Tag Archives: swatch

Into the Wash

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It turns out I may have trained my family too well.

It took no more than 5 loads of laundry to get this dang swatch through the washer and dryer. Everybody kept pulling it out of the hamper (including my 4-year-old, who told me “Knitting doesn’t go in the laundry”). Which, I suppose is a good thing, in the long run. It’s nice to know that they all know how to treat knitwear.

But anyway. I made a swatch from Berocco Vintage. It’s half mistake-rib and half stockinette, worked on US5s. A nice sweater-y swatch. Nothing too out of the ordinary.

I took gauge and got roughly 5.5 sts/in in stockinette and mistake rib.

So, now it’s into the wash and…

Well, that felted up! It’s actually super soft and squishy, and I’m sure my 4-year-old would be very into a sweater made from this felted fabric. (They can truly never be “too cozy.”)

Just for science, I took gauge again and got basically 5.5 sts/in. Not much different gauge-wise, but the fabric definitely looks different.

I’m tempted to go ahead and knit up my first-ever felted sweater, but I wonder how much long-term wear a sweater like that would have. Would it felt more every time I washed it? Or, would I have to hand-wash a sweater for a preschooler?

Have you ever planned a big felted project?

And on to the next

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Now that I finished my socks (and I was just saying how much I loved making them) it’s time for me to… make another sweater.

What can I say? I just love sweaters.

Also, my big kid is growing like a weed again, and needs a bigger/longer sweater. The one I made them last summer has seen better days- it’s all stained and pill-y (because they basically roll in sand/mud/yogurt/paint every day, and so it ends up getting washed every time they wear it). And, the sleeves are starting to get a smidge short.

I dug into my rapidly dwindling stash, and found a few skeins of Berroco Vintage leftover from a sweater I made for my husband probably a decade ago. (The yarn is practically vintage itself!)

It’s a nice soft wool blend, and I like the idea of my kid and my husband having the same sweater (or at least ones with the same yarn). The only thing stopping me from casting on right now is the fact that Vintage isn’t technically superwash. It’s about 50% wool and 50% man-made fibers, which makes me think it’ll survive the wash, but I’m still a little nervous about it.

So, I think I might actually do the proper thing, and make a swatch and send it through the washer. Fingers crossed that it survives intact (and not too felted). The only thing that gives me pause is that I don’t have that much of the yarn, and I’d hate to lose a chunk to the swatch. But, I suppose that’s the lesser of two evils, if it means the kid gets a sweater that fits.

Have you ever tried machine-washing non-superwash wool? How did it go?

Sweater!

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So, I’ve been whining about wanting to do a sweater, but not having enough time/energy/yarn to knit a sweater.

Well. Turns out that, while I don’t have the time or energy to make a sweater, I do, in fact have the yarn for it.

And when has being low on time or energy ever stopped me from starting a project? Never.

I really dug deep into the stash this time, and found about 8 skeins of Wool of the Andes in Sapphire Heather (one of my favorite colorways). I say “about” because a couple of the skeins had already been partially used. On what? Who knows.

And I found a big hank of handspun that I made years ago. I don’t remember how many yards it is, it’s very inconsistent in weight (and not on purpose), and I have no memory of what the fiber content was. But it’s a very pretty blend of blues, greens and purples that I love, but is entirely impossible to photograph.

Well, I thought they looked nice together. They’re roughly similar weights on average, and, when combined, they probably have enough yardage for a sweater.

So, I got to swatching, and I have to say, I’m pleasantly surprised with how it turned out. I did a quick 2×2 stripe, which I figured would be the easiest way to combine the yarns together for maximum yarn usage with the least fuss/planning.

I’m excited to get started. Now to figure out what I’m actually going to do with this…

Switchy Swatchy

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OK, I totally hadn’t planned on going forward with the Helge Doppler sweater vest from last week. Sure, it was cute, and I really liked the texture, but lord knows I’ve got enough half-finished projects sitting in my studio right now.

