Apparel: January 2011 Archives

Meet the January Cropped Sweater. This is my solution when cold days meets flowy tunics that are all the rage these days. I was tired of my empire waist tunics and dresses bunching up or bulging under my sweaters and cardigans so I set out to design a sophisticated cropped sweater that could hold its own style-wise but no be so bold as to distract from the whole. The January sweater features a diagonal rib pattern boat neck and a zigzag pattern down the arm. Deep ribs hug the sweater to your figure so no waist shaping is needed. The deep ribs on the cuffs ensure that brisk winds won't creep up your sleeves. The sweater stops just at your natural waist so there is no need to worry about bunching of billowing blouses. The fitted nature of the sweater will keep you looking slim while accommodating trendy tunics and dresses. The details are subtle. The cropped sweater is knit with 4 balls Lion Brand Wool Ease Chunky, but with additional 2-3 balls you can increase the length of your sweater to waist length. If you want to add color you can opt for a color change for the neckline or just the cuffs. Go for coordinating colors like Dark Blue and Light Blue or something bolder: Light green and Teal. I have been sporting mine for a little over a week and it works really well for most of my wardrobe. The fitted nature also fits under all my coats without added bulk. I really enjoyed designing and knitting this sweater. The Chunky Yarn knit up quick and the added warmth was perfect during the recent snow storm.

The January Sweater is advanced beginner. You will need to be familiar with knitting in the round, increasing, decreasing and switching needle sizes. The pattern is simple to follow but you will need 4 balls of Lion Brand Wool Ease Chunky, sizes US 10, 10.5 & 11 needles, tapestry needle and waste yarn. If you want to make a full sweater, bump up your yarn to 6 balls. This sweater is best knit on Interchangeables to make the needle changes easier.  

First choose your yarn. It is most important to start with the yarn though you may have a basic idea of how you want your hat to look in the end- it all depends on the yarn. You may want a chunky hat with a cable but first you must know your yarn so you may base your math and needle size from the yarn. Next, using the needle size suggested on the ball band, knit a 4 in. by 4 in. swatch. Once complete, take a good long look at your swatch. Does it give the stitch definition you are looking for? Is the fabric thick enough? Will it give you the look you want? If the answer to any of these is no, consider switching your yarn. A smoother yarn will give better definition- essential for cable and textured stitches. If you fabric is not thick or dense enough go for a smaller needle. Next, count your gauge and multiply it out to the circumference of your head or the head of the hat wearer. My head is 22 in. around, for example, and with a chunky yarn giving me 12 Sts over 4 in. means I must cast on 66 Sts for a hat.

Now if you have a chosen stitch pattern that you want to incorporate you must accommodate this into your cast-on. Say, I want to use a lace pattern that repeats over 14 Sts. I start by dividing 66 by 14 and get 4.71. Rounding up to 5 means that I will have 5 repeats of the pattern if I cast-on 70 Sts. Adding the extra 4 Sts will only increase my hat circumference by roughly 1 in. If this is an issue you can always add on a ribbing with a smaller needle before starting the lace. The ribbing knit with a smaller needle will make the hat a little tighter along the bottom edge.

Knit until you reach the crown of your head (for me this is 7 in.) and then it is time to start your decreases. I prefer to make mine even across the stitch count and widely spaced so it will not distract from the patterns. A k2tog decrease gives a nice dome shape that will fit your head very well. To determine where to place your decrease you must divide into your stitch count and determine the highest number available to fit your pattern. Given the example above, I could divide 70 by 10 which would give me 7 decreases or I could divide by 14 which would give me 5 decreases. I would choose the 5 decreases since it would blend in with my lace pattern which has 5 pattern repeats.  I would then *knit (in pattern) 12 sts, k2tog and repeat from * to the end of the round (12 sts plus the 2 in the K2tog gives 14). The next round would be knit in pattern without decrease.Each decrease round subtract 1 from the knitted stitches: 2nd decrease round knit 11 sts then k2tog, 3rd decrease round knit 10 then k2tog, etc) Decreasing and then skipping a round gives a nice gradual crown that fits the head smoothly and comfortably. I would repeat these 2 rounds until I was k2tog the whole round. Then, you break the yarn leaving an 8 in. tail. Using your tapestry needle, weave the tail though the remaining loops following the direction of knitting and pull tight. Turn your hat inside out and weave this tail into the hat to secure the end.

