This KAL seems to be whipping past. I can't believe this is my third update post. It feels like quite slow going on my project. The Professoressa Cardigan is knit in one piece from the bottom up and I'd forgotten how long it takes to do one row when it is the whole circumference of the garment. The other thing that is making it feel like slow going, is the cable panels. I have discovered that I can only do a maximum of 10 rows a day before my hands start to hurt. The tiny teeny twists of the cable panels seem to be causing me grief, so I'm trying to be sensible and changing up my project throughout the day. However, the cardigan does seem to be growing slowly, until you compare it to the previous week's photos!
You can see the decreases on the back quite clearly in this photo. I had to decrease quite sharply to reduce from the hip measurement to the waist measurement. I decided that I was going to put a lifeline in to mark where the increases for the bust started. This was because I was unsure about my increase maths. I decided to do much more rapid increases at the front than at the back. The increases on the back are spaced out much more than the pattern calls for, as I was surprised to find that the measurement between my waist and my underarm is significantly longer than the pattern is written for. This information has made it clear to me why, on shop bought garment,s the waist always sist too high on my body! The things you learn through knitting! I always thought it was because of my large bust that they sat high, but there was more to it than that. I will certainly consider this measurement when I knit future garments.
You can see how quickly I've increased the bust, in this photo. I think I'm doing the right thing by having the increases close together, at the beginning of the shaping, and then slowly spacing them out more and more. I still inserted the lifeline to make sure I can rip back easily if the shaping is wrong.
When you put the garment into the shape of how it will be worn, you can see how the shaping is effecting it. If the centre panels are laid straight and flat the bust shaping makes space at the front of the garment. It does look strange without a body in it, but it's hard to do that kind of modelling with a bottom up knit. I think it's promising at this stage. I kind of wish I'd gone back and moved the darts slightly further out, but I think when the garment is worn the darts will be placed in a good location to give the required shaping, it's just not as smart as it should have been.
This week, I can also tell you about a fabulous new prize that arrived in the post for you. It was from Deborah at Fondant Fibres. The prize you receive will come in a lovely project bag that Deborah has made for you.
This bag is made up with patchwork stripes and is fully lined with black fabric. It has a purple drawstring cord and a spring-locking cord-stop. It measures 9" wide x 14" high and 3" deep. Inside the bag will come either some fibre or some yarn handspun by Deborah. The choice will be up to the prize winner to ensure that if the winner is not a spinner they will get something they can use.
The fibre prize is Shetland wool, dyed in a gradient, with some pretty stitch markers.
The stitch markers are made with fairies and blue and pearlescent beads.
The handspun fibre also comes with stitch markers, which are made with blue and white striped beads.
The main skein of handspun yarn is 116m of superwash merino with tencel, spun into a 2ply yarn and weighs around 90g.
There are also another two skeins that haven't been labelled, as a bonus. The one on the left weighs 46.5g and the one on the right weighs 90g.
I can't believe how generous Deborah has been and the prize that isn't chosen will be available in a future giveaway as Deborah send TWO project bags. What a lovely lady, go and check out her website as her products are gorgeous.
We have a HUGE prize pot for this KAL now and I am so grateful to everyone that offered things as prizes. There are people still joining in on the KAL with new projects appearing in the Progress Thread and more conversations in the Chat Thread. I am really enjoying this KAL and I hope you are too! If you need a reminder of the rules, they are in this blog post.
Keep posting on Instagram and Twitter using the #STCLKAL tag, I love seeing your progress there, as well as on Ravelry and on blog posts.
Recent Blog Posts:
The Many Knits of Nadine
I'll add more links as I come across them, or they get shared with me.
