The Mysterious Case Of A Vanishing Jog

The story of this sweater is rather bizarre but it has a happy ending so there is no need to worry.

Back in April, contemplating my stash, I found quite a few balls of Rowan Pure Wool 4ply leftovers from my last year experiments – Juno, Blue Improvisation, and Sunshine.

I had about 6 balls in Gerbera colorway, some white, blue, and a bit of yellow balls. My obvious choice was a colorwork pattern where I could use maximum of the yarn while still having enough for a whole garment. Still, I wasn’t certain that the quantity of the main color (Gerbera) would be enough and decided to try another top down just to be on a safe side.

I picked this old French knitting magazine – again! –because

1) I love it!

2) I’d made the best patterns from it before (from some cheap yarn) and the fit was great.

3) its patterns are classic = timeless

4) I like to make something unique and original, and what can be more original than remaking the old patterns in the modern way?

My goal was to make this pattern, which is written as a bottom up and supposed to be knit in pieces, into a top down with short rows (yes, I am still having fun with Japanese short rows, they are flawless, and I’ve been incorporating them pretty much everywhere).

At first, everything went as planned: I began with tubular CO (stretchy and polished!), made short rows and increases. Yes, I had adjust the pattern a bit for my size, but after having made Birkin and Elk Meadow pullover, I felt much more confident in my numbers and it wasn’t a completely guessing game.

Fortunately, the pattern’s yoke includes three fair isle motifs separated by plain stockinett. It gives an opportunity to incorporate the increases more evenly plus is handy for short rows. Honestly, I got a little bit carried on with the short rows here… But back to the sweater.

The colors looked so lively and vibrant together that I literally couldn’t put this project down as the end result had a promise to become spectacular (ha-ha, can I say it about my own work? Sure, I can since I like it). That is why I didn’t bother trying the finished part on till I reached the armholes. And then an unthinkable happened, the jog (this place where a previous row ends and a new row begins, and where knitters have to be most careful in avoiding a ladder effect when switching colors) turned out to be right at the front of the yoke.

It was a major blow. A really huge one. I was so happy with my newfound pattern rewriting skills, the yarn, and the colors. I was so looking forward to finishing this sweater. Actually, I thought of gifting it to someone (if I had enough yarn for the sleeves). No more gifting and the overall prospects were bleak since I couldn’t imagine myself wearing it knowing about the yoke and the jog.

I even asked the knitting community on Facebook for help but most of their advice was to carry on and finish this project. And I couldn’t even look at it at the time.

So I started another colorwork pattern – Asbury – that was timely finished and gifted while ruminating about the fate of this potentially beautiful but flawed project.

When we came back to Florida in June I took another look at it and it occurred to me that I could still finish it and then just keep for further references (and not to make this stupid mistake again).

Even though it is a top down I divided it after the yoke (and more Japanese short rows!) in four parts that I knit separately. From my previous experience I knew that this yarn becomes exceptionally stretchy when knit in the round. Actually, it is very stretchy even with seams, you need to be extremely careful while blocking it. Working in the round speeds up thing and make a knitter’s life much easier but I’d rather suffer while working on a garment than while wearing it.

After the body was finished (with tubular BO on the ribbing), I had very little yarn in the main color left for the sleeves. I used a kitchen scale to divide it as evenly as possible in two parts and made the sleeves as long as the remaining yarn would allow me. I didn’t have enough yarn for the tubular BO. And seaming was tricky since I’ve never had so little yarn to work with.

When everything was done I put the finished sweater on and… a miracle! The jog was right where it was meant to be from the beginning – on my shoulder. I still don’t understand how it happened. When I tried the yoke on the first time the jog was clearly at the front. And with all those Japanese rows there couldn’t be a mistake about the front and the back. I was incredulous, more than pleasantly surprised, and went to my husband to share my wonderful news.

His reaction wasn’t what I expected. He wasn’t happy for me. Do you know why? Would you be happy if a builder working on your house would joyfully but unexpectedly discover that the roof is exactly where it was meant to be after all, on top and not on the side? Probably, you’d start looking for another builder.

