A couple of months ago, a friend of mine asked me to make her a slouchy beret in peach-pink or grey.
Now, here’s a warning to the wise knitter: STOP putting newer knitters off techniques that you found difficult! I was quite daunted by the beret pattern because it involved cabling, and whenever I mentioned this to anyone they made a point of telling me how fiddly and difficult it was. So, as you can imagine, this led me to put those skeins of yarn to one side and leave it to the last minute.
Finally, I decided to bite the bullet and give it a go – and it was so much fun knitting that beret, I decided to make my friend two – one really thick, wintry one in peachy-pink and one in a light grey alpaca.
My friend was delighted with them and my housemate, who saw me finishing the grey one, was so impressed she asked me to make one for her, in green. I did, and when her friends saw it, two of them asked me to make berets for them!
So now I have quite a hit on my hands, and I have learnt to cable.
Showing posts with label first time knitting. Show all posts
Showing posts with label first time knitting. Show all posts
Wednesday, 1 December 2010
Thursday, 15 July 2010
Jumper #1: Purple 1940s jobbie
Now that I'm a bit more confident at knitting, I'm starting to knock out some gifts for friends. I've made a few little things so far, but my first big gift project is a jumper for a former colleague, Rob.
The pattern is a vintage wartime one, which is knit in one piece so that the shoulders are joined. Having experienced trauma with seams while knitting my Tempest cardigan I have decided to make life easier by knitting the body of the jumper as a single piece in the round. I'll do each sleeve in the round, too, I think. I am just making a 'seamless' cardigan at the moment and it really does look so much nicer, which is especially important in a gift.
Rob prefers things he can stick in the washing machine, so I chose a sturdy acrylic in deep purple (his choice of colour). It's such a lovely yarn, I can't wait to see this project develop!
The pattern is a vintage wartime one, which is knit in one piece so that the shoulders are joined. Having experienced trauma with seams while knitting my Tempest cardigan I have decided to make life easier by knitting the body of the jumper as a single piece in the round. I'll do each sleeve in the round, too, I think. I am just making a 'seamless' cardigan at the moment and it really does look so much nicer, which is especially important in a gift.
Rob prefers things he can stick in the washing machine, so I chose a sturdy acrylic in deep purple (his choice of colour). It's such a lovely yarn, I can't wait to see this project develop!
Wednesday, 14 July 2010
Lace shawl #1: Part 1
Over the past few months, as I've attended various knitting groups, I've noticed people doing some beautiful things in lace. Some people seem to knit lace almost exclusively. So, I decided to try it out for myself...
I picked a relatively simple pattern in the sense that it didn't include any instructions I wasn't already familiar with. The most complex stitch is probably the ssk, and I had already done that!
After the edging, the pattern is a 27-row sequence, repeated three times.
This is a really lovely, delicate, and above all simple shawl to knit and you get a magical scalloped effect along the sides which is really beautiful. It's 300 stitches long, but it only took me a week and a half to get through half of it. And then...well, I dropped my pattenr on the Tube and wasn't able to knit it for a few days until I could print another. And I completely lost my momentum so that in the past two weeks I have only knitted about five rows. Disgraceful, isn't it? However, I need the needles for another project I intend to start before the month is out, so I shall be returning to my dancing cranes very soon!
Almost forgot, it's called the dancing cranes stole and is free on Elann.com.
I picked a relatively simple pattern in the sense that it didn't include any instructions I wasn't already familiar with. The most complex stitch is probably the ssk, and I had already done that!
After the edging, the pattern is a 27-row sequence, repeated three times.
This is a really lovely, delicate, and above all simple shawl to knit and you get a magical scalloped effect along the sides which is really beautiful. It's 300 stitches long, but it only took me a week and a half to get through half of it. And then...well, I dropped my pattenr on the Tube and wasn't able to knit it for a few days until I could print another. And I completely lost my momentum so that in the past two weeks I have only knitted about five rows. Disgraceful, isn't it? However, I need the needles for another project I intend to start before the month is out, so I shall be returning to my dancing cranes very soon!
Almost forgot, it's called the dancing cranes stole and is free on Elann.com.
Cardi #1: Tempest
Having cut my knitting teeth (so to speak) on hats, scarves, mittens and tea cosies, I decided to plunge right in and make a cardigan. I saw a lovely pattern on knitty and finally found the perfect yarn to make it with.
The cardigan is knit flat and I chose pale yellow and turquoise shades for the stripes. Knitting it up was quick, fun, and easy - took me less than three weeks.
Sewing it up was a nightmare! I never want to sew seams again! Ever... I sewed it up according to the instructions, but my slipped stitches were quite loose and there were gaps. So I undid it and had another go. Then did the button bands and they were too tight so I had to have another go....nightmare!!
It looks fine now and I am proud of it, but it screams first-time handknit garment - i.e. a bit rustic.
However, I have learned from the experience! To begin with, I've decided that it's really worth the effort working out how to knit things in one continuous piece, which is what I'm doing with my current project.
I've also decided that I will probably give this pattern another try in the recommended weight (lace) at a later date.
With all that said, I am really enjoying wearing my new cardigan! And perhaps only I notice its faults because when I wear it I get a lot of compliments, especially on the shades which are beautiful.
The cardigan is knit flat and I chose pale yellow and turquoise shades for the stripes. Knitting it up was quick, fun, and easy - took me less than three weeks.
Sewing it up was a nightmare! I never want to sew seams again! Ever... I sewed it up according to the instructions, but my slipped stitches were quite loose and there were gaps. So I undid it and had another go. Then did the button bands and they were too tight so I had to have another go....nightmare!!
It looks fine now and I am proud of it, but it screams first-time handknit garment - i.e. a bit rustic.
However, I have learned from the experience! To begin with, I've decided that it's really worth the effort working out how to knit things in one continuous piece, which is what I'm doing with my current project.
I've also decided that I will probably give this pattern another try in the recommended weight (lace) at a later date.
With all that said, I am really enjoying wearing my new cardigan! And perhaps only I notice its faults because when I wear it I get a lot of compliments, especially on the shades which are beautiful.
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