The Start of a 1950s Sweater

While we have taken some time off from the blog - hello again! - that doesn't mean we haven't been working on projects.

I received a bunch of yarn from a family friend. In it was a slew of RHSS (Red Heart Super Saver) yarn in a cream fleck colorway. There was enough for a sweater, but since it was a fairly old batch of yarn, it didn't have yardage listed. I had been thinking about using it for quite some time. I'd look for a pattern, but there wasn't a pattern that screamed it was the right pattern for the yarn. Then, one of my co-workers was wearing a cream swing sweater, and I realized that I had the perfect pattern in our collection. Voila! There was my inspiration.

I started the Basic Coat of Any Length back in December 2016. This is a raglan sleeve sweater. The kids were on vacation, we were on a hiatus from sports. It was magical. I zipped through the back. It took me less than three weeks to get the back completed, working on it sporadically.

The pattern calls for Spinnerin Marvel Twist (4 ounce skeins) . It turns out we had the yarn listed on our Wiki page. It's a worsted weight yarn. With some swatches in hand with different needle sizes, I swatched then washed the swatches. The washing of the swatch is almost necessary when working with the Super Saver. It's so stiff when it is being knit, but softens beautifully once washed.  I achieved gauge with a US5 (3.75mm) needle.

Sweater back along with all of the yarn for the sweater.

Cast-on: 
I used this cast on.
This cast on needs to begin with a knit stitch; and it is a cast on in even numbers. Because I like using this cast on method, I cast on one less stitch than the pattern called for – an even number of stitches. I then cast on one single stitch with a knitted cast on. I began working the pieces by knit, knit, K1tbl and continued in the pattern.

Measurements: 

Measured from directly under needle cable to bottom of back
Laid flat – not stretched: 13.75”
Laid flat –stretched: 15”

Gauge: 

6 stitches = 1 inch without stretching.

Happy Knitting!

Crocheted Party Dress - Motivation

When Alison first sent me pattern for the Crocheted Party Dress, I knew I had to make it. But it was a big project - an entire dress - and I hadn't ever started, let alone completed, a big garment before. Still, I knew at some point I would make this dress. The best part is that is's a crochet pattern with worsted weight/light worsted weight yarn, so it would make up relatively fast.

25 rows completed. Once the bodice and skirt are completed the sleeves are added.

The dress is working up pretty quickly, even if I'm a slow crocheter. The lace pattern is easily memorized. I like that a lot!

I purchased a 1 pound mill end of off white Caron Simply Soft online for next to nothing. I knew at the time that I don't particularly like working with the yarn, but it looks so pretty made up that I had to buy it. That mill end turned out to be the perfect yarn in my stash to make dress.

Out shopping one afternoon, we were talking about the dress and how cool it would look if it were an ombre instead of a solid color dress. We picked up a skein of coral and taupe yarns. I am hopeful that I can get the dress to turn out like I envision it in my head.

I am using the postings of my progress as motivation. I want to be able to show my progress on the dress each time I post an update. I'm not always so good at completing projects, so I have to find motivation where I can.

The original dress.

Happy crocheting!