But, well, it kind of got stuck in my head. Like a weird knitting version of an ear-worm. An eye-worm maybe? Ew. A knit-worm?

Anyway, one thing led to another and I was swatching before I knew it.

I started with US2s and some leftover Hawthorne Fingering. (I’ve since come to the decision that a kettle-dyed yarn is not right for this pattern, and that I need to go down at least one size (maybe two) to get the stitch definition I want. The swatch isn’t super clear, but bear with me.)

And just to remind you, this vest is my goal: (Again, sorry for the poor-quality picture- it was the best screenshot I could find.)

I began with the pattern I sketched out last week, and rapidly discovered that it was wildly wrong. (It’s the bottom section of this swatch.) What I thought was diamonds of stockinette and reverse stockinette clearly was not. The diamonds were super small and squished- hardly even diamonds.

So, I went back to the drawing board and tried using garter stitch instead of reverse stockinette, which looked a lot better (the top part of the above swatch). I wasn’t sure about the transition from one repeat to another, so I tried a few different varieties (you can see that each repeat is slightly different) until I landed on one that looked more or less the way I wanted it to.

I sketched up the new design, and here we are:

Now I’m off to swatch this new pattern out with finer needles and some machine-dyed sock yarn. Wish me luck.

The only question left is, “Do I want to knit a sweater (even for a 2-year-old) on US0s?” Eek!

New, fun, and fuzzy!

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As you know, I’ve been trying to make a point of using up my stash yarns this year.  (With mixed results- my Stonecroft Shawl is still sitting next to my computer, waiting to be frogged and re-knit, and I’ve managed to actually make more yarn… but still.)

I’ve mentioned that I have three skeins of a really nice merino-bamboo blend that have been in my stash for literally years- they might even have gone through a couple moves with me.  The yarn is lovely- soft, lightly shiny, with a beautiful drape.  But, despite the colorway being named “Peacock,” they’re kind of a denim-blue, with gray undertones.  It’s a nice enough color, but not something to inspire me to pick them up and knit something big.

Well.  I have decided what I want to do with this yarn.  If I don’t like the blue on it’s own, why not add something really crazy?  Something that’s beyond out-there (for me, anyway).  How about something hand-dyed, silky (literally) and fuzzy?

And why not jump on the bandwagon and make something completely out of my wheelhouse?  Lace! (Why not?) 3/4 sleeves! (Sure!) Cropped! (Of course!) Girly! (OK!)

That’s right, I’m making a Love Note!TCK-lovenote-01a.jpg

It’s a sweater I’ve had my eye on for a while- it’s so cute, and it looks like it would knit up in about fifteen minutes.  And I like the idea of holding a fingering-weight and a mohair/lace-weight together (so not what I usually do, but it looks fun).  And what a better way to use up my blue yarn?  Might as well have fun while stash-busting.

So I hit up my local yarn store and bought the second-brightest yarn they had.  (I almost bought a legit rainbow-colored one, but then I chickened out.)  It’s Knitted Wit Fairy Floss in Rock Candy Teal (real peacock colors!).

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I wound them up and worked up a swatch, and… it’s so good!  I love how the Fairy Floss wakes up the Classic Merino Bamboo, and the Classic Merino Bamboo tones down the craziness of the Fairy Floss.  It’s the perfect odd-couple of yarn!

Plus, this lace pattern is super cute!

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This sweater’s going to be interesting, I can already tell.  Either I’m going to love it and never take it off, or I’m going to wear it once and find a friend to give it to.  

But, either way, it’s going to be a fun knit!

Do you ever start projects outside your wheelhouse?

Busy Busy Busy

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I’ve been busy, designing and swatching away.  It’s been great!  But, I can never help thinking that after I finished a swatch, I should be able to do something fun with it.  I’ve got a bunch pinned up on the bulletin boards in my studio, which is nice.  But, honestly, most of them just hang out in a stack in my closet.  My mind is always chugging away in the background, trying to think of something to do with my leftover swatches.