Your hat is now finished! You can use this basic hat pattern to make any number of hats in any design or fashion. It is a trusted and true pattern that has served me well. Pass it on!

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We all know where I stand when it comes to Amy Butler's patterns so I shall spare us all another romantic tale. No love though is perfect (not even Ms. Elizabeth Bennett and Mr. Darcy). So I submit to you the flaw in my love for AB's patterns: Wide Leg Lounge Pants from In Stitches. We will begin with the good as all star-crossed love stories do. This pattern was super cute in the photo and just as super fast to make. While there was more cutting than was expected because I had to piece together pattern pieces and then create my own to add length to the legs, after that it was all downhill. 4 pattern pieces (double that if you add the contrast cuff like moi) and as many seams. I could see the impending doom as soon as I joined the front pieces to the back...these pants were going to be HUGE. I opted to the medium size because across the board, I am a medium sized girl. If my closet where a bell curve, the majority of my wardrobe would fall well into the medium range. So I added the requisite width to accommodate the medium size when cutting out my pants pieces (3/4 in. on each piece). Once the pants were done it can be safely said that these pants could do without 4-5 in. in width (2 to 2.5 each piece) and still be considered Wide Leg. The length was also an issue. I will need to rip off the cuffs and trim about 2 in. from the length as well. I also had a problem with the waist line. While I definitely fall into the "Mom" category, it is a daily goal to not dress as a mom (mom jeans, etc) so when I pulled these disastrous (but comfy) lounge pants up and up and up and up all the way past my waist I sighed a sigh of defeat. This would never due. 

The waist as well needed to lose at LEAST 2-3 inches. The whole project would have to be ripped back, recut and resewn. These pants were so big in fact that I am forced to wonder, "How could Amy Butler not know that these pants were so big!" They fit nothing like the picture. Even the small with its 1 ½ in. difference would not have given me the cute fit of the photo. I am also sure that I am not the only one to have encountered this fitting issue but the only errata for In Stitches Wide Leg Lounge Pants to be found on AB's site is an improvement on step 6 for a clearer way of applying trim. I was really hoping for a great pair of PJ pants in line with the wonderful bags and tops that Amy has produced. Take my advice and measure a pair of PJ's pants you already own at the leg opening, length and waist height and adjust Amy's Lounge Pants pattern to those sizes before cutting your fabric. I opted for an elastic waist instead of the draw string because anything dangly can and will be seized and used as a leash by my almost 2 yr old daughter. Plus I need to dress or undress rapidly in order to shower or look decent so fiddling with a suddenly double knotted pair of PJs was not on the menu.

Now, the fabric on the other hand, Claire Bella Flannel is dreamy. SO Soft, wonderful drape, comfy inside and out. The colors were grown up enough that should I be caught outside picking up the newspaper, I would not have to hide my face but fun enough to make PJ pants, well, fun. The diagonal circles give a nice line which makes it more forgiving  to piece than vertical or horizontal. But the hand was delicious. I slept in my pants last night and they were so soft that going to bed was even more joyous than usual. Plus I was warm enough with my pants that I didn't need the long sleeve t-shirt and socks that I usually don before sleep. I recommend this flannel for robes and blankets as well. It is simply dreamy! The cuffs of the lounge pants were created by doubled quilting cotton from Amy Butler's Belle Line. I would have gone for her new Soul Blossom line but I didn't realize that I wanted a contrast cuff till 2 days ago. The next pair will have some Soul Blossom, for sure!

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