Tuesday, January 11, 2005

stop me before I zip again, and again, and…

This weekend, driven by an Insane House Elf, I have started to honor my New Year’s Resolutions. ON the Playlist with a Bullet: Organize and Structure the Studio Workshop.

Here you’ll find my stash, worktables, knitting machine, supplies, tools, etc. Some are already in a eye-pleasing form because they are in a public area and I’ve recently had discriminating house guests. Others are in a flux of disorder and chaos because? Well, just because…

In my burrowing and winnowing, I found some sweaters I’ve made that were not being worn because they were either needing some work or some alterations.

NUMBER ONE: the Heather Cardigan from Fall/Winter 2002-2003 (click on the little picture for details and a nice picture).

I love this sweater! I do not wear this sweater! WHY? I put the buttonholes too far into the button band and it did not lay gracefully. It annoyed me. It cried out for a zipper!

And THUS:

Heather has lost the buttons and gained a fab two-way zipper. I used the original yarn to sew the buttonholes shut and because I was crafty and put the holes in the purl valley of a 1×1 ribbed vertical band (my favorite HERE), they disappeared like magic… The original yarn was very *grabby* and hairy so it blended well with its neighbors.

I have to admit, lately, for all of my work clothes, I prefer zippers or large snaps.

They stay shut better, lay flatter and are, IMHO, easier to apply than BUTTONS!

Since once is not enough in the ChicKnits Workshop, and the House Elf was beating my brain in with a bat, I continued to

And THUS:

This simple fringed pullover was knit as my Christmas outfit in November of 2001? I don’t even remember it was so long ago… I hardly wore it because, silly me, it was out of a chunky wool and a PULLOVER! Eeehgads, no temperature control. Now several of my knitting buddies and I have come to the conclusion that women prefer cardigans and men prefer pullovers. WHY? Temperature control! Women have the extra insulation of BOOBULAS on the Chestage and need to Regulate with mo’ better frequency. Men can get by with a placket opening at the neck and call it a day.

Not so MWAH! This sweater required remedial Steeking! And Steek I DID! This yarn was not as fuzzy as some so I carefully blanket stitched the facing down after I machine basted two rows of stitches on either side of a center mark on the front of the sweater. SAY THAT FAST! Lucy Neatby shows how here and I will show more in another installment as well…

And THUS:

Here is the edge of the zipper, basted into the sweater ready to be sewn by machine. Why am I showing you this? Because I craftily preserved the Fringe on this sweater! The Fringed Angled Bottom is what is the Best Thing about this sweater and I removed the center fringes before I steeked, then replaced them after I knit on the front bands…

WHEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEE!~