Pocketing a miracle January 4, 2013

Freezing temps have landed in the PacNW valleys and it’s the perfect time to wrap up some cozy finishing. There’s nothing like having a built-in lap blanket to ward off the chill.

Now, this particular project, in the knitting, was easy and care free: simple stitch pattern, simple design, top-down set-in sleeves (!).

Kind of “the wheels on the bus go round-n-round” kind of knitting…

But now, even though there isn’t much to do but slip-stitch some parts and weave-in the ends, it’s taken some scheduling to do.

I had to make a date with my UMA.

It had to be a brunch date; around 10am or later because

it’s very dark out – a lot –

And even with my trusty elbow-lamp hovering in a comfortable glow, sewing BLACK YARN parts together is MADNESS…

But when you’re so close to the finish line that you’ll wear it around the house with strings hanging any way (yes, guilty), it’s time to go there:

the Sewing of the Pockets 2013 Style

To keep things nice and tidy while I’m busy stitching, I secure the top of the pocket on the RS with a couple of safety pins. This style of pocket has a knit-in band, with the pocket lining knit after the body of the sweater is done, on the WS. It’s my favorite – very flush and neat.

Since the Finishing Muse is a fickle mistress, this is a fast and furious event. Usually, the pocket linings would have enjoyed a steam pressing but today, we live dangerously.

So we go, pinning the pocket to the body, and it’s pretty easy with the Uma design – there’s noticeable ridges to follow as guidelines, so really it just looks wicked.

Now, we sew.

I always include an edge stitch on things that need seaming. Then, in the sewing, you use one outer leg of one edge and slip-stich it to the outer leg of the other edge, or in this case, the little loop that lives between a knit stitch, the almost invisible one. If this wasn’t black yarn (!), I would hazard a CU of the join but today, we take Manhattan, then we take Berlin.

VOILA!

Is it just me, or is this almost merged into one? Perhaps my eyes deceive – staring at the dark yarn even in daylight sort of makes my head spin!

But now the fun begins – just a few ends, a warm sudsy dunk, and we have the first FO of 2013~!