Apparently, my pattern rewriting skills need much more honing in. And I really want to understand better the top down construction so I’ll keep working on it. It is fortunate that round yoke sweaters with colorwork are still fashionable. Actually, for me they’ll always be fashionable. The question is how many round yoke sweaters one person can own at the same time?

Now, the Mysterious Case of a Vanishing Jog covered (as usual, more details on my Ravelry page), I can write about my #summerofbasics projects and more adventures in knitting design.

Talk to you soon,

Anna

Planning

I’ve been knitting. All this time that I was silent here, I was knitting. During these last two months we moved from Florida to Pennsylvania (for a month) and back from Pennsylvania to Florida (for a month). Next week we are going to leave for our yearly trip to Canada. To top it off,  there are two more trips for this summer/fall in our plans.

Since I cannot stop knitting no matter where I am, I have to plan my projects way ahead of time. And it works well (mostly) yet, sometimes it backfires. Look what happened to me last month.

I have a wonderful linen yarn in an amazing mustard color that works with absolutely all my summer clothes. I picked this yarn to take with me to Pennsylvania so I could finish a summery garment right before the summer officially begins. The problem in this particular case was that I had no idea which project this yarn is supposed to become.

So I started one project with this yarn (in March) while working on other things and soon discovered that the result looks ugly and particularly dreadful on me. OK, no problem, I started another one in April and was bored to death while working on it, which is why I kept avoiding it, and eventually it got unraveled.

Then, in May (already in Pennsylvania), I thought that I finally found a match for my wonderful yarn, and started a third project that was promptly abandoned because I couldn’t understand the pattern instructions. At all! Does it happen to you? Since we all have different thinking/processing styles, sometimes designer’s logic and my logic are not compatible. For example, I am clearly an abstract-sequential person and it takes an enormous effort for me to understand someone who is random. Anyway, this project was abandoned as well.

By the end of May I was desperate and decided to come back to my original plan and start over with the very first pattern. Bummer! I finished half of the top but it was ugly (again!) and was frogged (again!).

I am not complaining – this is an inevitable part of the process. Certain yarns just don’t want to become certain garments. There is only one solution to this predicament: wait patiently for the right pattern. It is there somewhere, and eventually you’ll find it. Just don’t despair!

I wrote all this just to show that even the best plans may go awry. It doesn’t mean that we should stop planning. This year though I decided to put one serious constraint on me – I have to use only the yarn in my stash. I cannot afford to buy new yarn because there is no space to keep it anymore. And I discovered that challenges and constraints help creativity. For this reason I unsubscribed myself from all the knitting websites that kept sending me updates about their sales and new items, and now if some email seeps through my barricade I delete it immediately without reading. Leaving on an island, far from yarn stores definitely helps keeping my resolve. So far it’s been 6 months almost (ALMOST) without buying new yarn. Nevertheless, I have a long steep road to climb.

While I was fighting with my stubborn mustard yellow yarn, I made two gifts. This year I started making Christmas and other presents earlier since I have to make so many.

First, I finished Arlo by Michele Wang for a 4 year old boy.

The pattern was clear and enjoyable. The yarn – Naturally Naturelle 8 ply fromNew Zealand – has been in my stash for ages, and I was glad to find a good project for it. It is a little bit heathery, warm, light, and easy on your hands. And it went so fast! I forgot how fast children’s knits are.

Arlo finished, I still had quite a lot of this yarn in two colors – brown and white. Adding to them some leftovers of Adrienne Vittadini yarns excavated from my basement, I started another project, this time for an adult. And I picked an old Norah Gaughn’s pattern from Vogue Knitting Fall1999.

I must confess that I believe that in knitting (and in fashion in general) everything has already been invented and done. It is up to us, knitters, to combine all traditional, timeless elements in a new contemporary way. I personally get more inspiration from looking back, at the old garments and fabrics, than at the Ravelry’s “Hot Right Now” page. And this is why I have an ever growing collection of knitting books and magazines.

In fashion I like the classic style with simple lines and a good construction, and have no interest in homespun, unevenly colored yarns, or shapeless garments made with no seems. They are definitely fun to make but are hardly ever worn by anyone (unless you are Stephen West or have a similar style in clothes).

