Project: Intarsia sweater with lacy panelsPattern: Rowan Book Number Eight, Design 11, "Lace and Braid"
Yarn: Rowan cream wool and 15 or so other Rowan yarns in assorted types and colors
Started: 1992
Finished: December 2, 2007
So, there we were sitting around at a DOS the weekend before last, and I pulled out this sweater I've been moving, throwing away, recovering from throwing away, hiding, and occasionally dragging out to view for the past fifteen years (!). The knitting portion of the sweater was entirely complete, the front and back were joined at the shoulder seams, and half of the cap of one sleeve was attached. The other sleeve was separate and had 50+ little hanging ends to weave (Intarsia plague). After showing it to my sewing mates, we decided it had potential and identified a recipient who the finished sweater would suit very well. Finally, I had a plan!
Then, I attacked. I weaved all of the yarn ends, finished the cap on the semi-attached sleeve, attached the other sleeve, weaved both side and underarm seams closed, and, finally, tucked all the remaining seam ends.
The good: It's done! It's done! IT'S DONE! And, weaving the seams was just about the coolest thing. It makes the seam essentially disappear so the sweater appears all one piece around. Great technique! (Called 'Mattress Stitch' on Knit Picks.)
The bad: I'm not really very happy with the backstitched sleeve cap attachments. I matched the existing attachment to avoid moving backwards with this sweater, but the results seem kind of bulky and uneven. The backstiched shoulder seams are fine, so it likely has to do with handling the decreasing on the sleeve cap.
The ugly: The one thing that has always bothered me about this sweater is the end-weaving for the Intarsia patterns, which were knit with separate bobbins. Each Intarsia bit has between two and five different yarns, meaning four to ten different ends to weave. The colors are at such a contrast to the main body color that weaving behind the cream wool can peek through. So, the back of each Intarsia area is densely woven with ends on the back, adding bulk and inflexibility. In the future, I'll look for a more elegant solution.
Wearability: For a fifteen-year-old pattern, not as bad as you would think!
The bad: I'm not really very happy with the backstitched sleeve cap attachments. I matched the existing attachment to avoid moving backwards with this sweater, but the results seem kind of bulky and uneven. The backstiched shoulder seams are fine, so it likely has to do with handling the decreasing on the sleeve cap.
The ugly: The one thing that has always bothered me about this sweater is the end-weaving for the Intarsia patterns, which were knit with separate bobbins. Each Intarsia bit has between two and five different yarns, meaning four to ten different ends to weave. The colors are at such a contrast to the main body color that weaving behind the cream wool can peek through. So, the back of each Intarsia area is densely woven with ends on the back, adding bulk and inflexibility. In the future, I'll look for a more elegant solution.
Wearability: For a fifteen-year-old pattern, not as bad as you would think!
1 comment:
Whoohoo - I'm impressed. I find it hard to make myself do the seaming/weaving in, so bravo for dealing with this. Hope the recipient likes it!
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