back and front.
6. Subtract your back length from the front length. This number will be the depth of your short rows B=_____ inches
7. Multiple your depth difference by the number of rows per inch in your gauge. C=_____ rows
8. Divide by 2 to find out the number of short row sets. D=______ sets
9. Now take A and divide it by D + 1. E=_______ stitches between short rows turning points

I have learned that starting out with the smallest number of stitches between the Wrap & Turn (W&T) and proceeding to the largest number of stitches between the W&T, causes you to have a seamless pick up of the wraps. So you would pick up the wraps as you knit or purl past them to the next W&T point. Make sure when picking up the wraps that you put them in order with the stitch in front of the wrap before you knit or purl them together.

To the left is a wrapped stitch before I start picking it up and knitting together with its wrap.

To the right is the wrapped stitch picked up and placed in the right order, the wrap behind the knit stitch.


To the left: The second stitch from the left is a picked up and knit wrapped stitch. You can just barely.

To the right: This is how your short rows will look, after you have done all of them a wedge will have formed.


Example:
I have a gauge of 18.5 st by 28 rows = 4” square.

A= 24 stitches (between side and bust on each side)
B=2” (this was the measurement when you subtract the back from the front length)
C= 14 rows (2 x 7 stitches per inch)
D= 7 sets (14/ 2 equals the set numbers)
E= 3 stitches (24/ 7+1 equals the number of stitches between each wrap)

So you would knit past the second bust point marker to E (ie 3 sts), W&T on the next stitch. Purl across to E stitches past the first and second bust point marker. (you never do a W&T between the bust point markers), W&T. Knit to wrap, pick up the wrap, knit E-1 so that you are E times n (n being the short row number) (ie 6sts), W&T. Purl to wrap, pick up the wrap, purl E-1 so that you are E times n (n being the short row number) (ie 6sts), W& T. Knit to wrap, pick up the wrap, knit E-1 so that you are E times n (n being short row number) (ie 9sts), W&T. Purl to wrap, pick up wrap, purl E-1 so that you are E times n (n being short row number) (ie 9sts), W&T. Continue repeating the last two rows until you have reached E times D (21 stitches from the bust point marker). End with a purl side. Knit around picking up each wrap as you reach it. That would be a total of two wraps upon your return to knitting in the round.

Short Row Bust Dart Tutorial (PDF link)

If you are curious about why you should use short row bust darts and if you might need other kinds of bust darts, there is another tutorial about the need for bust darts plus more information and how to links on short rows.

Let me know how this works for you or if any of the math does not make sense.

WIP Wednesday - finally something new

FYI: I will be traveling to Houston, TX place of my birth for a visit in April. Leave a comment if you want to meet up while I am there.

Monday I found myself in an unusual situation. Nothing on the needles. Ok I know a few of you can go peek at my project list on ravelry and say that I do have stuff on the needles but I beg to differ. The socks that I have been knitting are just yarn with sticks sitting in a bag, since I am waiting on a better moment to contemplate the third take. The Endpaper mitts (not an immediate need) and churchable's socks (too many stitches per inch) are on a break.

Well with all these facts facing me I decided to finally join my own KAL. Yes I cast on for my second wicked sweater. This time I am taking all the tid bits of information that I have learned over the past year. 1) Knit for my upper bust measurement instead of my full bust since I am over a B cup. 2) Work short rows so that there is room for the girls and the front of my sweater is the same length all the way around when worn. 3) Incorporate waist shaping to emphasis my hourglass shape. 4) Having enough confidence to use a non-solid colored yarn.

A close up of the lovely shade of Malabrigo in Burgundy that I am using. I love the subtle shading and the lovely hand that this produces. I have 4 skeins to incorporate into a lovely comfy sweater with a pocket. I hope to be finished by Saturday. Fly fingers fly.

Wicked sweater KAL

I am leading a Knit along (ravelry link) on Ravelry for the Wicked sweater. A few of you know that I made this sweater. Mine was a wicked drunken disorderly sweater which I don't wear very often because of fit and a few other factors, so I have been looking at yarns and thoughts of what I wanted to knit it in. In February, I decided to blow my Christmas money on Malabrigo. Hmmmm.... so yummy. And since some projects are refusing to leave the needles, I had not gotten to casting on for this project. Now we are on the cusp of Malabrigo March, which is being sponsored by the Malabrigo Junkies on ravelry. Come join me if you are interested in knitting this sweater. Some people are even talking about casting on for this in laceweight malabrigo.

