against all odds…

A denim jacket, like the camo one. Make it an inch

longer, don't use shank buttons and no fabric cuffs. Not sure if the shank button is the reason I don't want cuffs but changing it up is good! 

My options for the knit fabric…Wool Crepe Deluxe (what I used last time and know it works) in midnight, or denim bouclé, old stuff I used many times and. of course, there's that denimy-shades 6/2 cotton  http://knitwords.blogspot.com/2024/02/ta-da.html that I used last year for the remake of my Tennessee Tunic - perfect colours but it’s not really as ‘hard-wearing’ as I’d like for this project.  I want something that’s going to have a little stretch, yet still be firm enough that it won’t bag out or get a ton of pill balls on it so going with the  denim bouclé.

Checked Knitwords #35, 'Made to Fade'. It was stockinette T8, with a gauge of 28 sts and 55R. My theory lately, after all those button-front lace hoodies, lace and stockinette should be the same gauge…I looked up my all-time favourite lace skirt,   https://knitwords.blogspot.com/2012/06/update-better-late.html using this same yarn - that gauge was 29 sts and 52 rows at T8 lace carriage, took a chance, decided to call it T9 with the knit carriage and go with the 28s/52r gauge. The partial cone I had weighed 310g which I thought should be
enough. 

I got lucky and was able to recognize my mylar schematic from 5 yrs ago. Knit the first sleeve - it looked huge, 82 cm long! What the heck? With 'trust your swatch' ringing in my ears (even if you didn't actually make one ;)),  I quickly knit the second, threw them both in the wash along with a couple of jeans, crossed my fingers and eyes and went for a walk! 

Put it all in the dryer and channel surfed while waiting. Found ‘The Great British Sewing Bee’ ohmigosh, so much fun, even better than the great British baking show! The comedian here was better, the judges, so cute - an old gal, a self-described diva, and the man,  supposedly from ‘Saville Row’! the sewing was brutal, the contestants fun and varied, judges very liberal and nice, what a winner! I loved it!

After the dryer, I could hardly stand it! Unbelievably, the sleeves are the exact size (55 cm) I planned! Wow! If I tried a stunt like that back in the day!

,