final details...

My linen One-Row-Tuck GirlFriend Hoodie is done, awaiting the arrival of the zipper - I did order it from zipperstop.com and it should be here, maybe even before Christmas! I ordered two - a nylon one that was a #3 lightweight and a #5 metal, brass coloured teeth option and I can decide which one will be best - I have not particularly liked the nylon coil ones but I thought maybe it was time to try one again - the lightweight part caught my eye! and they seemed pretty cheap so what the hay? The hoodie's all finished up, washed and dried, bands on, ready for the last thing of machine sewing in the zipper. I opted for slightly narrower hem bands than the original MFH pattern - if you go to 'Just the Flax' (KW#47), I used the same graded-tension bands, same number of stitches, but I started at T10 and went down from there by one dot per row for 7 rows and then back up - yes, there is an extra row (8) on the front side of the band - that helps it to lay flat and not curl over or under. I made the cuff narrower yet, only 5/6 rows, but again same number of stitches as the cast-on edge. I used all the same finishing techniques as the Manfriend Hoodie, with the outside seaming  and the same front edge stabilizing for the zipper installation... I'm so happy with this, I'm looking around to see what else I can use for another one and, even though it's freaking cold here and this is supposed to be warm weather wear, I won't be waiting, I'll wear it as soon as the zipper is in - we do have central heating!

progress report and tweaks....

I have the back done and I'm very encouraged by the fact that the remaining cone looks almost the same! of course, the first thing I do is throw the back on my scale and it weighs in at 116g and that's with the waste yarn at shoulders and bottom edge! I weigh the cone and it has 424g remaining (started with 540g) so that translates to 116g for the back - not going to knitpick here and just call it 120g. I know that I had been weighing individual pieces in the past in certain projects for various reasons. On my second Omega hoodie (http://knitwords.blogspot.ca/2014/12/zipped-off.html)
I kept track - it was wool crepe deluxe (2200 yds per pound as opposed to the 1750 ypp for the linen) and a little different shape, but it will give me an idea of the ratio of the pieces. The back was 124g, back band was 20g, one sleeve with cuff was 92g, the hood was 74g and with band added it was 90g, front with pocket and band was 84g. That all adds up to 586g - take the bands out - they were all 5cm, doubled - that's about 70g for bands, so I'm very confident that I should be able to get this GFH done with pockets and hood, with contrast bands at least.
I've been thinking of you KAL-ing with me (hope springs eternal!)and figured I should add an extra consideration because this wouldn't be in the original MFH/GFH pattern as they are knit in stockinette. With the stitch pattern I am using, you may have noticed the vertical lines - there are actually 3 vertical lines separating the two reversed diamond-ish motifs. So I centred the pattern so the three lines run up the centre of the garment because that will look best but I wanted to remind you of my extra little tweak for patterns with vertical lines. After the underarm shaping is done for your size, or, actually before it is done, check and see where the vertical lines are placing in the shaping. Your finished garment will look much nicer if you can have a line (or two or three) running up the straight edge of the body after the underarm up to the shoulder (hope that makes sense). I did change mine - I made the shoulder wider by 2 stitches in order to have two vertical lines at each edge - of course, if you have chosen a stitch without vertical lines don't worry about this! :-) oh yeah and because of those three vertical lines, I added an extra stitch on one side, at the left for the back and will flip the pattern for the fronts and add the extra stitch at the right...and don't forget the yarn marks every 10 cm....oh, and I found a part cone of WCD leftover from Tobacco Road (KW#53) that is a very close match - instead of the beige linen...

fingers crossed....

There is a group of knitters in the Maritimes, Nova Scotia actually, and they are doing a Knitalong using an old pattern of mine, called Hood'sUp from Knitwords #22, Autumn 2002 - here's the link I gave you back in 2014 to their initial blogpost:

