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Knitting Friday
I have a picture and a pattern (look at end of the pattern for some Saturday morning additions)! Oh, the guilt because my last few posts have been awful on Knitting Friday. Not that I haven’t been knitting - and frogging. It’s just that my computer uploader (now there’s a new job title) has been too busy to upload my knitting pictures.
But yesterday, I took pictures of my latest two tops. Let’s look at them first. These pictures evolved because I was in Michael's one Saturday and they had clearance on some Patons Classic Wool and I was wearing a multi-peach-colored silk blouse. It was still that cold then and that a plain blouse was not a wear-alone option. But, a wool vest over a silk blouse would do the trick. In the store, this color was a perfect match. Now, in real people lighting, I’m not so sure. But I did find that I have a Land’s End long sleeved tee which matches perfectly.
The original plan was to make the vest on the left as a long sleeved pullover. However, even with making a notation as to what row I had to begin on with the sleeves, I was getting a line of demarcation at the joining point, like I had changed needle size.
Now to back-track a bit: the original plan was to buy three skeins to be on the safe side and return one if necessary. Before I started my ill-fated sleeves, I had used a little less than 1 and ½ skeins. OK, I told myself after the sleeve problem, why not start Plan B and make two vests.
Here’s where I learned something: You will not get more mileage out of yarn with a one row *YO, K2tog* pattern in the round. What you will get is a very, nice looking rib with little stretch, not lace. I first started my second vest (pictured on the right) with this rib pattern but a few inches after starting the body, I was looking at a ball of yarn the same size as the picture. No way was I going to have enough to finish.
So I ripped back to the neck and started this lace pattern: Row 1: K Row 2: *YO, K2tog.* Worked like a charm; what was so unbelievable was the openness that just adding one K row brought.
The pattern I’m giving you is for the second (right side) vest. Once again, it’s only for my size but this is a very stretchy pattern. I cast on 60 sts and then doubled to 120 for the yoke so I think it would be easy to just increase the CO to 70, 80, 90.... sts as a fast way to go up sizes. Take a look at my bind off for the arms. I was trying to get the most inches possible from a bind off of only 20 stitches. I think I may have invented a new stretchy way since I haven’t come across this one yet.
At the end of the day, I guess I was trying to prove that you could take three skeins of Patons Classic Wool with its 693 yards and using US 8 (neck) and US 10.5 (body) needles get two wool vests in S or S/M size. Enjoy.
A good pattern for minimum of DK yarn (346 yds of Paton Classic Wool) Size: S to S/M
Neck Border: With US 8, CO 59 sts (you want 60 sts on last row but 59 is easier now for working seed) Join, work seed stitch for a neck border of at least 1".
Last row of border: *Kfb (front and back)* in each st across for 120 sts (1 inc has to be Kfbf to get 120)
With US 10.5: Start Lace pattern:
Row 1: K
Row 2: *YF (yarn forward), K2tog*
Work for at least 5" (includes neck border) in pattern.
Next row: (you will reduce the body stitches to 80)
1. Keep in Lace pattern on 40 sts.
2. BO 20 sts as:
K2, bring these 2 sts back to LN & K2tog *K1, bring it and previous K2tog back to LN and K2tog* work across all stitches - this makes a stretchy BO.
3. Keep in Pattern on 40 sts
4. BO as above on 20 sts.
Next row: (you will increase the body stitches to 100)
1. Keep in Lace pattern on 40 sts
2. CO 10 sts
3. Pattern on 40 sts
4. CO 10 sts
You will now work in your Lace pattern to the bottom hem.
Bottom hem: For a knitted hem, change to US 8 and work a seed st hem (1" or more). Don’t BO tightly.
Or: BO on a K row with even tension and crochet a few rows of sc/hdc/dc (your choice.).
Addition: It's Saturday morning and the top is finished. At the bottom hem, I repeated the bind off I did for the armholes and I went from 33" to 36" (a wise move.) Then I used an I hook (my favorite size for some reasons) and worked a row of single crochet, followed by the crab stitch. Looks good. Not tight and not baggy. I ended up with very little yarn left, which made me happy.
Why this works: This pattern is very stretchy so less becomes more. 100 sts on US 10.5 for the body gives a 33" bust w/o any stretch. If you have a lot of yarn, just work Row 2 of the pattern for a swirl rib effect which knits up much tighter.
Tip on finding mistakes: the pattern makes mini ladders looking like rungs between two ladder sides. When you work the lace row *YF, K2tog*, for the K2tog you should always pick up the “rung” st followed by the “side” st. If it’s in the reverse order, you know that you made a mistake no more than 2 rows back. (Probably forgetting to make a YF.)
