Tag Archives: knit

WIP: Knitting for Baby

More Me-Mades in progress for baby Finn...



A BSJ! For the uninitiated, a BSJ = a Baby Surprise Jacket.  It's a classic pattern by Elizabeth Zimmerman (aka the Opinionated Knitter) from the late 1960's.  The pattern is written in a conversational style and makes for some real interpretive decisions when knitting.  It's a real departure from my own pattern writing style, but it's a very clever pattern, and I'm happy to give it a whirl.


I remember looking at this pattern years ago when I first started knitting, and found it so intimidating I never attempted it.  But, now that I've got a bit more experience... well, I can see why the old me was confused, but I'm a lot more fearless now, and understand the structure of the shape EZ was creating.

Week 2 Round-up, MMM14

This week was craaaaazy!  I had the baby!  So, my me-mades are a mix of handmade items made by me to be worn by me, and also those that I made for baby.

Also, I couldn't have been luckier with how the delivery went, and baby and I are doing well!


If you'd like to make any of the above items that have a pattern, here are the links:
May 8- Colette Pattern's Sorbetto can be found here and my modifications can be found here.
May 12 - Ottobre Spring 1/2014 patterns can be found here.
May 13 - Blank Canvas Tee can be found here and my modifications are here.
May 11- Christine's Stay-On baby bootie pattern can be found here on Ravelry.
May 14 - Simplicity 2317 Lounge wear pajama pants can be found here.

Week 1 Round-up, MMM14

Here's the weekly round up of me-mades worn this past week!



If you'd like to make any of the above items that have a pattern, here are the links:
May 1- Mitered Detail Cardigan can be found here on Ravelry.
May 2- Mod Podge can be found here on Twist Collective's site or here on Ravelry.
May 3- Colette Pattern's Sorbetto can be found here and my modifications can be found here.
May 4- Iris Pullover from Schnittchen can be found here.
May 5- Blank Canvas Tee can be found here and my modifications here.

Another FO: Red Rosita Mittens

Finally, I finished this long unfinished object!  This red version of the Rosita Mittens, a knitting design pattern originally published in Knitscene Accessories 2013, was a prototype.


I had finished the first mitten in red and white to conserve the yarn that was for the planned colors.  You can see in the magazine photo below that the green and white yarn was planned for the final design.


A bit about knitwear design...
When you receive yarn for a project, you don't know how many prototypes it will take to get the design right, so you conserve yarn as best you can.  In this case, I swatched and conducted all tests with the red and white, then went onto create the deliverables in green and white with red and pink details.

I'm so glad these are finally done!  The design rights to this pattern return to me this summer, but if you'd like to knit them in the meantime, I think the digital download of the magazine is still available here:  http://www.knittingdaily.com/media/p/109384.aspx

FO’s: Baby Stuffs

Baby stuff is so satisfyingly quick to make!!  I guess there's extra motivation when you've only got a few more weeks left in a pregnancy to "finish" everything on your to-do list.  In my case, I've had to put the Zig-Zag Quilt on hold because my free-motion quilting foot is on back order.  If I don't get it by this week, I'll just do simple zig-zag echo quilting and call it a day.

In the meantime, here are a few of the things I've been knitting and sewing...

Baby Booties


These are one of the quickest and most satisfying knitted items you can make, and these are made with all the mini leftover skeins I wind after a project so they're a bit of a motley crew.  These booties used sock and sport weight yarns and this pattern is called Christine's Stay-On Baby Booties.



Baby Items & Accessories

I photographed my latest sewing and knitting exploits together.  These include knitted and sewn hats, leggings, sleep sacks, etc.



From the top...

A) Hipster Cred Hat - made with SMC soft merino yarn in 2 colors - pattern from Dilettant Knits
B) Baby Bedtime Bag - made from a recycled t-shirt - pattern from Running with Scissors
C) Tie-Top Baby Hats - made with knit scraps - pattern from Tie Dye Diva via Sew Mama Sew
D) Baby Leggings - made from knit fabric and scraps for waistband - free pattern that came with Baby Bedtime Bag from Running with Scissors
E) Reversible Baby Bonnet - fabric scraps featuring prints from Tula Pink's Prince Charming - pattern from the book "Hat Shop: 25 Projects to Sew..."

And, I'm hoping that everything goes well in the next few weeks!  I'd love to get the quilt finished before baby comes.  Yep, I think I'm going to forgo FMQ plans and get straight to it.

MK Tutorial: Mitered Detail with Short Rows


This tutorial is a machine knitting tutorial that leads up to the publishing of my pattern, "Mitered Detail Cardigan."  The mitered detail in the pattern can be accomplished in two ways.  The first way described in the pattern, is with short rows (also known as partial knitting) and by wrapping each stitch as they are put on hold.  In order to best show what I mean, I made a video tutorial for this one...



Just in case it's too blurry in the video, here are detailed photos of what it looks like to "reactivate" a stitch into working position.

Wrap & stitch back in the hook part of the needle.

Wrap & stitch ready in working position ready to knit.