http://mkkal.blogspot.ca/

When they first asked for my permission back in 2014, they seemed to start off with a bang and then I never heard from them. http://knitwords.blogspot.ca/2014/02/remake-of-remake.html
A couple of weeks ago I got an email titled Adventures in Machine knitting and what do you know? it was those knitters resurfacing and getting going again! They now have a ton of very interesting information about swatching, cleaning your machine etc that you might find interesting. The premise is not everyone has the same machine or yarn etc and they plan to explore options and all sorts.
 Anyway it seems whenever I join a KAL, it never works out or I just get tired of waiting for everyone else to get knitting so I'm going to just pretend to do this on my own and tell you about it here...
You may recall in the past year or more I had become obsessed with hoodies or was it that stitch pattern? ;-) Anyway, I took a hiatus from both and now I ready to go again! I want a light, summer-weight hoodie that I can use as a cover-up so I've inventoried my yarn stash and came up with some options - several lightweight cottons, linen blends and linen. Now, I don't want to have to re-design the original - I want to use the same shape file and the basic techniques, but I don't need to match the gauge exactly because I'll be working with my knit radar and all I have to do is plug in my new stitches and rows. BTW, I'm using my Manfriend Hoodie ( http://knitwords.blogspot.ca/2015/06/manfriend-hoodie-pattern.html ) pattern (the girl version because this is for me!) - it is actually the updated 2015 version of Hood's Up. I ruled out the really fine stuff because it would be too complicated and have to totally be redesigned. I took the linens and the biggest problem is the amount required. I did use this yarn twice before - KW#47, Just the Flax (used 460g for the 4th size) and #49, Linen Spin (410g for 2nd size). Both of those, I used one of my one-row-tucks knit fairly loosely. Here's the link to one of my previous posts explaining 1RT: http://knitwords.blogspot.ca/2014/03/1rt-raglan.html
Now, I had initially thought of lace when I decided on a summer-weight GFH but the linen is not conducive to lace carriage (too stiff - it does soften up nicely when washed though)) and I'm really not up to another Battenburg experience!
When I was in Dallas last month, one of the really great questions I got was 'how do I know how much more yarn I will need for swatching, planning etc?' Even though I've settled on this Linen - it's from Silk City/BTYarns/Knit It Now - 100% linen, 1750 yds/lb - I have a cone of brown and one of cilantro, each weighing 540g and I have a leftover 240g of the beige. I'm calling it lightweight because I am knitting it quite loosely - I did one swatch at T9 and another at T10, washed them and will wait for it to dry before deciding which to go with. I swatched with the beige, not wanting to waste the good yarn because I will be lucky (actually, really lucky) to get a hoodie out of one colour. My backup plan is to use a different colour for the bands - brown with beige bands would be fine and I have an almost-exact-colour match in Skinny Majesty for the cilantro linen. So my answer to the question was to use some other yarn to make sure your stitch pattern is good and then hopefully use another colour leftover of the same yarn for the actual swatch and also, have a backup plan in case you still do not have enough (shorter sleeves and optional hood!)

obsessive, compulsive, addictive...

Can you be addicted to a stitch pattern? I mentioned the other day about making myself another Girlfriend Hoodie and how I had been meaning to do a knitted version of that purchased hoodie...well, another part of that was, upon finishing up my prototype of the Church Cardi, I was still totally in love with that Battenburg stitch pattern and it dawned on me that there was no need for a lot of useless experimenting, just use that pattern vertically up the sleeve of my new hoodie!

 The purchased hoodie has a vertical column of stitching and cut-outs on each sleeve and up the front, half on either side of the zipper. This will be so easy, I thought.
I banged out the sleeves in no time, just filling in bits of time here and there, you know, without really planning to spend the whole day at the machine.  I sat back and admired the sleeves, ignoring the little voice in the back of my mind that the 'floats', which are over 3 empty needle spaces, were going to be too long and would catch on things - I just didn't care, I was committed!
The next day, as I began knitting the pockets and fronts, I kept thinking, this will be done in no time, because the back will be totally plain and so will the hood. Well, when I cast on for the back, all of a sudden on row 2, without really thinking, virtually unconsciously, I began transferring for a single column of Battenburg to run up the back...what the?? oh well, in for a penny, in for a pound as they say and next thing I know I have this growing motif happening on the back like it has a life of its own! After I got 3 repeats wide, I tried to get it under control and cut back but I still couldn't stop until I got to the top, reasoning that no one would really be able to tell because the hood would hide some of it anyway.
As I started the hood, still planning on making it plain, I again found myself addictively hanging onto that 7-prong tool and not just making half of a repeat to run beside the drawstring casing, but doing a full one!
I love it! After machine washing and drying which I did to the first one (http://knitwords.blogspot.ca/2015/06/manfriend-hoodie-pattern.html ) and all the others I've made since (this is number 7) the strings/floats tightened up very nicely and it's all good!
I'm thinking, I could use one in pale blue (ha, ha! you caught me! I did add a pale blue and a red zipper when I ordered the ivory one - zipperstop.com)...but my yarn has come in for the Church Cardi!

I'm kinda jealous...

I know it's not right, but my friend Deirdre sent me this photo - she made my Manfriend Hoodie for her son - she started out with Bonita (which my pattern called for) cotton in natural, knit it, finished it off and then dyed it aquamarine! AND then used her embroidery machine to add the skull and crossbones to personalize it for him. What a great job and what a great gift! I'm so proud of her because she hasn't knit for a while and I was pleased to help add to inspiring her to getting back to her machine and I love her finished product.
Huh! My GFH is getting kind of old, it's been a year! I have been wearing it incessantly and I do have a cone of the natural and an abandoned sleeve that would most likely get me a new hoodie...this brings back to mind a purchased hoodie that I have that http://knitwords.blogspot.ca/2011/06/snippets.html I had planned to do a version of and never got around to...

 

zipped up again...

I made the manfriend hoodie in red for Nathan (my grandson who turned 12 last month!!! OMG!!!). I actually made him the small size from the girlfriend hoodie without the A-line shaping. I did have the knitting done for his groundhog day birthday but it took me this long to locate a nice, metal tooth zipper and get it sewn in.
www.zipperstop.com is my new source - you can get virtually any colour you want with either silver or brass teeth at a very reasonable price - lots of options - check it out and they ship to Canada, again very reasonable and quick service once you place your order.