And, over the last few weeks, I’ve been getting a jump on a new sewing project for the kid- a busy book.  Basically it’ll be a little book with quilted/apliqued pages for the baby to play with, and I plan on adding more age-appropriate pages as he grows up.  Right now, the pages are all basically just things for him to touch, feel, and put in his mouth (he’s only 6 months old, after all), but down the line I’ll add pages with fun things like zippers, flaps, velcro, etc.

For example, I made a sheep page with some leftover terrycloth.IMG_0567Cute, if I say so myself!  (Gotta start teaching them to appreciate wool from an early age, right?)

That got me thinking- how could I use knitting in the busy book?

I dug up an old sock swatch (I figured the smaller gauge would work better with the scale of the book) and got to work.  I machine-sewed two lines with very short stitches down the back of the swatch, and cut in-between them- kind of like this. (I’ve never steeked before, and I think this is about as close as I’ll be getting in the near future.  Scary!)  Then I took some iron-on adhesive and ironed it to the back of the swatch, cut out a sweater shape and ironed it to the background fabric. It was more or less intact, but the edges were fraying a smidge, so I ran a quick zig-zag stitch around the edge, and presto! an actually-knit sweater page!IMG_0577I really should have taken pictures of each step, but I really didn’t think it was going to work!

Now that I’ve done this once, my mind is spinning with all the knitting-as-applique possibilities!

What’s the weirdest thing you’ve done with your knitting?

Swatch Swatch Swatch

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It’s finally happened- I’ve used up all my buffer posts.  Sure, I’ve been writing posts this summer from time to time, when I have a minute (or when the baby happens to have a really good nap), but this is the first one I’ve written that’s truly going out in the present!  Which is good, really.  It means that I can just write about what’s on my mind without worrying about the order that my posts are coming out in.

And I’d love to tell you all about what I’ve been doing…

But I can’t.

It’s the eternal knitwear designer/blogger problem.  I’m all excited about my current projects, but I have to keep them under lock and key (or at least off the internet) until they’re published, well into next year.

I gotta say, though, it’s great to be getting back in the designing game.  I took a decent-sized break around when the boy was born, but I’ve slowly been ramping up my freelance work in the last couple months.  It’s great to be able to stretch my brain again in non-nursery-rhyme-related ways.

And while I can’t show you what’s currently on my needles, I can show you what was on my needles.  My swatches.

Swatching gets a bad rap, and I get it.  Sometimes I just want to get on to the project and get knitting.  After all, that’s the whole point of knitting, right?  Making sweaters and socks!

But when I’m designing, I kind of love making swatches.  They’re fun little samples- I think of them like little sketchbook pages, but made with yarn.  IMG_0142

I used to rip out my swatches once I had determined my gauge, so I wouldn’t
“waste” that yarn on the swatch. (I’m nothing if not frugal.) But over the last few years, I’ve been keeping them.  The ones I’m particularly fond of are pinned up on cork boards in my studio, and the rest live, stacked up in my closet.  Sometimes I like to go back through them, to see if there are any ideas in there that I should bring out again.

And recently, I’ve added something to my swatches that I think will come in handy down the line.  On the backs, I’ve been stapling a little tag with the yarn, needle size, and gauge.  So, in theory, the next time I want to make something with Cascade 220 Superwash, I might already have the swatch all finished and ready to go.IMG_0148

Do  you keep your swatches?  What do you do with them?

Putting On My Thinking Cap

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It’s been nice to be finished with my Papaya Sweater.  But it was on my needles for so long that I kind of got used to having it as my easy go-to when I had a few minutes of knitting time.  It was something that I always knew I could pick up and get to work on without thinking about what I had to do next.

Now that it’s done, I’ve actually got to put a little thought into what I’m going to do next.

I’ve already decided that I want to use the Provincial Tweed yarn that I got from Knit Picks.  It’s a beautiful colorway, it’s super soft, and I have enough for a whole sweater, so how could I say no?

