I feel like I’ve been on a roll with summer knits lately. But of course when I say, “no I won’t knit myself that hat because it’s warm out…” the weather takes a nose dive. It’s been cold and rainy and insanely breezy so I haven’t worn my latest finished object but it was light enough when I got home from work to take pictures!
Here is the Cosette tee, part of the Berroco Pima 100 collection. I wanted to make this tee when I saw the pattern and then I saw a sample in store at Fibre Space and immediately new I wanted to make it as my next project. It’s knit from cuff to cuff so the stitches go side to side instead of up and down so I decided why not play with doing vertical stripes for this one. So how does one set that up for this pattern?
I colored on my schematic of course. I use the Bamboo Paper app on my iPad a lot to make notes and draw on top of patterns. So I decided to color block out how I thought it should go and then I read through the pattern and figured out the easiest places to do a new color join. Essentially anywhere there wasn’t a decrease or increase in the pattern was where I decided to add a new color. It’s the same on both sides but I found that the blue/purple side has a row or two more than the pink side. Of course only I notice that. And since I didn’t do a solid color I decided to add a few rows to the neckline instead of just picking up and doing a purl bind-off immediately.
I also thought using the navy blue yarn would be a nice way to pull it all together. Initially I was only going to make this with five colors and make the center a stripe of purple but when I saw the lavender shade of yarn I decided to just make it an even six color blocks. And you already saw I barely had enough purple yarn left but hey it worked out in this instance.
This is what it looks like once you’ve knit it from cuff to cuff (see how it matches the schematic?). It was hard to wrap my brain around this piece and I kept worrying it wouldn’t fit but I had to trust that my gauge was right and I was doing what I was supposed to do. Once you knit it, you fold it in half.
And then you just have to sew up the side seams! Of course the first time around I was slightly off and had to take out the pink seam and redo it. I was proud of myself for seaming it fairly neatly on both sides. I don’t love seaming but hey you gotta do what you gotta do.
I love how the piece curves around the hips and back and when you block it the piece grows a bit. The bottom is finished off with picking up stitches all the way around and then just doing a purled bind-off. It leaves a slightly raised edge. I actually felt like my ends were clean enough to leave on their own but I think they did this so that it wouldn’t curl up on you. And it’s funny, I think I like the pink side more but overall I like this fun color palette in general. I’m glad I opted for more color. And I could see myself making this again with all white and then one big block of green or something.
Again, I really do love working with the Berroco Pima 100 yarn. In the images where I’m wearing the tee this was after I washed it on delicate cycle in my washing machine and let it air dry. It holds up well and is soft and light on the body. It’s a perfect summer weight and it’s making me think about knitting more light weight cotton sweaters for fall and even winter. It’s still soft but not as hot and heavy as a lot of my wool sweaters are at times. Especially when we have mild winters around here in the Maryland/DC area. Next up I’m working on a test knit for Alicia Plummer again for a summer tee. Her version uses Quince and Co Kestrel yarn but I have leftover Berroco Maya from my Bragita top from last year that I’m using. I’ve really wanted to try some of the Quince and Co yarn but it’s a bit on the expensive side so I’ve held off on making a purchase. So what are you working on for summer right now?
Category: Tees & Tanks
Stitching Status: Playing Games
I came really close last night to losing a serious game of yarn chicken…
This was all I had left at the end of a block of purple on my Cosette tee. Did I mention I’m doing vertical stripes? I used leftover yarn from my Saddle Shoulder Striped Tee and even weighed my yarn left to see if I’d make it. I was not trying to go back to Fibre Space to buy a full skein of 1 color when I knew I’d only need 10 yards at most if I ran out. And I did not have to go! WOOHOO! It was pretty tense in my house while I was knitting to see if I could make it to the end.
The Cosette tee is worked from cuff to cuff, something I’ve never done before and am super excited about. I love new construction techniques. It always makes it a more interesting project. I decided to make a tee with some of the leftover colors from my last tee in the Berroco Pima 100. I used the pale pink and purple and then added in a darker shade of the pink, a light blue with hints of pink in it and a dark blue…get it? Pink to lavender to purple to blue to light blue! A different kind of rainbow but still lots of color because that’s what I like. It’s hard to tell in this pic but I’ve already started the dark blue and will just have the last light blue section and then seaming and picking up the collar and hem. I should be finished this weekend and wearing this baby next week.
In addition to finishing up this project I’m headed to Maryland Sheep and Wool on Sunday. What are your weekend knitting plans?
April’s FO’s
How is it May already?
With the semester coming to a close and the normal chaos of life and work I feel like April has zoomed right on by me. Add in travel for my husband, double dog duty by myself and getting bit by the tiniest of ticks the other day (and yes, I’m on precautionary antibiotics for 2 weeks) I’m happy to see April and its showers go away. Bring on May, vacations, Maryland Sheep and Wool Festival and my 14th wedding anniversary (I think May might be my favorite month). But before we say goodbye to April, let’s talk about what I was able to finish last month. And I noticed a pattern when I was pulling this together. April was all about repeats for me.
- HATS!!!: I finished not 1, not 2 but 3 of the slouchy beanies this month for guy friends. Travis got 2, a black and a grey one (he’s pictured in the black one in the middle) and Marc got a navy blue one as a thank you for always being an awesome presenter for my class. He was so funny when I gave him the hat last week because he knew I could knit but people only ever think of grandmas and horrible itchy sweaters so when it turned out to be a really nice hat he was super impressed. I still want to make one of these for myself but since it’s fairly warm that may wait until September.
- Little Women cardigan: This was my version of the Lillian cardigan but for spring and summer. I tried a new to me yarn and fell in love so much I had to find a way to use the leftovers for another sweater.
- Saddle Shoulder Striped Tee: Um…this top makes me happy in so many ways. A different than my normal construction, big bold stripes, lots of color and Pima cotton make it the perfection summer top.
- Spring Tee: Since I had enough leftover yarn from the Little Women cardigan I figured if I used big needles I could make myself an easy breezy tunic. I was right!
Now on tap for May…I’ve got some baby knitting to do! I started a dress for my goddaughter a month ago, twisted the 188 stitches when I joined in the round and finally cast it back on and worked on the hem over the weekend. Now I’ve just got 10 inches of stockinette stitch before I can work on my first box pleat. Updates to come. In addition to that I cast on a Cosette tee for myself last night because why not? It’s constructed from cuff
And as if I didn’t already have enough that I want to do I’ve decided to join in with the Summer of Basics Make-along. You just have to make a basic item a month, sewn or knit, and basic can be defined in anyway you want. I’m always inspired by what I see people making on Instagram all the time and have been itching to pull my sewing machine back out. In the summer I typically wear sleeveless a line dresses, clogs and a cotton sweater and I thought why not make one for myself? This make-along gives me the perfect excuse. I popped over to the fairly new Stitch Sew Shop in Alexandria (they’re in Fibre Space’s old location around the corner) and I picked up the Grainline Studios Willow tank/dress pattern and some Rifle Paper Co rayon fabric. It’s a gorgeous red-orange floral with bright pink roses. I think my neon pink clogs will be absolute perfection when paired with this dress. The instructions are pretty basic and simple but I may need to do a few test runs first since I haven’t pulled my machine out in about 2 years (I made Cher some blankets…and actually still have fabric to make one more so maybe Jellybean needs a blanket of her own). And if anyone can give me suggestions on how to pre-treat rayon dryclean only fabric I’d appreciate it. I didn’t think about that when I picked the fabric. Oops!