I cheated on the drawstring - instead of knitting a slip cord out of the red cotton Bonita yarn - I purchased a red tubular elastic, not sure whether he was old enough to now have a drawstring that wouldn't be called dangerous - first think he did was put the hood up and yank on the ends to pull it tight! ; )

follow-up...

I am just finishing up making the pieces of my fourth hoodie - the navy one pictured here is for my friend Vickie's hubby (get better soon, big guy!) and the watermelon/hot pink one is for her ( I couldn't talk them into matchy-match ones). I needed to make a couple more for my demos at the Founder's Fest Seminar in Minneapolis, July 25, 26, 2015 (http://www.midwestmachineknitters.org/events/foundersfest/).  I will be showing seaming and finishing on the machine and as an extra class, sewing in the zipper - Dee said she'd bring a sewing machine just for this. So the navy one is all done, with the zipper pinned in place, ready for the sewing - I thought I'd show it here, because I wasted time looking for a navy zipper the right length and after a couple of weeks of finding nothing in navy that wasn't plastic, decided to opt for this black tape zipper with bronze teeth - I think it looks great and elevates the jacket from plain, old... to Wow, where did you get the nice hoodie? I already knew I wasn't going to be able to find a good match for the watermelon colour, so I'll keep you posted on my solution - a grey with silver teeth  or white with silver teeth...

manfriend hoodie pattern...

The pattern is ready! A comfy, wearable, durable, zip front hoodie for the man in your life and, a bonus pattern, GirlFriend Hoodie for the girls! The yarn is 'Bonita' from Knitcraft - 500g/1850 yd, mercerised cotton. The man pattern has 5 sizes,  finished chest,  44, 47, 50, 54, 57 in. Third size takes 750g.
The girl pattern, A-line (3 inches larger in hip), finished bust 38, 41, 44, 47, 50 in. Third size takes 650g. I got the two beige hoodies out of 3 cones of yarn. I have the yarn in stock, so if you can't find it from your regular supplier, I do mail order! (email me privately for cost and colours available.) And it's not like I'm saying, make matching hoodies for you and yours - I did it, planning to dye one (or both) to see what happens!
The pattern is written for the Advanced Beginner level, with lots of info on using shortrowing for decreasing, like the curve of the underarm, the neckline and the top of the sleeve cap; all the seaming is done on the machine, with outside seams on shoulder, neckline and sleeve cap to add a little extra design; the front patch pocket is made first and attached as you knit; lots of detail for stabilizing the front edge and sewing in the zipper, using the sewing machine - when you're finished this project you can move up to Intermediate! Oh, it's all just stockinette, so can be made on any standard gauge machine.
Order here, now, just click the 'Add to Cart' button under ManFriend Hoodie at the top right side of this blog. Thanks and talk to you soon!
P.S. thanks to Tom the machine knitting guy for testing this pattern for me! He did a great job!

also accomplished...

The 'Manfriend Hoodie' is made and finished - and I got all the pieces made for the 'Girlfriend Hoodie' so I can use them as a demo at the seminar in San Diego next weekend - I even promised to show the sewing machine application of the zipper installation  if they bring a sewing machine, to which they said yes!
I had hoped to get the pattern finished up too, but I need a bit more time and so do my proofreaders/test knitters, so you'll have to wait on that - I promise to have it ready by the end of May at the latest - you can find it for sale here - both patterns for the price of one!
I also wanted to mention that I will be at the Founders Fest in Minneapolis, MN, July 25, 26/15 and in Charlottetown, PEI for the Maritime Seminar in October 2, 3/15.
 Hope to see you!

manfriend hoodie...

I've been away from  my knitting machines for over two months and I am going to San Diego at the end of the month to do a workshop for the Machine Knitting Guild of San Diego  on May 2 , 3, 2015. OMG! I feel like I'd better get doing something to get me back into knitting mode. I did make a pair of socks the other day and repaired a pair - knit new feet onto the good-forever ribbed tops - (see blogpost 'Happy feet...April 14, 2009)  to get warmed up and I got energized. I had vaguely promised a man's hoodie pattern around Christmas but I got bogged down with trying to make it too complicated and then tried to simplify and then kind of abandoned the project. On Wednesday, I decided that I had time to make one, mainly because I always like to have something brand new for a seminar and I did get a message from the guy who I had made the vague promise to and it seemed like he was worried about me - it was enough of a push to get me going - I used to work well under pressure and meeting deadlines was my thing! I not only got the man hoodie made (just need to darn in ends, wash and dry and sew in zipper) and the pattern almost finished but I decided that it would make a great session for the workshop and I am madly knitting pieces that I can take to San Diego and use to show the putting-together-on-the-machine techniques - truth, actually, the man hoodie turned out so nice, I was feeling left out and wanted one for myself!
Although fairly basic, it has all the good parts of a nice hoodie, made in mercerised cotton (Bonita from Knitcraft), features zipper front (with a couple of installation options), outside seaming details, including a sturdier, re-inforced neckline for careless wearers, and pouch pockets attached while you knit, all in stockinette...will let you know when the manfriend and girlfriend pattern is ready! two for one!