YF really equals a YO but this way I found I wasn’t making a dreaded double YO. Your choice.
But yesterday, I took pictures of my latest two tops. Let’s look at them first. These pictures evolved because I was in Michael's one Saturday and they had clearance on some Patons Classic Wool and I was wearing a multi-peach-colored silk blouse. It was still that cold then and that a plain blouse was not a wear-alone option. But, a wool vest over a silk blouse would do the trick. In the store, this color was a perfect match. Now, in real people lighting, I’m not so sure. But I did find that I have a Land’s End long sleeved tee which matches perfectly.
The original plan was to make the vest on the left as a long sleeved pullover. However, even with making a notation as to what row I had to begin on with the sleeves, I was getting a line of demarcation at the joining point, like I had changed needle size.
Now to back-track a bit: the original plan was to buy three skeins to be on the safe side and return one if necessary. Before I started my ill-fated sleeves, I had used a little less than 1 and ½ skeins. OK, I told myself after the sleeve problem, why not start Plan B and make two vests.
Here’s where I learned something: You will not get more mileage out of yarn with a one row *YO, K2tog* pattern in the round. What you will get is a very, nice looking rib with little stretch, not lace. I first started my second vest (pictured on the right) with this rib pattern but a few inches after starting the body, I was looking at a ball of yarn the same size as the picture. No way was I going to have enough to finish.
So I ripped back to the neck and started this lace pattern: Row 1: K Row 2: *YO, K2tog.* Worked like a charm; what was so unbelievable was the openness that just adding one K row brought.
The pattern I’m giving you is for the second (right side) vest. Once again, it’s only for my size but this is a very stretchy pattern. I cast on 60 sts and then doubled to 120 for the yoke so I think it would be easy to just increase the CO to 70, 80, 90.... sts as a fast way to go up sizes. Take a look at my bind off for the arms. I was trying to get the most inches possible from a bind off of only 20 stitches. I think I may have invented a new stretchy way since I haven’t come across this one yet.
At the end of the day, I guess I was trying to prove that you could take three skeins of Patons Classic Wool with its 693 yards and using US 8 (neck) and US 10.5 (body) needles get two wool vests in S or S/M size. Enjoy.
A good pattern for minimum of DK yarn (346 yds of Paton Classic Wool) Size: S to S/M
Neck Border: With US 8, CO 59 sts (you want 60 sts on last row but 59 is easier now for working seed) Join, work seed stitch for a neck border of at least 1".
Last row of border: *Kfb (front and back)* in each st across for 120 sts (1 inc has to be Kfbf to get 120)
With US 10.5: Start Lace pattern:
Row 1: K
Row 2: *YF (yarn forward), K2tog*
Work for at least 5" (includes neck border) in pattern.
Next row: (you will reduce the body stitches to 80)
1. Keep in Lace pattern on 40 sts.
2. BO 20 sts as:
K2, bring these 2 sts back to LN & K2tog *K1, bring it and previous K2tog back to LN and K2tog* work across all stitches - this makes a stretchy BO.
3. Keep in Pattern on 40 sts
4. BO as above on 20 sts.
Next row: (you will increase the body stitches to 100)
1. Keep in Lace pattern on 40 sts
2. CO 10 sts
3. Pattern on 40 sts
4. CO 10 sts
You will now work in your Lace pattern to the bottom hem.
Bottom hem: For a knitted hem, change to US 8 and work a seed st hem (1" or more). Don’t BO tightly.
Or: BO on a K row with even tension and crochet a few rows of sc/hdc/dc (your choice.).
Addition: It's Saturday morning and the top is finished. At the bottom hem, I repeated the bind off I did for the armholes and I went from 33" to 36" (a wise move.) Then I used an I hook (my favorite size for some reasons) and worked a row of single crochet, followed by the crab stitch. Looks good. Not tight and not baggy. I ended up with very little yarn left, which made me happy.
Why this works: This pattern is very stretchy so less becomes more. 100 sts on US 10.5 for the body gives a 33" bust w/o any stretch. If you have a lot of yarn, just work Row 2 of the pattern for a swirl rib effect which knits up much tighter.
Tip on finding mistakes: the pattern makes mini ladders looking like rungs between two ladder sides. When you work the lace row *YF, K2tog*, for the K2tog you should always pick up the “rung” st followed by the “side” st. If it’s in the reverse order, you know that you made a mistake no more than 2 rows back. (Probably forgetting to make a YF.)
YF really equals a YO but this way I found I wasn’t making a dreaded double YO. Your choice.
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