Monday, February 18, 2008

I finished something

It's a day off for me, which means that I have spent the day hanging out with a 4 year old, and also finishing up knitting Sprout. Technically it's not quite complete. I ended up knitting buttonholes and then deciding I would never wear it buttoned, as I was intentionally playing with ease on this one, and have knit a size which has too much negative ease for me to dream of ever buttoning. Despite that, I think it's kind of cute, it knit up very quickly, and it didn't use much yarn. I'll probably make something like this again, to test out how best I can use short rows, and to better determine what ease and styles really work on me.

Sprout front

Sprout side

Sorry for the not so hot headless photos. I took a nap, and my hair is doing something that would have been fascinating in the 80's, and is frightening me right now. I also need to give this a bath to even out the stitches - it's fresh off the needles, with ends woven in.

So what did I learn? Well, the 36" is just too small. Although it fits me through the back and the waist, there's just no way it's ever going around my bust. For a fitted garment, going up to 38" would be better, but I need short rows. Anything larger, and I definitely need waist shaping so I don't look thicker and stockier than I already am. I think the cropped length is cute, but I would be happier with another 1-2 inches of sweater (around 14-15"). I am short-waisted, and this length hits just above my hipbone. Oh, and if I were to knit this again, I would make the sleeves a little bit longer - about an inch, just to break up the lines a little bit.

Anybody else have any opinions?

I also started a mindless sock when I should have been studying to prepare for TAing a lab tomorrow. Whoops.

Note to self - cast on 56 stitches. Heel flap inexplicably worked over 23 stitches, 5 stitches for heel turn. Decrease to 12 stitches per gusset.

5 comments:

Elizabeth said...

Very cute!

If you want a fitted cardigan to button, I say, make enough stitches to go around the full bust, plan on a few short rows for a little extra length there, and then, contour a bit through the waist. It doesn't take many decreases to give a nice contour to the waist.

You might also want to make your front a bit bigger than your back. Adding a small amount to the front wouldn't be that hard to offset in the stitch counts through the armhole and shoulders, but could make a big difference in how it fits through the bust.

Allison said...

Hooray for a day off! I love it when days off can still be productive - that's what knitting is for, right? Great job on the sweater. I think the cropped length is great :)

Bells said...

oh! I like! It looks really good - can you post photos of when it's all washed and ready to wear? I'd love to see the difference. What's the mindless sock made out of?

Dave said...

I think it's cute, and I love the colour!

PS: If you're looking, Oceanwind is available at Woolgirl http://woolgirl.net/index.html

Jessica said...

I think it looks terrific! Love the color. I have modified several sweaters in the past to have a single closure toward the top. I would never be able to wear them otherwise as I am *ahem* a tad larger on my lower parts. Playing with fit can be kind of fun though!