Now, after this little tangent, let’s get back to my project. I don’t have any pictures of that cardigan because it was promptly made and gifted. Yet, while working on it, I saw this picture on Pinterest:

In general, I am not a big fan of Miroslava Duma’s style, and the only garment on this picture that would work for me is the jacket. But what a jacket it is! I kind of fell in love with it… Instantly, my mind started working: do I have any yarn for it, do I know any patterns that might be used here, when and where could I make it?

Meanwhile, we moved back to Florida where I have another old book by Norah Gaughn and Susan Mills The Best of Lopi. And I found some old Rowan yarn unraveled from two projects that were made top down and seamless and were never worn because of a very poor fit.

Last year I participated in the #summerofbasics knitalong. Well, sort of participated because I really liked the fact that there was no particular structure to it. Normally, I don’t do knitalongs or other things that have deadlines because of the complications from our frequent travels. This time the only requirements were (at least as I understood them) to make one garment a month, and to post its pictures in progress and of the end result on Instagram. It looked doable to me and I did it. And the best part was that I finally got to knit things that had been postponed for ages and enjoyed myself immensely in the process. Yet, by the end it all became a photo context – participants were asked to organize their pictures in a certain way and these pictures were judged (by some judges) and the winners got prizes. Which, in my opinion, made the whole thing more like a photo context rather than a knitting one because there are many more amazing and talented knitters in this world than amazing and talented knitting photographers.

However, since last year’s contest really helped me get my priorities straight, this year I decided to take part in this thing again.

Here is what I plan to make in the 3 months (yes, I know, one month is already over and I’ve made some of these items but still…)

1) A round yoke fair isle cardigan a la Miroslava Duma. Yarn – recycled Rowan wool. Pattern Norah Gaughn Traditional Icelandic cardigan + Luter and Iva from The Best of Lopi.

2) A pair of socks for my daughter. Yarn – Colormart scraps. Pattern – Lacy Cable socks by Veronik Avery.

3)A cardigan for a 10 year old girl. Yarn – leftovers from my never ending Rowan fine tweed stash. Pattern – Periwinkle Family by Martin Storey from Rowan Magazine #61 (a little modified).

4)Another round yoke fair isle cardigan from an old French knitting magazine – I wanted to make this cardigan for as long as I remember but there was always something on my way.

This year I’ll try to finally make it from the leftovers of Rowan fine tweed.

5)Some hats for children and friends. Pattern – Mist by Kim Hargreaves from Rowan’s A Yorkshire Fable. Yarn – Rowan fine tweed and Colormart scraps.

6) Speaking of Kim Hargreaves – have you seen her last book Haze? 

I want so many things from this book, it hurts… Originally I planned to make a summer tank for myself. So maybe I’ll be able to squeeze two patterns from this book into my tight summer schedule. Yarn – Rowan Cotton Glace and Maggi’s Multi Linen from the stash.

7) Last year in London I saw this sweater in a store.

It looked comfortable and luxurious at the same time and cost a fortune. I have some Colormart yarn in my stash and a pattern from a Japanese knitting book that I want to use to make a sweater similar to this one.

I think that would be enough to occupy me this summerJ))

The first month is over and 3 out of 7 items on this list are already finished. Actually, I finished 4 but the 4^th one was started in April so it cannot be counted as a #summerofbasics project. And I’ll tell you everything I can about those knits… next timeJ))

Best,

Anna

Asbury

This project was born out of necessity. I was making a fair isle sweater for a young and beautiful woman and after my success with the ElkMeadow pullover was feeling unreasonably self confident. I decided to re-knit a pattern that I made almost 30 years ago from an old French magazine, this one, remember?

And I picked the blue women's sweater:

According to the pattern it is knit bottom up in 4 parts with a round yoke at the end. I decided to recalculate everything and make it from the top down with short rows (Japanese short rows of course, because I LOVE how they look). So I was working on it like crazy, calculating and recalculating, trying it on myself (even though its future owner is taller than me), making sure that it is not too tight and you can move your arms up and down. 

