The Benefits of Blocking

The capelet has a good start. Yesterday afternoon, I added the 6 1/2" ribbed collar using a 1 x 1 rib, the same as the button band. The pattern calls for a 2 x 2 rib for the collar, button band, and along the hem. The narrower rib is much more flattering and less bulky in this chunky yarn.




I used the same needle size for the collar as for the body so that the collar would pull the neckline in and hold it securely. Along the bottom, I will go up in size otherwise, the ribbing will pull the bottom in and create a gathered look. I want it to hang flat.

The pattern doesn't call for a larger needle size. In fact, there are a lot of things the pattern doesn't call for. It could have been written a LOT better. I'm thankful that my sewing experience is transferable even if I second guess myself sometimes and that I'm getting to a comfort stage with knitting that allows me to make improvements to patterns.

Just as with sewing, there are ways of doing things that will increase the professional appearance of the finaly, knitted garment. For instance, the instructions say to pick up the collar from the right side. WHY? The collar will move up and over the collar seam and rest on the shoulders. It is turned back at the front. You see the inside.




Instead, I picked up the stitches from the wrong side, knit the next row so that the nubs would be on the wrong side, and then started the ribbing. Above, you can see how smooth the transition is. The only thing smoother would have been the provisional cast-on that I mentioned yesterday. Below, you can see...





... the ridge caused by picking up the stitches. It's now under the collar and not visible and it provides something of a "collar stand" for the ribbing. The marker that you see is marking the position of the button hole. The pattern is written for the first button hole to be 2" below the neckline. If I did the capelet again, I'd move the buttonhole up higher. And... I might still get to. This isn't taking a whole lot of yarn so far. I might have enough for two. BUT... then again... it's getting wider as I go so we'll see.




I started the capelet on Tuesday so that I'd have something to knit at my groups. The purple jacket was blocking plus I prefer to do seaming at home where I can concentrate. See how absolutely flat the sleeve is. Just like a crisp, final press. YES YES!

Below is the pile of pieces. Still very flat. This project really re-enforced for me the benefits of blocking especially with that shawl collar. When the pins were pulled out, it maintained it's shape. Unfortunately...

... that shape is very VERY weird. The underarm seams are pinned right now so I can't get a good picture of it but I'll show you tomorrow. There is excessive amounts of bulk up and behind the neck while the front is pulling. This is similar to what happened with the first capelet version. Way too much fabric behind the neck. It looks like it's going to have to come off and be re-knit but before I do that, I'll take it the yarn store and get feedback.

Taking the collar off is going to be difficult. I sewed it on REALLY well. I know because I tried to hide my yarn end neater at one point and couldn't pull the end back out. I hope the collar comes off without accidentally cutting the front edge.

As I mentioned yesterday, I'm busy for coffee and lunch today so I'm not sure how much else I'll get done however, I will sew the two underarm seams for sure so I can see what the jacket looks like and think about options. Depending on the advice I get, I may add a different style of collar. Obviously, I'm not sure yet. Perhaps there's a different - better - method for knitting on a shawl collar. I'll research that too.

Talk tomorrow - Myrna

Grateful - catching up with friends