Marabrigo March is where the Malabrigo Junkies will try to send Malabrigo up the yarn popularity rankings in Ravelry during the month of March. There will be prizes awarded for most Malabrigo projects cast on, most creative photo involving Malabrigo, best use of color, etc. All this information can be found on the Junkies group page.

• KAL thread here.
• Pattern is available for purchase here.
• Malabrigo Junkies group here.
• Malabrigo website here.
• Places to buy Malabrigo on the web are listed on orata's blog. I encourage you to buy from your LYS if they have it for sale. I am sure that the online stores will be running low this month because of the focus on Malabrigo.
  

FO Friday

WICKED is done. I am so excited. I finished it and wore it out last night. It was such a bad sweater that it has even taken to drinking beer. May I introduce to you the mohair (beer drinking) wicked. (My friend's enthusiasm at the bar spilled over onto wicked)


Details:
Pattern: Wicked by the Zephyr Girls
Yarn: I used Euro Yarns Cuddly Fluff DK in grey with some worsted mohair from my stash.
Needles: US 10 circular for the worsted and US 5 circular for the Cuddly Fluff plus dpns
Mods: I used a total of 7 decrease repeats and 7 increase repeats to shape the waist. I did the crossover pattern on the bottom band. When I started the sleeves, I picked up 5 st and decreased them every round with a sk2togpsso twice and then a k2tog. Personally I don't like large sleeves so I decreased with a sk2togpsso 8 times every 8 rnds starting at 3 inch from the underarm. After knitting the sleeves, one ended having its cuff reknit 3 times (rolled edge, rib, and seed (aka moss) stitch) and the other got off lucky with only once. My friend recommended that a seed stitch band at the bottom of the body would have looked better. Also I had planned to do 12 decreases along the sleeve instead of the 8 but somehow I fitzed it out.



Generic Toe up using Wendy's method (pdf)

Details:
Yarn: Plymouth Sockotta 3 Brown mix
Needles: Inox size 0 dpn

I finally now understand why everyone likes socks. This is my first completed sock that does not hurt my feet when I wear it. I joined Socktopia this year and so this is going to be my Short and Sweet for February. So called because I was short on yarn and its sweet that it fits so well.

WIP Wednesday

The three items above are what I have worked on this week. The entralec has really been interesting me; I like how it works up but I have to rework my sizing. The sock in the middle is one that I started so that I could have a small fast project to stave of sleeve island boredom from the remaining sleeve on Wicked.

I did not work on Eiffel or the fingerless mitts. I am waiting to finish Wicked before I start Eiffel and when I work on Eiffel it will be slow since it hurts my hands. I am unsure whether to frog the mitts. I really like the color and part of the pattern but I am not enjoying the thumb gusset.

I posted late today because I was really excited to finish something which you can see on FO Friday.

WIP Wednesday

Hey everyone,

I thought I would get you an update on what I am working on. On Friday I will show you what I have finished if anything at all.

This is my Wicked that I am KAL with the Sexy Knitters Club. I have one sleeve done. I have sort of stalled on this project because I dislike the way the sleeve finished when I BO on Saturday afternoon. So today I unknit it to an inch below BO edge and knit up a k2,p2 rib. I am much happier with the results. I modified the sleeve in that I added 12 sk2togpss every eight rounds at the underarm. I like closer fitting sweaters and with such a thin yarn, a tighter fit felt more appropriate. Maybe if I was doing the worsted weight I would keep the same dimensions.




This is an entralec sock that I am working on. I am so excited for the Spring IK to come out since it has a sock pattern of this variety by Eunny Jang. I have been totally excited to finish this but I realize I need to pay attention to it rather than just knit so it is more of a focus piece.




This is my own design for hand warmers using sock yarn and intricate cabling. I am really into cabling but I seem to have gotten my self saddled with mostly complicated patterns and so I am not giving this the attention it deserves.




And this is my Eiffel that I am KAL with the Sexy Knitters Club, which has not gotten much further than a say or so after I cast on. I thought my Wicked would be better travel knitting and the linen yarn is hurting my hands if I knit for too long so I have to take breaks.

Wicked cool just needs some sleeves

WIP : I have been working on my Wicked. I like the pattern and amazingly I have a ton of lace weight mohair in my stash. I could make 3 more sweaters with what I have left.

Mods so far: I added two more sleeve increases to accommodate my large bust line. I also added two more sets of decreases and increases for the waist and hips. Personally I did not like the curled bottom stockinette bottom so I did 4 repeats of the crossover pattern on the bottom. I really like it. I will have to block the crossover so it lays a little flatter but it looks great.

I still need to complete the sleeves I am going for a long sleeve sweater.