Earlier this week, I finished Ease. It took a whole lot longer than it should have, which I admit is totally my fault. I knit the entire body in 2 or 3 days, the sleeves in another 3 and then I started the cowl. That's where things got derailed. The pattern has you pick up stitches around the neck for the cowl, but the yarn I used (Dream in Color Classy) did not cooperate. I tried several different ways, but no matter how I did it, the pickups looked sloppy (no fault of the pattern). I knew I wanted the cowl neck, so it was time for plan B. I decided to do the cowl in garter stitch instead of stockinette. I purled the first round after picking up the stitches, which seemed to help camouflage the wonky picked up edge.
Since I'm a stickler for matching - I ripped out the cuffs and bottom ribbing to re-knit them in garter. I attempted a jogless garter stitch for the bottom hem, but after knitting a few inches I realized it didn't look very good. Jogless garter is great for a few rounds, but when you're knitting 5 inches of it, it doesn't work as well. Ripped out the bottom hem again and decided to knit it back and forth, seaming it with mattress stitch afterwards. That was my first time using mattress stitch and I really liked it. The join is darn near invisible. You can see more details, including my specific modifications for sizing, on my project page.
This was my first time using Dream in Color. I had really high hopes, especially for the price range. If you're unfamiliar it's similar in price to Madelinetosh. I'm still undecided on it. I was not a fan while knitting - it's stiff, the dye bled all over my hands, and there were a bunch of knots in my skeins. While I was knitting, I kept cursing the yarn and did not enjoy knitting this sweater. Again, no fault of the pattern (which I love). After blocking the yarn relaxed a bit and is less stiff now. I'll have to see how it wears to make a final judgement call. Unless it wears incredibly well, I'll probably steer clear. There are plenty of other beautiful yarns out there that don't bleed all over, have a bunch of knots in them (causing massive tangles while winding), and are much less stiff.
I'm sad to put this sweater away after just finishing it, but we've finally gotten some warm weather and I'm not about to jinx it! Needless to say, I think this will be the perfect cozy fall sweater.
Project Details:
Pattern: Ease by Alicia Plummer
Yarn: Dream in Color Classy in Charged Cherry
Needles: US 7 (4.5mm), US 9 (5mm)
The sweater came out beautifully in spite of your cowl woes! The color is very nice!
ReplyDeleteThanks for the info about Dream in Color. I've never worked with a yarn that bled onto my hands while I knitted it. Yuck.
Thanks Lisa!
DeleteI've had other hand dyed yarn bleed a little when I soak it for a wet block, but never while I'm knitting. It happens when not all of the dye is exhausted from the dyepot. Other people have had this problem and DiC's response was a little lackluster. They basically said (paraphrasing) "it happens with saturated colors, deal with it." Overall, I expected more. At least the sweater looks okay.
Lovely! Thanks for sharing.
ReplyDeleteThat color turned out gorgeous! This is such a fantastic knit.
ReplyDelete