Monday, June 9, 2008

Two FOs!

I finished my Eyelet Surplice Dress. I ended up having to make a lot of mods to the top of the dress. The biggest one that I made was adding armhole decreases at the back. It was bunching up really badly at the neckline. I decreased nine stitches at each armhole. I also shortened the straps considerably, raising the ribbed waistband and creating more of an empire waist.
I also decided not to sew the fronts together because I didn't really see the point - I thought it looked nice the way it was! Again, I just have to say how much I love this yarn. Blue Sky Skinny Cotton is one of the nicest cottons I have ever had the pleasure of working with. It wears really nicely - I thought for sure the eyelet bodice was going to stretch like crazy, and it hasn't at all! All in all, I am very pleased with this dress (my first knitted one!).

I also finished up a pair of socks - "Child's French Sock" by Nancy Bush from "Knitting Vintage Socks". I've been wanting to try this pattern out for quite a while, and it did not disappoint! It was surprisingly simple, yet also very fun. I started this pair out in "Trekking Pro Natura", a bamboo-wool blend, but realized once I did one of the pattern repeats that it didn't have enough stitch definition. I pulled this Regia Silk out of my stash, and it proved to be just perfect! I am so happy with this sock yarn! The silk provides just the right amount of sheen, but doesn't intrude in the stretchiness of the yarn the way the bamboo does in "Trekking Pro Natura". I definitely want to use this again! Luckily, I have three more colors of it in my stash - I just have to pick out which patterns I want to make!
I'm working on the Printed Silk Cardigan now. I'm making it out of Louet Euroflax Sport in Terra Cotta. I think the drapiness of the linen will be a good substitute for the silk in the original. Linen doesn't have some of the same qualities as silk, however, so I will be making some mods to the pattern. I'm thinking of making the sleeves in stockinette, since ribbing just does not work in linen - it just adds bulk without any of the extra stretchiness. I've also added ribbed bands to the bottom of the sweater, and will be adding them to the fronts. I'm up to the twisted stitch part on the back, which I'm pretty excited about, since I love travelling stitches!

3 comments:

Smitten Knitten said...

Both beautiful. That dress looks so pretty on you and the yarn makes the sock pattern pop.

Lolly said...

I love the dress! it looks so pretty on you!

KrisCe said...

Love love love the dress and socks. They look great. Oh by the way I tagged you.