I first wrote about it on the 5th of April 2012. That's pretty much two years to the day. And I'm sure I discovered it before then! I've been really pleased with my lack of startitis lately but to be honest, the finishitis hasn't really stuck around because the eight-petal flower jumper is a bit of a slog and I kind of re-lost the enthusiasm for it (I don't doubt it will be back one day!). So, the other day I was reminded of this and I thought to myself - I'll just print it out and do a bit of translating. Hear me readers, the pattern is in NORWEGIAN!
But it's not as bad as it sounds... Actually, it's pretty much all
charted. It's a drop sleeve so the fronts and back are basic straightish
rectangles and the arms are the same with just a little increasing:
The Norwegian bits tell you to cast on and it's a lot of stitches so you kinda know it's fronts and back together. Then there are words and then a new stitch count so you assume that you do some increasing to the new stitch count. Somewhere in between those two instructions is the term '4cm' so you obvs do something for 4cm and on the original pattern there's no rib so it'll be a hem. To be fair, if you're a fairly experienced knitter, then it's going to be pretty straight forward. At some point they talk about 'cutting the knitting' so there's a steek in there somewhere which might put some experience knitters off but I've decided to work my pattern back and forth anyway, which I generally hate for fairisle but I don't fancy steeking a 70% acrylic yarn like the Moods DK even though you could, I tend to think it's just not that wise... So a steek for the neckline isn't necessary.
I was also going to change the yarn to a 4ply. As it is the smallest size is like 48" bust finished and the biggest is like 50-something quite high sounding but in reality, the whole of that chart is the whole of the jumper so the rows matter as it were. Would be relatively easy to work out how many more rows you want and perhaps change the bird into a dragon for a few more rows or perhaps add more of the bottom and top patterns but I didn't want to do any more maths than I really had to because I am lazy. Also, a snuggly DK fairisle cardi will come in dead useful. :)
I am going to change the arm shaping though - I contemplated a yoke but I couldn't work out how to do that without lowering the main pattern so that all yoke decreases were made in a more modular colour pattern and that again, involves maths. So I think I've plumped for a raglan. I worked out roughly how many stitches I wanted at the shoulder and drew a zig zag line down from there so I know roughly when to stop. At that point I'm going to probably do both sleeves and join it all together to finish. Maybe. I checked my workings out once I'd got to the point where I'd done the first band of patterns - they measured a pretty perfect 4" on my knitting and a pretty perfect 0.75" on the chart. So every 0.75" on the chart is 4" of my jumper and that means I'm going to have about 15" before I start my armhole shaping. This is fine, I would usually have between 13 and 14 inches so it fits with the slightly baggy thing going on. Yes. Happy.
However:
Can you see where I went wrong? Hmmm. I bloody can. On the second row of 'diamonds' I missed the second to last row which means that the second diamonds are 'off'. I actually, totally, definitely thought about ripping back and then I like bugger that for a game of soldiers. I'd already done the first row of the proper pattern and that had made me want to rip my eyeballs out so I wasn't about to take it out. It's staying. It's 'handmade'.
And why did it make me want to rip my eyeballs out?
This. Is. Why.
The chart is tiny!!! I didn't think it would be a problem because it's also very clear from afar but the boxes are soooo tiny they hurt my eyes. No problem, I thought, I'll photograph a small part of them and that'll blow them up enough for me to see (I more often than not have patterns on my phone now anyway) but no! That doesn't work because the 'x's aren't all in their own boxes - they're ever so slightly off, and if one's off then the next one's off a bit more and if that one's off a bit more then the next one's off a bit more and so on and so on. Ugh. SO. I think I'm going to have to do myself a chart on the computer and then either download it to my phone or print it. Whatever. The chart is a mirror image though, so only one will do and I can, for example, chart all the way up to where I think my armholes will be and then do the arms (which won't need recharting because it's v. simple) and then spend some time charting some more.
I have deffo gone wrong in the first bit of it, to the point where I'm thinking, bugger it, I'm just going to join it and made a jumper instead. But I've got to persevere because this is like a knitting DREAM of mine!!!!
And anyway, it's what I'm going to do today because I've done all of the work I set aside and I'm still pretty snotty from the killer lurgy and my mood, and therefore the shop's mood, will improve no end once I've set this up properly.
I have deffo gone wrong in the first bit of it, to the point where I'm thinking, bugger it, I'm just going to join it and made a jumper instead. But I've got to persevere because this is like a knitting DREAM of mine!!!!
And anyway, it's what I'm going to do today because I've done all of the work I set aside and I'm still pretty snotty from the killer lurgy and my mood, and therefore the shop's mood, will improve no end once I've set this up properly.
Love Eleanor,
xxx
No comments:
Post a Comment