Seed Stitch Finished Knits

Gobstopper Cardi

2007-04-04T05:09:00.000-07:00

Pattern: In my head. It's just a basic sweater with a little collar with a picot bind off. And a one-button closure, like the Jawbreaker Cardi that inspired it. I'll call it the Gobstopper Cardi, since a gobstopper is basically a mini-jawbreaker. Plus I love gobstoppers.

Yarn: 5.5 oz of Corriedale that I spun and made a two-ply (dyed by Heather), knit on size 10.5 needles.

I am so happy with this. I can't believe how well it fits her! I was worried about the sleeves being too short, but really they're just perfect. I reknit the collar three times to get it to lay right, and used up very last bit of yarn. All I had left was the little bits left after weaving in the ends. I've never planned something out like this (from fiber to finished garment) and had it work out so perfectly.

Click any little pic for a big version:

Embroidered Raglan

2007-03-14T06:46:00.000-07:00

Pattern: Embroidered Raglan Sweater, from Knitting For Two, by Erika Knight
Yarn: Cascade Pima Tencel, edging is Artful Yarns Fable in the "Hansel and Gretel" colorway.

I left off the embroidery because it seemed like a little much, and next time I make this I will definitely be knitting it in the round. Too many ends to weave in for one tiny sweater! But it's so cute, and the button up raglan is perfect for huge baby heads.

Seraphim

2007-02-19T12:49:00.000-08:00

Yarn: Handspun Alpaca/Silk single (fiber from Matahari Spinnery). I used around 2.6 oz of fiber.

Pattern: Seraphim, by Miriam Felton

I knit this with a laceweight single on size 5 needles, and it came out exactly like I'd hoped. Lighter and airier than Mim's original, but not so holey that the pattern was lost.

And it photographs so well that I couldn't choose just a few pictures. Click any of them for bigger:

Trellis

2007-01-22T04:51:00.000-08:00

Pattern: Trellis

Yarn: Brown Sheep Lamb's Pride

Notes: I had a wicked time with the grafting of the shoulders on this one. I'd never done kitchener stitch on seed stitch before, but I found a good explanation (by Debbie New, author of My favorite knitting book!) on grafting seed stitch here.

I tried joining the shoulders with a three needle bind-off first, just because it was easier and stronger, but wasn't at all happy with the way it looked:

Shoulder seamed with three-needle bind-off

So I followed Debbie New's advice and knit a little swatch of the cable/seed stitch pattern, knit ONE row in a contrasting color, and then finished the swatch in the main color.

Then I made my grafting yarn follow the pattern of the blue yarn, passing it in and out of the stitches in the same way the blue yarn went.

Shoulder joined with kitchener stitch

It looked much better grafted like that. And once it was blocked you couldn't even tell it had been grafted.

Wing of the Moth

2006-10-06T04:45:00.000-07:00

Pattern: Wing of the Moth, by Anne Hanson
Yarn: 2/14 Alpaca Silk, from Webs. I got a 1/2 lb cone of this and used less than half of it.

Shetland Triangle

2006-07-31T04:06:00.000-07:00

Pattern: Shetland Triangle, From Wrap Style.

Yarn: Merino/Tencel single (lilac color), handspun by me.

Trellis

2006-05-24T15:58:00.000-07:00

Pattern: Trellis, from Interweave Knits, Spring 2006
Yarn: 100% Cashmere, recycled from a sweater.

Short Row Hat

2006-01-22T15:02:00.000-08:00

Pattern: Short Row Hat, free at the Interweave Knits site.

Yarn: Karaoke from Southwest Trading Co. 50% soy silk, 50% wool. I used one ball and about 10 yards of a second. I got gauge perfectly with size 6 needles. I love the color, it looks sort of iridescent in the sun.

Here and There Cables Scarf

2006-01-18T04:48:00.000-08:00

Pattern Detail

Pre-Blocking

Blurry picture of post-blocking

Pattern: Here and There Cables Scarf from Scarf Style.

