Tag ribbing

FO Friday: Parseval in the Clover

remilyknits 1 Comment

A minor miracle occurred in my home town this week …. I finished a sweater, for me!

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Project: Parseval in the Clover

Pattern: Parseval

Designer: Melissa Wehrle

Available: $6 on Ravelry

Yarn: Knit Picks Gloss DK in “Clover”

I started this project in January 2012, and I’m sorry to say it was only the anniversary of the start date that goosed me into finished the project.  It fits great (especially after a slightly-more-vigorous washing, which plumped up the cowl neck and cables), and I love the color. I don’t love millions of miles of 4×1 ribbing (even in the round), but thanks to shame and Final Fantasy XIII, I did plow through it.  (I knit during the frequent and endless cut scenes.)

Speaking of ribbing, this project helped me conquer, once and for all, my ribbing “problem.”  Like many people, the leftmost knit stitch was too loose compared to it’s fellows, making the ribbing look crappy (that’s a technical knitting term, meaning “not as good as one would like”).  I discovered, via introspection, that I was shoving the whole needle through that stitch, rather than knitting on the tips as I usually do.  I don’t really know why.  But, focusing on the tips, plus a little judicious cinching-up when I forgot, made for acceptable ribbing throughout this project.

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FO Friday: Princess Wander’s Aran Cape

remilyknits 8 Comments

I made a cape! This does not make me a knitting superhero.

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Project: Princess Wander’s Aran Cape

Pattern: Wandering Aran Fields

Designer: Norah Gaughan

Available: in Wrap Style

Yarn: CEY Princess in peacock (3409)

This is a store sample for the Hub Mills Store.  Even though Princess has been discontinued (SOB!) we still have some in stock — come and get it, before it’s all gone! There is nothing quite so soft and lovely as this worsted-weight yarn. I will miss it when it’s gone entirely.  In the mean time, I got to knit this cabled cape — such fun!

The pattern is pretty straightforward: cast on the bottom edge, work cables until done, make button bands, then make more ribbing than you’d like to.  The shoulder decreases are cleverly hidden in the cables — very cool! The button bands are worked separately in the pattern, with smaller needles, although I noticed several knitters elected to work them as they went rather than deal with seaming.  Seaming doesn’t bother me, and I think it adds to the structure of the garment in many cases.

If you make this pattern, don’t make MY mistake.  I thought I knew what they wanted for 2×2 rib — I mean, 2×2 rib, right? How hard is that?  Well, I failed to take into account a totally appropriate one-stitch selvage (to make seaming those button bands easier), and ended up having to correct two inches of 2×2 rib that was off by one stitch.  Ugh.  Of course, I could have ripped it all out … but ribbing is my nemesis, and I just couldn’t face it.

I have improved my ribbing a great deal with this project, speaking of.  All it took was a little more attention paid to keep the working yarn on the needle tips when going from a knit to a purl — I was allowing the yarn to slip back a bit, adding too much slack at this crucial point and causing a loose left edge to knit columns.

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