Can you believe it, my mom’s blouse is ready! I think this is the quickest I’ve ever produced a garment. ๐
While the knit itself was pretty boring because (a) simple pattern and (b) this project occupied every free moment I had, I’m satisfied with how it turned out. The texture is just awesome!
I used a slipped seed stitch variation for the body and sleeves, and garter stitch for all the borders. The slipped stitches give some denseness to the fabric, and I think that works well for the frogged yarn. The yarn obviously doesn’t feel the same as before, but it’s still soft and maintains a slight sheen, so that’s good.
The original seed stitch pattern is worked on the wrong side to avoid purling, but I changed it to right side since I was trying out combination knitting anyway. (I think I like combination knitting. I’ll probably use that in my next project as well.) So my 4-row pattern repeat is:
- [p1, sl1 wyib] to end of row. (RS)
- Purl.
- [sl1 wyib, p1] to end of row.
- Purl.
At the raglan seam, I used a (k1, p1, k1) on the RS and purls on the WS.
My mom has already worn it, and this time, I can tell she really likes it. Phew! (And hurrah! ๐ ) As for the design, however, I think the neck, again, needs to be even smaller for her next blouse — a tighter crew-neck, that is.
I need a short break from the incessant knitting, and then, it’s time to finish those sleeves for my top!
Very cute ๐ Wish I could knit like this, but I am not very patient at knitting..
LikeLiked by 1 person
Thank you. โบ I’m totally with you on the (im)patience part since larger knitting projects take a long time for me too!
LikeLiked by 1 person
It looks awesome! Love the stitch, I’ve only used it in socks (heels are usually knit this way to make the fabric stronger) and always thought it looked cool. Now I see that it’s also cool in a cardi ๐ And happy to read that your Mother likes it!
Also: ha! combination knitting is the best, isn’t it? it makes knitting faster too – so what’s not to love?
LikeLiked by 1 person
Ah, I’ve never looked into socks so thank you for that tidbit – it does make sense. And I’m glad that the fabric is dense and strong. Not a factor when we chose the pattern but I realized while knitting that it scores both in looks and function!
My speed is probably still the same, lol, but I do like that I don’t move my yarn-holding finger much while purling. I’m pretty sure I wouldn’t be able to complete this project so quickly with continental knitting if only because my hands would’ve started hurting after a while.
LikeLiked by 1 person
The blouse looks awesome!!! What is combination knitting? I haven’t heard that term before.
LikeLiked by 1 person
Thank you! ๐
In combination knitting, knit stitches are Western style (yarn wrapped anti-clockwise) and purl stitches are Eastern style (yarn wrapped clockwise.) It makes purling easier and quicker. You’ll need to insert the needle into the ‘front’ or ‘back’ of the stitch according to the stitch orientation. It seems complicated when I say it, but is quite easy to get the hang of. ๐
LikeLiked by 1 person
Ok thank you. I’ll have to do some research! I love that after thirty years of knitting there’s still new stuff to learn:)
LikeLiked by 1 person
You do wonderful work. Your textured blouse is lovely.
LikeLiked by 1 person
Thank you very much, E.C.! I’m elated that it turned out satisfactorily this time.
LikeLiked by 1 person
Great job on the sweater! It looks so beautiful.
LikeLiked by 1 person
Thank you, Ginny! So now I have a workflow for knitting good sweaters for my mom. ๐
LikeLike