Finally, I divided the work in 4 parts and started working on the back, because I wanted to keep the seems (the yarn – Rowan Pure Wool 4 ply - stretches a lot when worked in the round). And that was the moment when I finally realized that my jog - the place where one row ends and a new one starts - is right on the front. Oops!

It was supposed to be at the back, I swear! I planned it all carefully and it was supposed to be at the back. Yet, lo and behold, here it was, on the front of the sweater that I wanted to give away.

What would you do in a situation like this? Cry? Yell at yourself? Unravel the whole thing and start all over?

Well, I did none of the above. I started a new project instead.

My goal this year is to use up as much yarn as possible from my stash. For the yoked sweater I was using the leftovers from Juno, Sunshine, and Blue Improvisation. For my new project I decided to use up some leftovers of Rowan Fine Tweed.

By the way, the wooden bowl on the picture is made out of a tree fallen after the hurricane Irma. Isn't it beautiful?

You can see the bowl better here.

I call this cardigan Asbury because I incorporated the colorwork pattern from Martin Storey’s  short feminine cardigan from Ravelry (it is a free pattern, go and download!). What I liked about this cardigan from the very beginning was a successful combination of a traditional colorwork pattern with a modern silhouette. At first I wanted to make it for myself, short, and with different colors (and I might do it one day).

Yet, desperate times – desperate measures. I needed to start something that I’d be able to finish before our departure from Florida and I needed it fast. The future owner of this cardigan is an extremely practical person with a traditional taste so from the start I knew that my cardigan had to be longer, preferably with pockets and v-neck. Then I looked at my stash of Rowan Fine tweed. The only color that could be used as the main was light blue (Nappa): there were 10 balls of it. Since I had just few balls in other colors the cardigan simply couldn't be done all in fair isle, the sleeves had to be knit in one color.

Playing with colors and choosing the combinations was the best part, so much fun! I changed the colorwork pattern a little bit: started and finished every stripe with two, not one, row of the main stripe color. And I added one row in the middle of the brown stripe because I wanted more of the greenish-blue color to be seen.

All that settled I started working and promptly finished it.

The whole process was a lot of fun. This cardigan was made flat, without steeks, to avoid excessive bulkiness, especially in the armholes.

I documented my work in minute details because I am thinking about making one like this again in different colors and with different colorwork pattern since I still have quite a bit of Rowan Fine tweed leftovers and they work perfectly for it. If you want to duplicate my experience (and for additional pictures), go to my Ravelry page where I wrote down all the numbers.

Meanwhile, I finished one more project that I haven’t written about.

Probably, because there is not much to write – no drama, no big mistakes, or huge disappointments. This one – Reflection by Kim Hargreaves - was done mostly while knitting in public or watching TV. It is all plain stockinett st. Again more pictures and details on my Ravelry page.

I had the same yarn as in the book so I just followed directions. The result is lovely and I highly recommend the pattern. As for the yarn - Rowan Alpaca Merino DK - the jury is still out. This yarn has an uncanny ability to snag and becomes exceedingly stretchy when wet: I had to be super accurate while blocking the sweaters parts so I wouldn’t get the final product 2 sizes bigger than needed. Unfortunately, I still have quite a lot of this yarn in my stash (remember, last year I bought all the yarn that I could get?). We’ll see what happens with it.

And what happened to the yoked pullover from the beginning of this story? So far, nothing much.

Desperately seeking a solution for my jog problem, I joined a knitting group on Facebook. There you can ask a question and then get answers for one hour (after an hour the group admin closes the comment section). And I got a lot of comments from other knitters – who would have thought this group is so popular?! All comments could be divided in three categories:

1.The jog is almost invisible, don’t fret, just finish. Easy solution, I might follow this path eventually. Yet, I don't think that this sweater can be gifted as is and I doubt that I'll ever wear it myself knowing about its imperfection.

2. A list of videos and tutorials of how to knit an invisible jog. Yet, my problem was that I already had a jog and wanted to disguise it somehow so to follow this advice I had to unravel the whole thing, watch the videos/tutorials, and start all over again avoiding making a jog.

