Lucky Me
Lucky Me in Cassis
I should probably avoid taking pictures of finished items late at night, but since my schedule has leaned it that direction lately, that's when the pictures get taken. Here's my second finished Phildar project: my "lucky" top in Phil Ruban, color Cassis. The top, in this picture, has a little more sheen than it has in real life (I, on the other hand, always look a little shiny).
This top looks a little more complicated than it is. In fact, there is almost no finishing. The armholes are simply the edges of the fabric curling under a bit. There isn't even any armhole shaping. Nothing is picked up at the neckline and there's nothing at the cast on edge.
I did get wild and crazy on one element: instead of casting off for the shoulder seams I decided to do short rows and follow them up with a 3-needle bindoff. HooBoy! Am I in love. The shoulder seam looks so neat and clean. I'm not sure why I thought it would be difficult, but you can bet your sweet petunias that this won't be the last time I convert a pattern to join the shoulders this way. Once again I have to say "thank you" to Sarah for talking about this technique on her blog.
This was a pretty simple pattern, so the "what did I learn" component of this post will be short:
- Short-row shoulder shaping and three-needle bindoffs are your friend.
- Cotton ribbons/tapes seem to be easier on my hands than regular cotton yarns. Perhaps the woven construction of the ribbon gives it just enough give.
- Phil Ruban, while delightful, is easy to split while knitting with it, at least in my hands.
My only regret at this point is that I don't have a whole bunch of Phil Ruban stashed away for a rainy day. It knits up into a soft and lovely fabric that, unlike most cotton that I've worked with, doesn't seem to immediately feel the effects of gravity. It has the right balance of weight and loft. When blocked, it makes a lovely smooth fabric.
I was able to preserve my swatch, so the next test for me will be to dump the swatch in the wash and dryer and see how it fares. A tiny bit of shrinkage wouldn't be entirely unexpected (or undesirable) in a 100% cotton yarn.
Can you guess what I will probably wear to work tomorrow?
Your Phil Ruban tank is lovely! Very sophisticated and the color is as gorgeous as I thought it would be knitted up. P.S. I've washed my own Phil Ruban cardi; it fared very well.
Isn't the short-row shaping for shoulders wonderful? I've been doing it for a while now, and it's the only way I shape shoulders. I short-rowed the shoulders for the cardi, as a matter of fact.
Your Lucky looks very lovely! Beautiful color.
I have done shortrowing on 2 of my sweaters, but have not finished them yet. I can't wait to do the 3 needle bind off. :-)
Very nice. The color looks great on you. I've got a few skeins of Ruban on the way myself!
Lucky looks great on you! The color is wonderful.
It looks great. I still have 10 skeins of Phil Ruban under the bed - now I'm itching to use them!
Your top looks wonderful! I have eight balls of Ruban that I picked while in Paris and your top really makes me want to knit them up! I look forward to hearing how the swatch fares in the washer and dryer.
Fit's you beautifully, Theresa!
Love that neckline.
PS...Thanks for the email 'bout Audrey and the link to NameMaker. What a great selection of labels! Sorry I haven't had time to write you back.
That looks fabulous! And what a great solution -- the 3 needle bind-off married with the short rows. Keen.
Love the tank (and the blog in general).
Because I'm insane, I like to retouch pictures.
(If that doesn't work, the link is here: http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v87/Mousewrites/LJ%20Pictures/shirt.jpg)
That tank is totally wonderful, you look great in it. It reminds me of one of my favorite tops in my closet.
I looked back in your archives to find out about the pattern... You say the pattern doesn't have a name? Where did you find it, then? I'm very interested in this... me who doesn't usually make sweaters! Any help finding the pattern would be quite welcome.
Perfectly simple! You look fab in your Cassis. I triple promise to try your short-row/three-needle technique next chance I get. It does seem to be such an elegant solution!