About Beth
I am a freelance writer, based in Pittsburgh, PA, specializing in science and technical topics. Yes, I am available for new writing projects! Team Beth wins gold!
It was a close race, but I finished it!
Everything was going smoothly until I had all the pieces seamed together and decided to try it on. It seems I had forgotten the First Rule of Sweater Design:
By some bizarre coincidence, the neckline was screwed up in exactly the right way that I could fix it by adding the braided collar called for in the original pattern. (I didn't add the ribbing on top of it - but that might be an option for later).
I'm really happy with this sweater. It came out to just the right width and length in the body (I really wasn't sure of that). The sleeves are kinda loose, but they don't bother me. I finished with a whole skein of yarn to spare, even after making the matching fingerless mitts that I mentioned :)
Pattern: "St Brigid" from Aran Knitting by Alice Starmore. The book is out of print, but TCPL has a copy.
Modifications: I only had a xerox of the cable charts to work from, so everything else I just made up. Mainly, I made the body a lot narrower and shorter than what I saw in the picture. No fringe, no moss stitch panels. My gauge is probably a lot looser than the original.
Yarn: Galway in a heathered forest green. I really like Galway - it's a plain worsted wool, similar to Patons Classic or Cascade 220, but to me it feels softer and smoother than either of those. And I love the heathered colors. It was perfect for this project. I used 6 100-gram balls, which is about 1200 yards for the sweater, and another 100 or so for the mitts.
Needles: straight bamboo #8's. I usually don't work with straight needles, but I have to admit that cable patterns are easiest to deal with when knitted flat. I can rest the end of the needle against my leg or the couch when I'm cabling, so the needle can't drop out of the stitches. I like bamboo for the same reason: it's too lightweight to slip easily out of the stitches. And of course I used a hooked cable needle. When I started this project I tried cabling without a needle, which is kind of fun, but I decided it wasn't worth the trouble. Using the needle slowed me down, but it was easier on my hands and had less of a chance of dropping stitches.
I'm not too crazy about the drop-shoulder flat seamed Aran construction, but I'm glad I tried it once. For one thing, I finally figured out how to mattress-stitch with an invisible seam. For another, I now have the proper respect for those seamless sweaters I've knitted :)
Everything was going smoothly until I had all the pieces seamed together and decided to try it on. It seems I had forgotten the First Rule of Sweater Design:
No matter what kind of neckline you think you are putting on your sweater, your first attempt will always look like Flashdance.
By some bizarre coincidence, the neckline was screwed up in exactly the right way that I could fix it by adding the braided collar called for in the original pattern. (I didn't add the ribbing on top of it - but that might be an option for later).
I'm really happy with this sweater. It came out to just the right width and length in the body (I really wasn't sure of that). The sleeves are kinda loose, but they don't bother me. I finished with a whole skein of yarn to spare, even after making the matching fingerless mitts that I mentioned :)
Pattern: "St Brigid" from Aran Knitting by Alice Starmore. The book is out of print, but TCPL has a copy.
Modifications: I only had a xerox of the cable charts to work from, so everything else I just made up. Mainly, I made the body a lot narrower and shorter than what I saw in the picture. No fringe, no moss stitch panels. My gauge is probably a lot looser than the original.
Yarn: Galway in a heathered forest green. I really like Galway - it's a plain worsted wool, similar to Patons Classic or Cascade 220, but to me it feels softer and smoother than either of those. And I love the heathered colors. It was perfect for this project. I used 6 100-gram balls, which is about 1200 yards for the sweater, and another 100 or so for the mitts.
Needles: straight bamboo #8's. I usually don't work with straight needles, but I have to admit that cable patterns are easiest to deal with when knitted flat. I can rest the end of the needle against my leg or the couch when I'm cabling, so the needle can't drop out of the stitches. I like bamboo for the same reason: it's too lightweight to slip easily out of the stitches. And of course I used a hooked cable needle. When I started this project I tried cabling without a needle, which is kind of fun, but I decided it wasn't worth the trouble. Using the needle slowed me down, but it was easier on my hands and had less of a chance of dropping stitches.
I'm not too crazy about the drop-shoulder flat seamed Aran construction, but I'm glad I tried it once. For one thing, I finally figured out how to mattress-stitch with an invisible seam. For another, I now have the proper respect for those seamless sweaters I've knitted :)
To knitting/crafts by Beth on
2006-02-26.