Sigil Complete (Maybe)

This weekend I got a chance to work on Sigil's collar. I wanted a collar with points with some cable detail that worked with the chain design on the borders. Instead of knitting a separate band (which I couldn't figure out how to neatly connect to the sweater), I picked up stitches around the neckline and knit onto the sweater. Instead of the linked ring motif, I chose to place 5 individual links at even intervals around the collar on a background of reverse stockinette. And the bottom edge of both collar points is a two stitch border of regular stockinette.

Sigil, The Artsy Magazine Shot

With a nice wool sweater on, it was actually warm enough to go and take some pictures outdoors on our balcony. The natural light meant that John was really able to capture the cable details well. Unfortunately, my hair kept getting in the way of making it clear how the collar really looked.

Sigil At Ease with More Collar Visibility

Because Sigil is really a jacket rather than a true cardigan sweater, she doesn't have the same kind of give and drape. I like that the targhee wool really holds onto a nice structured look, even though it's knit at a final gauge of 3 stitches/inch. It was a good choice for this jacket that I wanted to hang relatively straight down from the shoulders.

Sigil, A View from the Side

This picture is meant to show off the set-in sleeve as well as show a bit more about how the jacket falls. I'm glad that I fought through the set-in sleeve shaping calculations, because it really gives this bulky jacket just a little bit more sophisticated look and gives it the option of being work-wear as well as a relaxed weekend jacket.

Sigil, Back with Collar Detail

No finished sweater photo shoot would be complete without a view of the back. One of the things that invariably makes me crazy about the knitting magazines and their photography is that I almost never get to see how the back looks. Sigil has no side shaping, so she looks pretty much the same in front and in back, from that perspective. I think the bottom panel with the cable detail gives the back some oomph without being over-the-top.

The only thing I am wrestling with now: is Sigil really finished?

My first finishing question: Did I find the right collar for the jacket? Are the points too big? Are the motifs the right motifs? Are they spread too far apart? At first I was pretty ambivalent about the collar, but now that I've seen it photographed, I find myself liking it more and more. If I keep it as it is, it will need to be lightly tacked down, to keep the points sitting where I want them to.

The other finishing question: Should Sigil get a zipper or be left without any formal closure? At first I wanted one, then I wanted to go with a clasp, but now as I look at it, I think that, if it gets a closure, a zipper would best preserve the structure I want to have and create the neckline I want to see with regards to the current collar.

So, even though Sigil is completely wearable, I'm still stewing about these things. I think the answers to my questions will likely only come with a few wearings. So wear her I will before I make any final decisions. My impulse to tweak is quite strong, but I know it's possible to tweak things over the top, and Sigil is emphatically not meant to be an over the top jacket.

So what did I learn?

• Soak and block my swatches. If I hadn't I would have gotten a big and unpleasant surprise the first time this jacket got a bath. I let the swatches I did block by hanging so as to ensure that my pinning procedures weren't influencing the outcome.
• Existing garments are handy reference points for creating new ones. Sigil's shaping and sizing are taken directly from a little jacket I bought from J. Jill. that I love and wear all the time.
• Keep cable motifs simple with big yarn. The Targhee wasn't a problem at all to cable with, but big yarn makes for big cables and I didn't want a huge cable motif to swallow me up. I think too much cabling would have been too much for me and the yarn.
• Pick a garment style that works with the structure/texture of the yarn and my figure. A boxy jacket that wants a slightly stiff fabric to help maintain its shape is a good match for the targhee and it works with my figure. A tailored jacket fitted to my curves in the targhee would likely have made me look a bit more -er- robust than I am, given the thickness of the knitted fabric. I think this design is good for me and the targhee.
• Set in sleeves aren't as hard to design as I thought. However, they do take time to think through, and it helps to have few good books to refer to along the way.
• Designing my own sweater was a lot of fun and it feels very rewarding now that I am finished. It also was no where near as difficult as I had worked it out in my head to be. I think that the next sweater I do for John will likely be one I make up on my own so that I can build a sweater that fits his form better than some of the previous sweaters I have made for him.

Want to see the current instructions for the collar? Just click the extended entry link.