Yarn: 100% cashmere recycled from this sweater:

Details in this post

Pattern Notes: The pattern is a lot simpler than it looks, and easy to memorize. Makes for good TV knitting once you have the rhythm of it down. The only change I made was in needle size, I went up to a size nine needle because my yarn was a little thicker than the one in the pattern. This makes a great man's scarf, especially in a neutral color like this. The blocking made such a difference! I wish I had a better picture of the post-blocking scarf so you cold see how well it opened up but if you look at the picture above, tilt your head, and squint slightly you get the general idea.

Bolero Jacket

2005-10-22T18:20:00.000-07:00

Pattern: Bolero Jacket, from Debbie Bliss Simply Soft.

Yarn: Reynold's Allagash, a little over seven skeins.

Notes: I like this bolero, but I think I'd like it a lot better if it had a button or pin holding the fronts together, which I suppose is easily remedied. When the fronts are not being held together the sides tend to hang rather limply; there's a little too much extra material there or something, making me look a little wider than is flattering. I would have assumed that that was a result of my yarn substitution but I've seen one knit in the recommended yarn and it had the same problem. If I were to knit this again, I'd put a button hole in the ribbing at the center front.

Mini Kyoto

2005-09-14T05:20:00.000-07:00

This is the first garment of any substance knit with my own handspun. I used the Kyoto pattern in Knitty as a model.

Pattern: Based on Kyoto, heavily modified.

Yarn: Brown: handspun Romney wool, about 100 yards. Pink: handspun Corriedale wool, about 300 yards.

Notes: I made some major modifications to the pattern, both to accommodate the smaller size and to cut down on all the seaming at the end. Now, I don't mind seaming. In fact, I rather like it. There's something so satisfying about getting that perfect invisible seam. But knitting a small sweater in a heavy worsted yarn makes for a lot of extra bulk if you have seams all over the place.
I eliminated the shoulder seams by going the short row/three needle bind-off route; I eliminated the body-to-sash seams by not binding off the sash; I eliminated the border-to-body seam by knitting the seed stitch border along with the two fronts. I'll graft the two sides of the border together and seam it for a few inches at the back of the neck.
I see a lot of people knitting this sweater looking for ways to cut down on the seaming. I don't know that I'd recommend my modifications for an adult-size sweater as those seams give the garmet some shape and stability. Baby clothes are a lot more forgiving since babies are basically shaped like little squares.

Picot Dress

2005-06-13T17:20:00.000-07:00

Click on this thumbnail to see a close up of the picot edging.

Pattern : Picot Dress, from Special Knits by Debbie Bliss

Yarn: Recycled 100% cotton from an adult sweater. I made this to a larger gauge with larger needles for my unusually "husky" niece.

Lace Leaf Pullover

2005-06-13T17:12:00.000-07:00

Click for bigger images

Pattern: Lace Leaf Pullover, Interweave Knits, Summer 2005 and Loop-D-Loop, by Teva Durham

Yarn: Reynolds Lopi Bulky, I used seven skeins, size 11 needles, and made the smallest size.

Notes: This sweater has an interesting construction. The bottom half of the torso is knit in the round from the bottom up. The top is knit in the round from the neck down and then bound off. You then graft the live stitches from the bottom to the bound off stitches from the top. I did this and found that I wasn't happy with the result. The bound off ridge made a little hard lump on the inside of the sweater and left it somewhat inflexible. I wasn't happy with the drape.

Essentially, what I did was take out the original grafting (in which the live stitches from the bottom half were grafted to the bound off stitches from the top half) and then I knit a couple more inches onto the bottom. I have a long torso and I needed a little more length. Then I took out the bind off in the top half and left those stitches live. I grafted the live stitches from the bottom to the live stitches from the top and seamed on the sleeves. That simple! I'm so much happier with it now.

Ballet Tee

2005-06-13T17:07:00.000-07:00

Pattern: Ballet Tee, from Loop-D-Loop, by Teva Durham

Yarn: Bernat Cotton tots Color: Wonder White

Notes: I like this t-shirt but it's not something I would ever wear. It needs to be worn over a camisol or tank of some sort. I'll either find a new home for it or send it off to the frog pond.