3. Some clever recommendations on how to cover my mistake: wear a scarf strategically on one shoulder, put some buttons on the jog, do double stitch over etc.

Which solution is the best? What do you think?

For now, I just moved on to my next project. I need some time and space to decide what to make with this one. Stay tuned.

Best,

Anna

Look, ma - it's a seamless top-down!

It all started last year when all of a sudden I bought too much yarn.
Yes, I know, there is no such thing as "too much yarn" for a knitter, but all non-knitters will tell you what I am talking about. It means so much that you have absolutely to space to keep it.
It happened to me for the first time in my life. Usually, I can control my yarn buying impulses. No, not totally control them, just up to a point... but still.
How and why did it happen? We built a new house in Florida, and while I was in Pennsylvania, I kept ordering yarn online with the delivery address in Florida. Only when we came here in October and I saw all the packages neatly stored in my closet, I got worried that I won't be able to use all this yarn in my lifetime. Most of the yarn I ordered was from ColourMart and it was mainly scraps, odds and ends of great yarn in different length and color but the same weight - heavy lace.
It took me a while to wound them up in balls. People who have done it at least once know what kind of nightmare I am talking about. People who've never done it before - please, please, please, don't buy this yarn in scraps, it's not worth it, believe me!
Now I've got many-many balls with only two clear measurements for every ball - the yarn weight and the ball weight.
Making socks from this yarn seems to me a waste of time: the yarn is too thin and the socks won't last long. Multicolored hats is another option. This year it might be my solution to the Christmas gifts situation. Still, I needed to figure out a kind of project to use up most of the yarn. And what is the best project when you don't know how much yarn you've got or when you can run out of yarn at any moment? Right, it's a seamless top-down.
Fortunately, these projects are extremely popular now on Ravelry and outside of it. After making Arboreal, Birkin, and Order of the Garter, I became less afraid of the top-down projects. I was looking for a sweater like in my inspirational board on Pinterest  - modern with a bold colorful design, with some folk references but without traditional flowers or snowflakes (I am more into geometrical stuff right now).

Finally, while making the Clear Creek Cardigan from the Interweave Knits Spring 2018 issue, I found my project of interest - Elk Meadow Pullover by Paula Pereira.
To tell you the truth, at first I didn't even notice this sweater. I think that its styling in the magazine is rather unflattering. Look at the photo:

The pullover blends into background which is light blue, almost like its main colors. Plus light blue pants on the model don't improve the picture either. And the last unfortunate touch is the model's earrings - they are pretty, and folksy, and also have almost the same color, and are very distracting from the actual knitted garment they are supposed to help to showcase. In my opinion, it would look much better with a darker background - teal or brown - and some dark pants or skirt. Oh, and without the earrings for sure, but I digress. Back to knitting!
Anyway, since making the Clear Creek Cardigan took a while, I kept spotting the Elk Meadow pullover, spending longer and longer time observing its unusual geometrical design, until at some point I imagined it in other colors - my colors - and that was it. I knew what I was going to make from the ColourMart scraps!

My gauge was totally off: 30 sts and 36 rows in 10 cm (unwashed). Eventually, after washing and steaming the finished sweater the gauge became 28x34 in 10 cm. The pattern gauge is 24x30 in 4".
I had to do a lot of math.

Here is what I did and how I did it in case you get the same gauge and want to replicate my process. Truth be told, it was really painful at times - it took a lot of unraveling and starting over. Yet, it was extremely rewarding and fun to make and I am totally in love with the end result.

I started with tubular CO and the biggest size - 132 sts, worked for 20 rounds in k2, p2 ribs, then shaped back neck  following the pattern's math but using Japanese short rows. I incorporated new sts more gradually:
first inc row - K1*K2, inc one st*till the end, K1 = 176 sts;
2 row - all K sts;
second inc row - K2*K2, inc one st*till the end, K2 = 234 sts;
2 row - all K sts;
third inc row - *K3, inc one st* till the end, K4 = 312 sts;
2 row - all K sts;
fourth inc row - *K4, inc one st* till the end = 384 sts.

