Capitalism - Feudalism without the Kings
Knitting FridaySince I last posted the Knitting Friday, here's what I've been doing this summer:
These sweaters were all inspired by the top-down Mohair Minimalist top which made me realize that a top-down sweater didn't have to have raglan increases. (That's the second time just looking at a pattern solved a major stumbling block for me. The first being the Mario blanket when I realized, after looking at a quilt of Mario, that I could make a knitted blanket in mitered squares.)
In fact, her
e's a very recent picture of that blanket on the boy's bed. You can really see the texture of the squares in this picture. I'm still happy that the vote to not block won. If we can keep the moths away, Mario may become an heirloom.
But getting back to my summer sweaters. I think I must have done madwoman or ADHD knitting on them since I finished more than 10 this summer. I like best the lace tanks (two on the right.) I wore them the most, over camisoles and they were just right for our long spell of heat and humidity. (Yesterday, was the first day all summer when the kids, Miss M, and I were able to take a long walk in the morning. OK, it was in the rain but at least the temp was not 90+ by 8 a.m.)
The top on the left above was started last summer. That is probably one of my longest projects. The top on the right is its "sister" top - same yarn -and that's a good example of the lace tops.
The generic pattern for these lace tops is:
Decide needle size based on your yarn. Have two sizes, the smaller for the top and bottom band, the larger for the body.
CO x stitches (80 for me.) Join and work seed stitch for the width of a top band. Last row: K front and back in each stitch. (x stitches increase to 2x - 160 for me)
Change to larger needles. (I go from US 8 to US 10.5.) Work the following pattern for distance from base of neck to shoulder. (For me, it's about 4.5")
Row 1 & 2: K
Row 3 & 4: *YO, K2tog*
At shoulder, bind off loosely for each armhole like this: BO armhole sts, work pattern across for front, BO armhole sts, work pattern across for back.
On the next row, CO x sts at each underarm (10 each arm for me) and work the front and back stitches in pattern. Next row, continue on all the stitches in pattern to length.
(This part is so simple. Here's how I do the bind offs on 160 sts: BO 30 sts loosely, work pattern across 50 sts, BO 30 sts loosely, work pattern across 50 sts. Next row: CO 10 sts for underarm, work pattern across 50 sts, CO 10 sts for 2nd armhole, work pattern across 50 sts. On the next row, when I begin the pattern to length, I'm working on 120 sts. This works for me but as I said: this is a generic pattern so you have to adjust it for your size.)
Finishing: I like to work Row 4 (which is the lace pattern) and then BO on a straight K row. Then I work 1 row of extended single crochet across the bottom, 2 rows of half double crochet and I finish off with the crab stitch. But you can just switch back to smaller needles and work a few rows in seed stitch and just BO.
Final Note: This pattern is stretchy. In fact, on a yellow lace top (not pictured) I had only 90 stitches for the body and it's not small.)
All the tops shown are a variation of this generic pattern. The top I just finished last night (also not pictured) changes the pattern slightly with 5 rows of K and one row of *YO, K2tog* for a small popcorn look.
At the left, is a sweater set from the first picture. It's made in a variegated white/beige cotton.
So this is a "How I Spent My Summer" posting. I still can't believe I knitted so much. Right now, I'm ready to tackle a black cotton cardi. Pictures to follow.
Happy knitting.
These sweaters were all inspired by the top-down Mohair Minimalist top which made me realize that a top-down sweater didn't have to have raglan increases. (That's the second time just looking at a pattern solved a major stumbling block for me. The first being the Mario blanket when I realized, after looking at a quilt of Mario, that I could make a knitted blanket in mitered squares.)
In fact, her
e's a very recent picture of that blanket on the boy's bed. You can really see the texture of the squares in this picture. I'm still happy that the vote to not block won. If we can keep the moths away, Mario may become an heirloom. But getting back to my summer sweaters. I think I must have done madwoman or ADHD knitting on them since I finished more than 10 this summer. I like best the lace tanks (two on the right.) I wore them the most, over camisoles and they were just right for our long spell of heat and humidity. (Yesterday, was the first day all summer when the kids, Miss M, and I were able to take a long walk in the morning. OK, it was in the rain but at least the temp was not 90+ by 8 a.m.)
The top on the left above was started last summer. That is probably one of my longest projects. The top on the right is its "sister" top - same yarn -and that's a good example of the lace tops.
The generic pattern for these lace tops is:
Decide needle size based on your yarn. Have two sizes, the smaller for the top and bottom band, the larger for the body.
CO x stitches (80 for me.) Join and work seed stitch for the width of a top band. Last row: K front and back in each stitch. (x stitches increase to 2x - 160 for me)
Change to larger needles. (I go from US 8 to US 10.5.) Work the following pattern for distance from base of neck to shoulder. (For me, it's about 4.5")
Row 1 & 2: K
Row 3 & 4: *YO, K2tog*
At shoulder, bind off loosely for each armhole like this: BO armhole sts, work pattern across for front, BO armhole sts, work pattern across for back.
On the next row, CO x sts at each underarm (10 each arm for me) and work the front and back stitches in pattern. Next row, continue on all the stitches in pattern to length.
(This part is so simple. Here's how I do the bind offs on 160 sts: BO 30 sts loosely, work pattern across 50 sts, BO 30 sts loosely, work pattern across 50 sts. Next row: CO 10 sts for underarm, work pattern across 50 sts, CO 10 sts for 2nd armhole, work pattern across 50 sts. On the next row, when I begin the pattern to length, I'm working on 120 sts. This works for me but as I said: this is a generic pattern so you have to adjust it for your size.)
Finishing: I like to work Row 4 (which is the lace pattern) and then BO on a straight K row. Then I work 1 row of extended single crochet across the bottom, 2 rows of half double crochet and I finish off with the crab stitch. But you can just switch back to smaller needles and work a few rows in seed stitch and just BO.
Final Note: This pattern is stretchy. In fact, on a yellow lace top (not pictured) I had only 90 stitches for the body and it's not small.)
All the tops shown are a variation of this generic pattern. The top I just finished last night (also not pictured) changes the pattern slightly with 5 rows of K and one row of *YO, K2tog* for a small popcorn look.
At the left, is a sweater set from the first picture. It's made in a variegated white/beige cotton.
I wasn't planning on making a 1950s matching sweater set but I had the extra yarn. I wear them separately - and a lot.
So this is a "How I Spent My Summer" posting. I still can't believe I knitted so much. Right now, I'm ready to tackle a black cotton cardi. Pictures to follow.
Happy knitting.
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