Leaf Pattern Scarf

2005-06-13T17:01:00.000-07:00

Pattern: Leaf Pattern Scarf, Vogue Knitting, summer 2005

Yarn: Le Fibre Nobili Imperiale, the leaves were knit in with simple embroidery cotton.

Notes: This pattern is very forgiving of yarn substitutions. I used a slightly heavier mohair for the MC so that I would get a warmer scarf and I was very happy with the results. The pattern is missing an increase row. There's no errata on the Vogue Website yet but I solved the problem by working a M1R and M1L on either side of the top leaf. If you don't work any increases your scarf will get progressively narrower and narrower...

Baby Bathrobe

2005-06-13T13:11:00.000-07:00

Pattern: Bathrobe, From Filatura di Crosa Baby Knits Book

Yarn: Bernat Lulu Color Yo Yo Yellow, I used 5 balls and held it double throughout.

Notes: I love this little bathrobe. The pattern was one of those "left side same as right, reverse shaping" ones so it requires a little thinking, nothing too strenuous though. The patterns doesn't call for beltloops but I do need to put some little ones on, I'll sew them in at the seams.

Ribbed Jacket

2005-06-13T12:25:00.000-07:00

Pattern: Ribbed Jacket, from Debbie Bliss Special Knits.
Yarn: Rio de la Plata merino wool , Color: Emerald Green

Notes: This was quick and fun, and only took about a ball and a half of the Rio de la Plata Yarn. I made the smallest size (0-3 mo) but I used bulkier yarn and size 10 needles, resulting in a sweater that fits about 9-12 months. I made a flower pin with a big safety pin and a silk flower.

Garter Stitch Jacket II

2005-06-13T11:32:00.000-07:00

Pattern: Debbie Bliss, The Baby Knits Book

Yarn: Bernat Cotton Tots in Little Boy Blue (aptly named, don't you think?)

Notes: I crocheted a single crochet edging around the sleeves and edges. Here's a closeup of the neck where you can see the right side and the wrong side of the crochet. The neckline was a little inconsistent because of cast-on and increased stitches and this neated it up nicely. (click for a bigger image)

I did the edging in the same color as the rest of the sweater and I chose buttons that matched pretty closely. I thought about doing the edging and buttons in a contrasting color but I nixed that idea in the end. I liked the simple look of the jacket and decided not to fuss with it.

I fussed around a little with the cast on stitches for the pockets. First I tried the backward loop cast on (pic on right). I didn't like the loose, sloppy stitches so I ripped it back and went with the cable cast on (pic on left) which looked much neater.

Click for bigger images

Garter Stitch Jacket

2005-06-13T11:19:00.000-07:00

Pattern: Garter Stitch Jacket from The Baby Knits Book by Debbie Bliss.

Yarn: Filatura Di Crosa 501. Color: 102

Notes: I wasn't totally crazy about the pattern and it doesn't really look like much lying there on the floor, but this thing was a huge hit. People seem to love it! I did add a little picot edge to the neckline (via crochet) because I thought my cast-on stitches there looked a little loose and wonky.

Woolly Hat

2005-06-13T11:15:00.000-07:00

Pattern: None. This was originally going to be a sweater back but I couldn't stand working with the yarn any more so I worked a few decrease rows, seamed up the back, and had a hat.

Yarn: Patons Divine

Notes (to self): Never buy this yarn again.

Headline News Cap

2005-06-13T10:51:00.000-07:00

Pattern: Headline News Cap from Stitch N Bitch Nation

Yarn: I didn't have any of the recommended yarn around but Lamb's Pride Worsted worked just fine. Color: Charcoal

Notes: This was a very easy and fast piece. Unfortunately, My head is sort of tall and thin and it just didn't look right on me. So, I gave it to the sis, who's head is more of a round shape. It looks great on her.

Cross Hatch

2005-06-13T10:18:00.000-07:00

Pattern: Cross Hatch, by Libby Baker at Creazativity. Soon to be Published in Creative Knitting MAgazine.

Yarn: Lion Brand Landscapes, color: Rose Garden

Notes: I wasn't crazy about the way this yarn got all fuzzy while knitting it. It ended up looking fine though. If I make it again I'll actually make it a little shorter.