I spent yesterday morning winding up all the skeins, and now I have a very satisfying bowl of yarn cakes, ready for action!And then, I spent the afternoon working up a nice-sized swatch on US8s.And, I gotta say… I was not expecting this yarn to make such lovely, silky fabric.

I’m not complaining, but I was really surprised how this yarn knit up.  I was expecting something with a little more texture, a little more stitch definition, but that doesn’t seem to be what this yarn wants to do.It’s possible that if I go down a needle size (or two or three), this yarn might get a little more backbone, but I don’t know if I want to futz with that.  It might be better to just go with the flow (or rather, go with the nice flow-y fabric that I’ve already got).

I had been planning on making some sort of  cabled pullover, something like this one (except maybe a little less fancy).  But, I don’t think that’s going to work with the texture of the Provincial Tweed yarn.Instead, I’m now thinking I might need to make something a little looser and drapier.  (And something that possibly looks a lot more like my Papaya Sweater than I had originally intended for this yarn.)  I might try a cardigan like this, or design something myself.I’ve got to put my thinking cap on for a bit and see if I can’t figure out what I should do.  (Or, in true Allison fashion, I could leave the yarn to percolate in my studio for the next six months or so before I ever actually knit anything with it.)

What would you do in this situation?

Bulletin

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I make a lot of swatches.  I’m not religious about it when I’m working someone else’s pattern, but swatching is an absolute must when designing.  I think of them sort of as a sketch, a way to get my ideas out into the world.  Maybe I’ll have a really great idea, but it ends up looking really bad when knit up.  Or maybe the swatch will reveal a design flaw that I didn’t foresee.   Or, I start swatching, and I come up with an idea that is even better than my original one.

Long story short, I have a big stack of swatches.  Several dozen at least.  I can’t bring myself to throw them away, and they’re too varied to be sewn together into a blanket or anything useful.  All different sizes, shapes, and weights.  Some have been turned into fully-realized patterns, and some never got out of the planning stage, but I like them all.

And I can’t throw them away.

For a long time I had them strung up on the back of my closet door.  But it started to look messy (actually mess, not messy-on-pupose in a Pinterest-y kind of way).

So, I got some great big bulletin boards, and have started pinning up some of my swatches.  And, you know.  I think it looks pretty good.img_3951It’s fun to see all my ideas laid out like that.  Some of these are only ever going to be swatches, some are patterns that have been published already, and some turned into patterns that are going to be released in the future.  (Don’t ask me to tell you which are which!  It’ll be a surprise!)

I think Ollie likes my bulletin boards, too.  (HA!  He couldn’t care less, but he did like the box the boards came in.)img_3957What do you do with your swatches?  Do you keep them? Unravel them? Throw them away?  Or, do you not bother with swatches to begin with?

Project Tea Cozy: The Swatch

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Woo! It’s tea cozy time!  (Almost.)

I know no one likes swatching, me included.  (And, if I’m being honest, I rarely make a swatch if I’m following someone else’s pattern.)  But, when you’re designing a pattern making a swatch is an absolute necessity.

So I pulled out my favorite colors and made one great big swatch with three different patterns, to see which I liked best.

The first pattern was a wide stripe-and-polka dot combo.  I like it, but I think it’s a bit big for a tea cozy- after all my teapot is a little on the small side.img_3299Then, I thought, “Maybe something fancier-something more Fair Isle-y.”  I like this diamond pattern quite a bit.img_3312But, again, I think it might be too big.  So I worked up a scaled-down version of the first pattern.  Narrow stripes with teeny polka dots.  Sure, I’ll have to deal with a million little ends, but I think I like the result best.img_3304So, I’ve got my swatch and decided on my pattern.  I measured the gauge, and made sure to write it down in my book.

img_3344I’ve taken my measurements and have a plan in my head.  Next time, we’ll get down into the nitty-gritty of math.

Don’t forget!  I’ve got 2 (count ’em!) giveaways going on as we speak.  Comment here for a chance to win a copy of On the Go Knits, or here for a chance to win Knits for Everybody!