Used the colorwork pattern for the biggest size. Started the colorwork pattern at the left side of the back (it was a vain precaution because there is almost no noticeable jog in this pattern).
After dividing for body and sleeves I got 264 + 24 = 288 sts (added 6 sts on each side of underarms) for the body, 72 +8 = 80 sts for each sleeve.

Body:
Finished the colorwork and knit for 30 more rows, shape lower back using Japanese short rows.
144 sts between side markers.
Short row 1: Knit to 15 sts before the first side marker, turn.
Short row 2: Purl to 15 sts before the second side marker, turn.
Short row 3: Knit to 10 sts before the first side marker, turn.
Short row 4: Purl to 10 sts before the second side marker, turn.
Short row 5: Knit to 5 sts before the first side marker, turn.
Short row 6: Purl to 5 sts before the second side marker, turn.
Short row 7: Knit to the first side marker, turn.
Short row 8: Purl to the second side marker, turn.
Short row 9: Knit 5 sts after the first side marker, turn.
Short tow 10: Purl 5 sts after the second side marker, turn.
Finished with 20 rows of K2xP2 ribs and a regular BO (I tried the tubular BO as recommended in the pattern but didn't like how it looked).

Sleeves:
I had only 80 sts for each sleeve that turned out to be not too many so I didn't make the decreases, just kept knitting all 80 sts till the cuff  (10 rows after the end of colorwork) and then *K2, K2tog* for one row to get 60 sts. 24 rows of K2xP2 ribs and a regular BO.
I used 3 needles sizes - 2.00 mm for the ribbing, 3.00 mm for the colorwork, and 2.5 mm for the rest.
The finished sweater is soft, drapy, and incredibly flattering. I know that I am going to wear it a lot. I already do, Floridian hot weather notwithstanding.
My only regret - I should have divided for body and sleeves a bit earlier. With all the different yarns and a gazillion of sts it was hard to try it on often enough. But next time I'll know where to stop yoking.

And this is the most important lesson of making the Elk Meadow pullover - now I know my numbers and can recreate this sweater with different patterns but the same yarn as many times as I want (and I have quite a lot of this yarn, remember?).
I tried to be as thorough as possible detailing the entire process. As usual, all the specs and more pictures are on my Ravelry page. What do you think?

Buttonholes (tutorial # 2)

As promised, here is my favorite buttonhole recipe.

Step 1. Decide buttonholes' placement

I always pick buttons for a project together with yarn. It gives me enough time to change my mind if I picked wrong. And if I don't change my mind by the time the buttonholes are made, it means that I made a right choice!
Make the left front first and calculate the rows between the future buttonholes. If you put markers in place of buttons, it makes your life and calculations easier.

Step 2. Execution

Get to the row where you want to start a buttonhole (keep in mind that a buttonhole is made in two rows)

For this particular example I picked up 9 sts to make 3 sts buttonhole.

Knit the first 3 sts:

Leaving the working yarn behind your work, bind off buttonhole sts (just thread them one into another like you do while binding off without actually knitting them): 

In my case I bound off three sts to have a buttonhole right in the middle:

Get back to the working yarn and turn your work to the wrong side:

Pick up sts from the last st on your left needle. I picked up 4 sts because I bound off 3 sts, but my general rule - pick up as many sts as were bound off plus one

Turn the work back to the right side and knit together the last st on the left needle and the first st on the right needle

Keep knitting till the end of the row. In the purl row purl, or knit, or knit and purl picked up stitches as you go

Ta-da! Your first buttonhole is finished.

If you don't knit together the last picked up st and the first st on the right needle you might have a visible gap at the end of your buttonhole. See?

And you don't want more gaps than needed.
Does this method have room for improvement? Of course. Yet, since I found it somewhere on the Internet more than 10 years ago I've been making buttonholes this way and they serve me well. They are sturdy enough and don't stretch as much as the ones made with yarn overs. If you want them to look even prettier you can sew around later using a sewing needle and thread of the same color. Sometimes I do it, mostly to connect the first bound off st with the previous one.
I hope it helps!