Saturday, March 6, 2021

on spec...

Finally got to show Rhiana my idea and she was good with it. She commented on my enthusiasm, noting the exclamation mark in the notes I made. We discussed colour – she likes black or white or pastels. Scanning my shelves, I found a full cone of black Bramwell Sable Crepe hiding in a corner – it’s a dress-weight acrylic that I have no trouble parting with.

The original garment was black so you really can’t see much detail but I did detect a bit of texture in one frame that lead me to think it was maybe a tuck rib and likely a bit thicker, more like a mid gauge weight. I want to use the standard gauge machine and stick with a single bed stitch because of all the shaping. Did some research, looking back over old Knitwords magazines and in N0. 48, there’s an MAO design, ‘Crosswise’, that has some interesting features, like the angled fronts and the neckline. Not wanting to invest in time-consuming techniques here – she’s 14 and might wear this once or twice! – that self-faced, sloped edge is out - I’m looking to keep this simple! Made my swatch, starting with stockinette at T6 (which is the likely most suitable stitch size for this yarn) and then a simple tuck that gives nice vertical lines and adds a bit of bulk to the fabric,  at T6, T7, and T8, mostly for comparison. Give it a light steaming, measure, let it rest overnight and measure again – tuck will change, so the rest time is important.

That sample I used to do the ‘easy bind edge’ on http://knitwords.blogspot.com/2020/09/easy-bind-edge-question.html has been floating around my workshop and it’s the perfect trim for this project: narrow, works good from either side and should adapt widthwise nicely.

I drew the shape out on graph paper, adjusted here and there, until I was satisfied, then laid it out on the mylar that fits into my KR11 knit radar. I’m good to go!

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