Picture Heavy, Not-Just-An-FO Post

In my recent blogland meanderings, I came across the comment that too many knitting blogs are turning into "FO Blogs." In other words, heavy on finished stuff, light on technique/problems/fixes. Not that there's anything wrong with that - after all, not everyone needs or wants to be a knitting teacher. I tend to shy away from how-to posts because I don't want to sound more full of myself pontifical than I already do. :::wink::: Besides, there are plenty of sites out there that can show you how things are done...Google is your friend, just search for it. :::Grin:::

But...(there's always a "but", eh?)...Cul-de-sac has presented me with the perfect opportunity to talk about fixing what may seem to be un-fixable and I think that's worth a little pontificating. So - you've been warned...hehehe

First, here's the finished vest:

Back view:

Sorry the contrast isn't better to show the cables - blame the early morning light. In real life, they pop out against the reverse stockinette fabric just fine.

Stats:
Pattern: Fall, 2003 Knitter's, "Cul-de-sac"
Yarn: Lavold's "Cotton Patine" - 6 1/2 skeins.
Needles: Size 7, Denise.

Knitting with 100% cotton presents it's own set of challenges, first & foremost its inelasticity. I've never had a problem with my hands hurting after knitting with cotton (I suspect it's because I don't tension the yarn through my fingers) but I have had problems with cotton stretching out or snagging & not snapping back in place. Once 100% cotton pulls or stretches, it's pulled or stretched for good.

Case in point: Picking up stitches for the front bands of Cul-de-sac. I screwed up & picked up the wrong thread - the little bit that's carried up from row to row, rather than the stitch itself. The result (after I swam awhile in the River Denial and continued to pick up incorrectly, even knitting a partial row) was this:

Did I hear a collective groan? I stared at that for awhile, kicking myself soundly, before pulling it all out to get this:

Those loops won't ever go back in line - trust me. I even picked up the correct stitches with my knitting needle & tried again, but I found those stitches that pulled just stayed on top, looking like loopy fringe. Grrrr! I needed to somehow redo the row so I had tight stitches again. After about 10 minutes of slip-stitching with a size G crochet hook, I had this:

No more weird loops and a nice, tight, neat edge from which to pick up my stitches for the band. I did sacrifice the first stitch of the small cable, but with galloping horses & all that, it really made very little difference as you can see. Here's the front band with the crochet fix:

And here's the armhole band picked up the correct way, no crochet involved:

Yes, put side-by-side you can tell the difference, but I don't think it's noticeable when I'm wearing it, and certainly not to the untrained eye.

Never underestimate the value of a crochet bind-off either. I bound off in knit and found the front points pulled up terribly. I ripped that out & crocheted it instead. The crocheted bind-off gave me 4 more inches of ease down the front - the points dropped to where they were supposed to be & the gathered effect on the bust line disappeared.

I like the vest - I like the fact that it fits tighter than is shown on the model in the magazine. I'm not nearly thin enough to pull off a loose shirt with a loose vest over it. I tried my striped shirt under this & looked 6 months pregnant! I'll stick with wearing this over little knit tops - all the better to show off my knitting, don't you know. :::wink:::

There were no problems at all with the pattern. The only problems I had resulted from my choice of yarn. This isn't necessarily a difficult pattern, but then I don't think any pattern is "difficult." I rate patterns by how much attention I need to pay to my knitting - some need more, some less.  This one  needs a moderate amount of care. If you can cable from a chart, do short-rows & count, then you'll have no trouble with Cul-de-sac.

Knit on! (But crochet a little bit too. :::wink:::)

Comments

[Margaret]

Your vest is absolutely gorgeous! Great Job! And it looks Fabulous on you too!

[Robbyn]

Just lovely, Bron - I've always loved that vest. And nice job on the crochet fix - I'm going to have to remember that trick!

[Pam]

Your vest came out great!

[Andrea]

I love the vest!

I would have spread the buttons out over the whole straight part, but that's me.

Great job with the fix!

[Marie]

Just lovely! And great fix.

I'll have to go back and read, but didn't you bead a necklace recently to go with this ensemble?

[Kristen]

Beautiful, and looks great on you. It's amazing the amount of difference in ease that the crocheted bind off gave you.

[Bron]

Thanks, everyone!

Andrea - I followed the pattern regarding the buttons - they were at the middle so the two points could be free at the bottom. :) It's just not too obvious in this pic.

Marie - Yep - I had a necklace all set to go...until Dylan touched it & it mysteriously "fell apart." That's not so bad, but he didn't even pick up the beads! I found them several hours later under my craft table. Who knows - I might not have gotten the ends quite secure so I won't blame him. But I do need to get off my duff & re-string!

[Kim]

Gorgeous vest. After you wear it a day or two, let us know if it gets the heavy cotton sag or stretch.

[Chery]

Your vest looks really good. Thanks for sharing.

[Vera]

Awesome job on the vest. great fixes with the crochet hook too. I'm going to try some crochet bind-offs too.

[Bron]

Kim - I will, although I doubt with this yarn there'll be much stretch. It's very thin & lightweight. :)

Thanks, Chery & Vera - I'm glad it's finished & I can be on to other things!

[Amy Boogie]

Great FO and a wonderful fix