Gainsburgh Tee with a twist

 

 

I finally got around to having pictures taken of this which I finished more than a week ago now. What a day to choose to do it though. I am writing this sitting in the bedroom with very little on, which is presently the coolest spot, outdoor temperatures being around 28 degrees, we took the photos then I rushed inside to take off the top before I melted! I had thought it would be ideal for the warmer parts of our visiting……I will end up wearing it more in England than here at this rate.

Anyway, the knitting bits.

 

I liked the idea of the loose style of this pattern, being me I did not really read it through properly before starting, a lesson I am still learning, so had a few surprises as I went along. The bodice is knit first, liked that, getting all the fiddly shaping over at the beginning. You then pick up the stitches from the cast on edge and work down to the bottom, but, first you have to make a little fold bit and pick up stitches…. too much of a phaff, if I had read it before I would have put a coloured thread in to make it easy to see where to pick up. As it was with the mottle of the yarn it was almost impossible to see where I needed to get the stitches from – so I missed that bit out.

The stitch pattern was easy enough and the back soon completed. When I started to read through the front instructions I discovered it was quite different to the back in that you gradually increased on the back where as on the front you had the total amount of stitches for the back, plus a few, right from the pick up stage making very long rows. The front took a little longer to complete!

Had I followed the pattern for the bottom edge it would have pulled in tighter something I did not want. While knitting I came up with the idea of a scallopy edge and toyed with crochet then remembered the stitch I had used for the angel cardigan, ideal – very pleased with the result.I followed this up by putting the same edge on the sleeves. I had to increase the number of stitches for the sleeves to get the pattern repeat in then decreased a few more on the length to arrive at the correct number for the armhole shaping. 

There should be a placket on the front opening edge, and a garter stitch neckline. I changed these crocheting up each side of the opening which I sewed up a bit as I felt it was deeper than I wanted. Then crocheted around the neck edge finishing with a little chain scallop. It doesn’t show up so well on the photo but I think the neck sits well and I like that.

 

 

As I said in the title – with a twist….. bit like my cooking really!

NEXT PROJECT.

I have been looking for a lacy pattern I fancy, I would really like to do a very fine shawl as a long project but feel my lace knitting experience or lack of it requires me to complete a couple of small projects first. I found some information today on how to read lace charts as most of the patterns I have found use charts and I am more familiar with written instructions. I have a pattern for an Icelandic shawl which is lovely, I might just look at the stitches in it and do swatches of each before knitting the whole thing… but I need to start something as not having a piece of knitting to pick up is driving me nuts. I obviously need several overlapping projects to keep me going but having made myself completer one before starting another it is difficult to break the habit!