I finished the back of my Garter Stitch Jacket re-make to where I thought I’d bind off for the shoulders, then I knitted a few more rows so I could block it again in order to match the armhole depth with that on the fronts.
This time, I had about 5 garter ridges too many.
I simply ripped out the extra rows. I’m now ready to bind off the back!
And the back and fronts have already been blocked so I’m also ready to sew the shoulder and side seams.
After a few more miles on the treadmill, I reached what I believe to be a little past where the armholes should begin on my Garter Stitch Jacket.
Normally, I count the rows between the front(s) and back to make sure that the body is the same length to the armholes. But, because the fronts were worked sideways (with vertical instead of horizontal garter ridges), the row-counting trick won’t work. Instead, I put the back on a spare needle and blocked it as I blocked the fronts. Then I placed the pieces side by side to check the lengths to the armholes.
The back was about 4 rows too long.
After ripping out the excess rows, I’m ready to begin the armhole shaping on the back. I’ll discard the kinky rip-out yarn, which could wreck havoc with my gauge, and continue with fresh yarn.
I always like knitting the second front (or sleeve) of sweater because I don’t have to stop to measure anything. I can simply match the number of rows knitted on the first. And counting rows can’t be easier than with garter stitch!
Here’s the left front, in all its blocking glory.
The markers denote the where the various armhole shapings began — they match the right front shapings.
Lately, I’ve been a little obsessed with moving (my body, that is). I’ve had a lot of stiffness in my hips and knees, which I suspect is due to the large amounts of time that I sit (to work on my computer, to ready, and, of course, to knit). So, I recently acquired a treadmill and have started walking while I knit. Not only does it keep me more active and agile, but it’s made me want to knit even more, if that’s possible! I set the speed at just 2 miles per hour, put the yarn balls in the pockets of a utility belt, and away I go. I’ve been watching Craftsy classes at the same time for a real adventure in multi-tasking. In just a few hours of light walking, I knitted a few inches on the back and learned a lot about how Donna Druchunas knits socks!
I finished the right front of my Garter Lace Jacket (a remake of the one that’s in Simple Style). It didn’t look so great off the needles, what with the way the lace edging contracted.
But after a soak in the tub and the help of a couple of blocking wires, it looks right nice!
You’ll notice that I use a striped towel when blocking — the color doesn’t always look so great with the knitting but the stripes help me pin and block things square.
I’ve made it to the armhole on the right front of my Garter Lace Jacket remake and I’m pleased with the look.
Please excuse the sun glare in the photo — I took advantage of a glorious fall day and took the photo after knitting for a while in the backyard.
I do love the garter-stitch fabric!
Despite three attempts, I couldn’t get through more than three rows of the lace edging pattern for the Garter Lace Jacket from Simple Style without making errors. The fact that I was watching old episodes of Sherlock with my husband didn’t help. Normally, I’m not one to give up (and especially not when it’s a pattern I’ve already knitted), but all of those pesky knits and purls through the back loops were giving me fits.
I decided to try the traditional Old Shale or Feather and Fan pattern instead, which just happened to repeat over the same number of stitches.
I think I’m on my way!
I’ve knitted swatches of both stitch patterns for my remake of the Garter Lace Jacket from Simple Style.
The Isager Alpaca and Wool yarns that I’m using are a delight to knit and they make the most springy and cushy garter-stitch fabric.
I’ve measured the gauge, washed the swatches, measured the gauge again, hung the garter-stitch swatch (with a weight at the bottom) for more than 24 hours, and measured the gauge again. Fortunately, there’s no “hang” factor to the gauge and the number of rows per inch doesn’t change with washing or wearing.
I’m getting 22 stitches to 4″ on size U.S. 5 needles, instead of the 20 stitches to 4″ on size U.S. 8 needles specified by the original pattern, so I’ll have to make some alterations. I want the back width to be 19″, which will take 19 x 5.5 = 104.5 stitches. In a happy coincidence, the third size (finished circumference of 42″) in the pattern calls for 105 stitches for the back. That means I can follow the instructions for that size and have it end up the size I want at my tighter gauge.
Way back in 2009, I wrote Simple Style, a collection of designs based on simple knitting techniques.
I’m still fond of many of the patterns in that book, one of which is my Garter Lace Jacket, knitted from Classic Elite Wool Bam Boo, a 50-50 mix of wool and bamboo that’s no longer available. At the time, bamboo was a relatively new knitting fiber and I was not as informed in how fibers behaved in knitting as I am now.
The problem is that bamboo is a slippery fiber that can stretched and grow under its own weight. I failed to take that into account when I measured my gauge. (I should have allowed the blocked swatch to hang for a day or two before determining my row gauge.) The result was that the sweater grew even as it was being photographed. The shoulders sagged and the armholes became too long. I always wished that I had knitted the sweater in a “stickier” wool yarn.
I’m finally getting around to it. I’m going to re-try the design holding two strands of Marianne Isager Yarn together: laceweight Wool 1 (100% wool) and fingering weight Alpaca 2 (50% wool, 50% alpaca), for an overall sportweight gauge.
Although alpaca can also be slippery, I’m fairly confident that the “toothy” non-superwash wool will dominate. But, I plan to knit a sizeable swatch and allow it to hang for a day before I calculate my gauge.
Stay tuned.
Garter Lace Jacket Redefined Read More »
As you read this, I’ll be on my way to join a Craft Cruise to Alaska. I hope I’ve packed enough warm clothes. And I hope I remembered my camera!
I finished the Goat Herder Pullover and got one of the book designers at Interweave to model it for me. What a good sport!
While I’m off enjoying the glaciers and musk ox of Alaska, I’ll have the instructions reviewed by a technical editor and ready for sale through Ravelry. Of course, I’ll alert you when it’s available.