Here's a mini sample showing the detail on the front and back.  I think the color pooling of the yarn helps show the order in which things were knit.  The green section happened first, then the purple.  With WS (wrong side - in this case the purl side) facing, this block was worked from left to right.




WIP: Mitered Detail Cardigan 2

At the moment, I am working on the second version of the Mitered Detail Cardigan.  This time, I'm knitting it in green!  I've also refined the instructions and I'm knitting it together with the folks over in the Ravelry Machine Knits group.  I had no idea we'd have so many folks sign up, so I had to cut it off after over 20 people showed interest!  Crazy!

Here's my progress so far...

1 skein, Wollmeise Lace Garn

add a knitting machine and some claw weights

measure twice, cut once (just kidding, there's no steeking in this one)

FO: Mitered Detail Cardigan


Success!  At least one of last week's WIPs is complete!
Originally meant for the Ravellenics (Ravelry Olympics-watching related activities), the "Mitered Detail Cardigan" project really pushed me to learn how to better use my knitting machine.  Originally, this yarn was going to be Mary Anarella's lovely "Simplicity" cardigan, but as my belly kept growing, I thought, "that look's just not going to work on me." So, I set about designing this cardigan while keeping "Simplicity" as a visual inspiration, but sharpening it up a bit for pregnancy and after-pregnancy use.  Here's the result...


The front diagonal details were done using short rows.  So fast!


Back diagonal details done by transferring stitches.  Not so fast.


The folded over border was knit in two halves on the machine and then stitched together at the back of the neck.  

That turning purl row, which is so simple to do by hand, was kind of a nightmare to do by KM (knitting machine).  See, I didn't know that there was a difference between stitch transfer tools and garter bars.  There is a difference.  A big difference.  These large transfer tools are simply giant combs that hold stitches and help you move them over, and they have a tiny hole like a small transfer tool.  

Garter bars on the other hand, allow you to, not just move the stitches, but also flip them over and efficiently create a garter stitch.  I did the first side's turning row by hand-manipulating each stitch individually with a tappet tool.  It took me over an hour.  I did the other side by attempting to use the transfer tool as a garter bar, and failed.  I ended up holding the transfer comb horizontally directly under the hooks of the machine and individually lifting the back of each stitch onto its respective hook.  Faster than tappet tool, but not very much fun.  ((insert hysterical laughter here))


The back mitered square detail was not done with short rows which were fast and lovely by KM.  Each of those centered double decreases was done using the stitch transfer combs I mentioned previously.  All the stitches on each side were moved over by one toward the center where they met in the middle.  It took me 3 hours to do each side.  My friends at the local SnB laughed at me and said it would have been faster by hand.  True.  But, I learned how to use my machine with confidence!  That was worth it, right?  How else was I going to learn other than by challenging myself to do ridiculous things under an unrealistic artificial deadline?  What's that you say?  Was that reasonable advice you just gave me? Pshaw.  Reason-schmeason.



Project Title: Mitered Detail Cardigan
Designer: Me  (using Simplicity by Mary Anarella & 128-14 Jacket in ”Fabel” by DROPS design as inspiration)
Yarn: Wollmeise Lace in "Nobody's Perfect - Spice Market"
Amount Used: 281g of 300g skein
Machine Tension Settings: T6.75 for main knitting, T6 for edging
Main Gauge: 26 sts x 40 rows = 4"
Border Gauge: @T6, 24 sts x 50 rows = 4" (blocked to emphasize horizontal stretch)

WIP: What’s in progress?

What's in progress?  Let me show you!  Here's what I've been working on...

In Hand Knits:
On my double pointed needles, there's currently a second mitten!


This is the second mitten of red/white pair using my Rosita Mittens pattern from Knitscene Accessories, 2013.  I think I managed to make a larger size by mistake.  Oh well.

In Machine Knits:
I'm working on a cardigan design I'm temporarily calling "Mitered Detail Cardigan".  I was doing all the calculations using the old-school methods you see below (tape measure, calculator, and pencil).


Here's the first mitered square done on the machine.  It took a LOT of hand manipulation using a garter bar to move each row of stitches toward the center to create the centered double decrease, but it looks good.


Here's the completed back piece of the cardigan.

In Sewing:
I made my first overlocked zip-pouch.  This is one of three that's in progress.  It's my test piece, and it will likely be the subject of a giveaway very soon.  Who knew that boxed corners had to be so accurate?!



I used the Liberty Lifestyle fabric I wrote about earlier along with some other quilting cottons, fusible fleece, and a zipper from my zippers-on-a-roll.  Can't wait to master the boxing of corners.  What are you working on?

Finished Object: Crystallize Beret

This lovely hat is the second I've made of its kind.  My friend, Amanda, over at Dilettant Knits designed the hat originally for Knitscene.  When the design rights reverted back to her, she updated the pattern adding multiple sizes, and I was able to test knit it for her.  I gave away the first test-knit as a gift, and finally finished this one for me!





Pattern: Crystallize by designer Amanda Bell
Size: small
Yarn: madelinetosh Tosh Merino Light