Tag: Etsy

Posted in knitting

Finished Object: Child Cardigan

Posted on by Laura Kate

My week-end has been crazy busy, so this post of a finish is coming out today. I bound off the second pocket on the Lavanda little girl sweater on Friday.

https://www.ravelry.com/patterns/library/lavanda

One of the things I like most about this pattern is that when you finish knitting, there’s no sewing up to do – only weaving in ends and sewing on buttons.

Here’s how it looks before washing and blocking.

Despite the fact that I had found my gauge before starting to knit, the finished sweater looks very narrow. Will it in fact block out several inches wider?

Well yes, Yes it did.

A fun feature of the after-thought pockets is the one-inch seed stitch border. It is made by knitting up from held stitches before knitting the interior of the pocket.

This gives a finished look and little extra depth to the pocket. Those rainbow-swirl wood buttons came from an Etsy vendor in the British Isle. They were surprisingly affordable. She must have been reducing her inventory.

https://www.etsy.com/shop/Craftingforjoy?ref=simple-shop-header-name&listing_id=1036971016

BACK VIEW OF LAVANDA SWEATER

Sadly, I did not have enough yarn to knit the attached hood. The sweet seed-stitch collar is a minor consolation. To complete the outfit, I’ll work my purple yarn left-overs into a warm, wooly hat – one with ear flaps.

I can hardly wait for the moment I will give this to Lu. (sigh) I’m afraid that it’s going to be a long summer for me.

Posted in sewing

Sashiko Sunday – Updated

Posted on by Laura Kate

By the end of last week, my order of supplies had arrived.

My new supplies: thread, needles palm thimble, leather thimble Clover white marking pen

After spending time reading about sashiko (pronounced sah’ shee koh, by the way) I realized that it would require special tools and materials to work this style of stitching successfully. Fortunately, nothing was terribly expensive. I have to give a shout out to KimonoMomo’s Etsy site for its diversity of product, reasonable prices and swift delivery. I purchased needles, thread, thimbles and a marking pen there.

https://www.etsy.com/shop/kimonomomo?section_id=20099573

Today was the day to get started. I chose the sleeve of a man’s blue shirt to practice on, because blue is the traditional color for sashiko-stitched fiber objects.

A piece of beige cotton flannel became a backing.

I started by folding the edges under, gluing the corners, and basting the swatch around all sides with ordinary sewing thread. Next came the marking. I just used my rectangular clear quilting ruler to create a diamond grid.

The traditional sashiko thread is sold in a skein. After carefully stretching the skein out fully, I found where it was knotted, then moved to the opposite end of the loop from the knot and cut the skein through. Next the skein is braided loosely and tied. To remove a length of thread, it is pulled out at the top, near the knot.

Here are my materials, ready to work.

And here is the first row of stitches.

Sadly, it was necessary that I perform other tasks, did not get to practice any more today. But I am confident that I have the knowledge and skill now to use sashiko as a tool in my fiber manipulation toolbox. I’ll post a photo of the finished sample in the near future.

Update, Jan 21, 2022: And here is my finished sample.

As I stitched along, I began to develop a little more consistency in my stitch length. It didn’t take nearly as long to complete as I feared.

Posted in knitting

My Favorite Thing I’ve Made

Posted on by Laura Kate

Yesterday, fellow blogger Karen of Nothing But Knit, put out a challenge. “Write a post about the favorite thing you have made. “

https://wordpress.com/read/feeds/32787/posts/2676816067

This post is my response.

Tailored Sweater

Those of you who follow me may be a bit surprised at my choice. It looks nothing like the color-filled fiber objects I usually post on my site. This color is a subdued neutral and the style rather conservative. What makes me happy about this sweater is that I chose every aspect of the design. I worked out the pattern details on graph paper and knitted it up.

It turned out exactly as I imagined and fits like a glove.

Schematic and specifications of my design

I can’t say enough about the quality of the Patons DK Superwash yarn. It is soft, but not a merino. Therefore the sweater has not pilled. The yarn has a heathery tone and a beautiful hand when knit. I used a twisted stockinette for the main body which makes a tighter fabric and plays up the variations in tone.

Back view showing pleat and waist shaping

The hem, cuffs and collar feature a cable-style stitch called Repeated Circles from 750 Knitting Stitches – The Ultimate Knit Stitch Bible. The vintage buttons, which I found on Etsy, mirror the oval centers of the cable. Love it!

Another detail that worked out well is the skinny cable at the shoulder edges. The few stitches worked on the outside edge of the cable made a perfect road map for setting in the sleeves.

Well, that’s about all I have to say about this project. Every time I see it in my closet I long for cooler weather, so that I can wear it again.