FO: Button-up sleeves...

Pattern: My own; Based on a couple sweaters I've seen and a top from Phildar Tendances (Printemps 1, no. 443)
Yarn: Wendy Supreme Luxury Cotton DK in shade 1857 "Lilac"; ~3.5 balls (770yds/700m)
Needles: US4/3.5mm Clover bamboo circ and US3/3.25mm Susan Bates Silverado circ
Other: 8x23mm washable buttons
Time: < Four weeks of knitting.

Notes:

Since the aforementioned Phildar top was the only pattern in that issue that I really wanted to knit, I decided to knit the top without a pattern rather than buy the magazine.

There isn't much more really I need to say about the construction in addition to my previous post. I knitted a folded hem with a purl row at the fold so it wouldn't look so rounded. I also used a bit of short row shaping for the front neck and shoulders. Originally I had buttonholes in the front band but that wasn't stable enough for this type of top. Since they aren't meant to be functional, anyway, I re-knit the band without the buttonholes, sewed in the buttons, and tacked the bottom band to the sleeve on the inside for extra stability.



The most difficult thing to work out on this top was the upper arm and raglan shaping. I'd originally wanted the top to have a slightly loose fit but the sleeves ended up being fitted (although not too tight, fortunately). The math and measurements of the sleeves are probably the only thing I would tweak were I to make this again. Other than that, I am very pleased with my first stab at knitting a sweater sans pattern.

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Right now I'm mostly concentrating on the Argyle Vest. I did swatch for the Colchique but since the vest is moving along rather quickly, I probably won't start on it until the vest is finished.


From swatch to WIP...

I swatched for this in the round on DPNs and created an alternating vertical stripe for a few stitches. I cut down the center of the striped stitches, washed the swatch, blocked, and measured. I found that my row gauge was pretty off so I've been re-calculating the pattern to make up for it. I also knit fewer waist decreases because the original waist measurement for the size I'm working is actually too tight for me.

Simplicity with a twist...

I'm a fan of simple items with an interesting twist such as my current WIP, which I'm calling the buttoned sleeve top (at least until I figure out a more grammatically pleasing name). Basically, it's a seamless raglan knit in stockinette from the bottom up. The twist? The tops of the sleeves are button-up. The main problem I encountered was how to actually do the sleeves. The solution was to knit the body in the round, divide for front and back, then knit the sleeves "backwards" (i.e. the edges would be the top and the center would be the inner arm "seam"), join the sleeves to the body, and knit the front and back yokes separately flat.



Hopefully this diagram helps show the construction details better. The sleeves would be divided lenth-wise into front and back with the fold being at the bottom. The blue line marks how the front would be worked and the red line for the back.

Then a 2x2 ribbed button band will be picked up and knit along the neck and outer arm edges.



So what does this all look like in reality?


Left: The front completed. Right: The back.

Kind of funky at the moment. I had to take into account the button band so the circumference of the sleeves and the height of the yoke needed to be a bit smaller or shorter for the main part of the knitting.

And in case anyone is curious, the sleeve:



It's basically a rectangle (er...trapezoid, actually) with a few increases going up the center for some shaping. It also helps mark the inner arm "seam".

Nearly there...

Sleeves and closure devices

I couldn't find the right type of zipper in the right color or length so I went with the alternative: sewing hooks onto ribbon and sewing that into the jacket. It's not perfect, mainly because the hooks have a tendency to shift a bit, but it will do. I'll ask my mom what she thinks and if she prefers a zipper, I can change it when I go home for Easter.

Also, the small sewing shop is having a sale on yarn. I did something that is kind of unusual for me and bought a few balls without having a project in mind (student budget and time constraints make it very difficult for me to really build up a stash). Anyway, I bought 1200m/1300yd of Wendy Supreme (100% mercerized cotton).



I think I'll be using it for a project that I've sketched out a couple times. It's light top with half-length sleeves and buttons running along the top of the sleeves. For a while thought I hit on a nifty idea. Then I found out that Phildar beat me to it. Oh well. At least the pattern will be my own. The Phildar top is from Tendances Printemps 1, no. 443. I would just buy the magazine but that pattern is the only thing I'd actually make.