Hairpin Lace Jabot is Finished!

I finished the Hairpin Lace Jabot. And it's really cute. Unfortunately, I don't yet have a pic of a real person wearing the jabot, so until I can find an outfit to wear with the jabot - and then convince my 10 year old to take a few pics of me, the jabot on a stick will have to suffice.

The yarn I used was larger than that called for in the pattern, as was the crochet hook. I think it worked out okay though. Modern neck sizes seem larger than those of the 1930s (like most of our other measurements). Next time, I am going to use a smaller yarn and hook.

A close-up of the hairpin stitches.

Overall, I liked working with hairpin lace. It's a nice project to have going when you don't really have a lot of time or energy to pay attention to your project. I could make the loops on auto-pilot once I got the hang of it. 

Next time I would use crochet cotton to group the stitches in packs of 10, 20 or 25 stitches. I found a pic of someone using that method online, and it looked so much easier to keep track of the stitches. Periodically it seemed like I would place a marker incorrectly. If all of the stitches are tied together, there is less chance of losing track of them.

The pattern for the Hairpin Lace Jabot can be found in this ebook.

Happy hairpinning!

A Little Cowl/Big Swatch - Using the Black Evening Blouse Stitch Patterns

I will be the first to admit that this little cowl is far from my finest knitting. But I was impatient to start the sweater....

I made this cowl using the stitch patterns from the Black Evening Blouse pattern. I cast on about 147 stitches. I used the gauge measurement of 7 stitches per inch to determine the number of stitches needed to pull the cowl over my head or about 21 inches. I didn't want to mess up my hair when I put on the cowl. Vain, I know.

The pattern calls for a 2 inch section of stockinette stitches before starting the Hive pattern. You can see from the pics that I wasn't completely successful in maintaining the pattern throughout the Hive stitch section. I thought about ripping it out, but then I decided that the cowl wouldn't show the stitch problems because it will probably be scrunched down around my neck or under a jacket. It most likely will not be visible all at one time unless it's laying on a table and I'm showing it to someone.

The middle section is the Lace pattern, which is used for the ruffles around the sleeves and neck. I wanted to see what that section would look like as well. I didn't worry too much about the holes in the lace work. The cowl will be scrunched down when I wear it.

I knitted in eyelets to weave I-cord through. I thought it would be nice to be able to pull the cowl close to my neck and keep the wind from blowing down my coat. And, if necessary, I can cinch up the I-cord and wear the cowl as a hat.  A lesson learned after I had finished the hat and was threading the I-cord through the eyelets was how to determine the correct number of eyelets. I had an odd number of eyelets so I have one eyelet that isn't threaded. An even number of eyelets would have allowed both ends of the I-cord  to pop out the front of the cowl. 

The cowl is finished. I learned that the acrylic/nylon yarn was a little too soft, stretchy, and fuzzy for the sweater. While I still love the feel of the yarn, it just wasn't going to work for this blouse. That meant I had to buy some new wool yarn. I had to buy a pair of size 1(US) circular metal needles, too. The new yarn is a beautiful juciy wine color, but the color is too dark for me to easily see the individual stitches on dark wood needles. My eyesight is not great right now, working on the sweater would blind me. The metal needles will provide a nice contrast to the yarn color and allow the wool to glide freely across the needles.

I will be posting updates on my progress for the Black Evening Blouse as I go along. Stay tuned.

Happy knitting!

Hairpin Lace Jabot - An Update

I am almost finished with the Jabot Collar. In the meantime, I am posting an update.

This project has been a learning experience. I've discovered that hairpin lace is easy and pretty relaxing, and that I really like the process of joining the strips. I've also discovered that tiny yarn is probably the most difficult thing to use when learning a new technique. Not just tiny yarn, but hairy tiny yarn means some extra work when ripping out a mistake.

Making the Strips.

• I used a stitch marker to hold a scrap of paper with the width of each strip, along with the number of stitches. This meant I didn't have to spend any time wondering if I was using the correct strips, and I didn't have to count the loops each time. 
• When completing each strip cut the thread or yarn, and pull it through the working loop to finish off the strip (just like crochet).
• I used a US size B hook to make the strips and a US size D to join the strips.

All of the strips have been made and are stored rolled up.

Guidelines.

• I knew they would be important, but I didn't realize how helpful they would be. On one of the 240 loop strips, I wasn't paying close attention and let the strip get twisted and wonky after I had moved it off the loom pegs. The picture shows how useful it was to have the guidelines keeping the loops straight when the strip was twisting.

Top strip was twisted and messed up.
The guidelines made it easy to untangle.

Joining the Strips.

• I found that using a hook larger helped me keep the loops under control when joining the strips together. The loops had a tendency to slip off the hook that was used to make the strips.
• When joining the strips to make the jabot part of the pattern, the starting sides for the joins should be alternated so that the  finished piece doesn't slant off to one side.
• The pattern calls for holding the two strips between your fingers of your non-dominant hand when working the joins. Most modern patterns call for laying the strips flat on the table. I used a combination of the two methods to join the strips. It was easier for me to work an inch at a time while holding one strip between my thumb and forefinger and the second strip between my forefinger and 2nd finger, then lay the strips flat to check for non-joined loops.
• Make sure you look over your work every few inches or so when joining. I would find non-joined stitches every so often. That meant I had to undo the joined stitches back to the non-joins and work forward again. Once I got better at checking my work, it wasn't a bad process.

The collar portion of the jabot.

Single crochet edging - top of strip.

The pattern booklet can be found here.

Happy hairpinning!

A Big Swatch - Black Evening Blouse

I found a lace weight yarn I wanted to try, but I didn't have a pattern to use it on, until Alison sent the Black Evening Blouse pattern to me.

The yarn I wanted to use is an acyrlic/nylon blend, and not very expensive, but is so soft. I had to go buy a pair of metal needles size 1US at a local yarn store that sells the needles I like to use. The owner suggested that before putting in the work with this tiny yarn, that I knit up a large swatch and run it through the washer ten times to see how well it holds up.

I definitely don't want to do all of that knitting only to have the sweater pill on the first few washings and wearings. I really really dislike swatching. But I could see the sense in creating the large swatch. As I made peace with the idea of swatching and washing, I realized this could be the perfect opportunity to show the stitch patterns that are used in the pattern. The patterns aren't completely visible in the picture of the sweater. This first pic of the swatch shows the Hive Pattern from the pattern.

 


I have to use a lifeline (the peach colored cotton thread running through the swatch). I forgot to add it when I switched from stockinette to the pattern and ended up having to rip out about 10 rows of the hive pattern (unknit is the new term for ripping out stitches, I think). I decided that I was tired of unknitting and that a lifeline would save me time in the future. We were camping and I was so excited to be knitting by headlamp light that I wasn't paying as close of attention to the pattern as I should have been. I guess that makes me a nerd knitter.

I found that placing a stitch marker on row 1 of the pattern repeat made it easier to figure out where I am in the pattern when I pick up after setting it down for any length of time.

I will be posting more pics as I get further along in the swatch (or cowl).

Happy knitting!