You can teach an old dog new tricks
So it was Friday night, I had been crocheting all week, on a small hook with cotton.....quite hard on the wrists. The Pizza had arrived and been well eaten and I was looking for something to do. Now for Christmas Santa bought me a selection of crafting books, one of which, "Fitted Knits" had been egging me on to open it and study it for a few weeks. I liked the idea of putting some simple shaping into my creations and also fancied giving this top down knitting malarkie a go.
So out came the book, I rummaged through the stash looking for some nice chunky yarn that would give me some quick results, as a reaction to the small hook crochet. I took out my shiny new circular needles and off I went.
Now one of the things that sets me apart form many a "professional" knitter is the way I hold both my yarn and needles. I was taught to knit with the right pin under my arm, and as a result I take my hand off the needle completely when wrapping the yarn around. I have managed to train myself to knit stitches and keep my hand on the needle, which means I can knit in the round for socks and guddle my way through the ribbing.....but knitting a jacket back and forth in stocking stitch on circulars proved too much for me.....especially with the multiple stitch markers required for the increases.
After the third attempt I decided to do it my own way. I took out my long 10mm faithfuls, concentrated hard for the first 2 rows to set the increases and then basically did my own thing!
I knitted, and tried it on, then I knitted some more and tried it on again. I managed to put the pins down at about midnight and once I had done the housework on Saturday morning I was off and running again.
What did I produce.....this little number. As you can see I still have the sleeves and Button Band/Collar to knit but basically I did this in about 5 hours...not bad eh? On bog standard straight pins.
I added a peplum (frill) at the botton which uses the same technique as the increases on the shoulders to produce the upper arms and will do the same at the wrists, I think I will also add on a wide collar with the frill too.
To say I was chuffed would be an understatement. I am all ready to go topdown again once this is finished....and I didn't have to re-learn how to purl......bargain!!!
So out came the book, I rummaged through the stash looking for some nice chunky yarn that would give me some quick results, as a reaction to the small hook crochet. I took out my shiny new circular needles and off I went.
Now one of the things that sets me apart form many a "professional" knitter is the way I hold both my yarn and needles. I was taught to knit with the right pin under my arm, and as a result I take my hand off the needle completely when wrapping the yarn around. I have managed to train myself to knit stitches and keep my hand on the needle, which means I can knit in the round for socks and guddle my way through the ribbing.....but knitting a jacket back and forth in stocking stitch on circulars proved too much for me.....especially with the multiple stitch markers required for the increases.
After the third attempt I decided to do it my own way. I took out my long 10mm faithfuls, concentrated hard for the first 2 rows to set the increases and then basically did my own thing!
I knitted, and tried it on, then I knitted some more and tried it on again. I managed to put the pins down at about midnight and once I had done the housework on Saturday morning I was off and running again.
What did I produce.....this little number. As you can see I still have the sleeves and Button Band/Collar to knit but basically I did this in about 5 hours...not bad eh? On bog standard straight pins.I added a peplum (frill) at the botton which uses the same technique as the increases on the shoulders to produce the upper arms and will do the same at the wrists, I think I will also add on a wide collar with the frill too.
To say I was chuffed would be an understatement. I am all ready to go topdown again once this is finished....and I didn't have to re-learn how to purl......bargain!!!
Comments