Red Starsky
Here we go, last post of the year! :) And we end with Red Starsky!
I have the chest size of a 12 year old. Great.
Guess I need a training bra
Since I live in a place where 60 degrees is considered effing cold, the bulky yarn in the grown-up pattern really wasn't an option. But it looked like the switch to worsted would require some serious calculations. Until, that is, I checked my gauge and saw that it was spot on with Starsky Jr.! Now before you go thinking I'm that small (which trust me, I'm not), the 12/14 in that pattern is sized for a 36" chest. So yeah, I've apparently got the bust size of a pre-teen girl. Cool.
Oh, AND that 36" allows for about 4" of ease. Not much of a self-esteem booster for my non-bodacious tatas, but much easier to wrap my head around than the 8" of ease in the original, which I'd be swimming in!
Butt shot in the backyard. Ah, the circle of symmetry. (That's not my backyard by the way, we just have dirt.)
I'm usually a fan of knitting without seams, but this would've been way too wieldy in one piece. Plus, the Banana Leaf (why do I automatically think banana hammock?) pattern has you cabling on both sides of the work and uh, yeah, messing up and having to tink through that many stitches was far too real a possibility. So, I knitted each piece separately and seamed them together afterwards. Luckily, I don't mind seaming all that much and it didn't take that long either. Plus, you can polish off a section more quickly than the whole, so the knitting definitely went by a lot faster!
Top-down set-in sleeves, who knew!
Sewing in sleeves however, that I do mind. For this sweater, I decided to pick up the stiches around the armhole and give top-down set-in sleeves a try. O.M.G. Absolutely LOVED this technique! If you hate sewing in sleeves as much as I do, get yourself a copy of Knitting from the Top or Custom Knits and give it a whirl. Believe me, you'll be glad you did!
I made them a tad larger than normal to fit proportionately with the added ease in the sweater so they're a bit larger than I'd like, but allow a long-sleeve shirt to sit comfortably underneath.
Other than that, the only other mods I made were to short row/three-needle bindoff the shoulders and skip the belt loops (me likes the option of wearing the belt higher or lower based on how I'm feeling that day).
Apparently 10 seconds isn't enough time to set the timer, run in front of the camera, and put my hand in my pocket.
Overall, I'm kind of on the fence about it. It's a nice, roomy sweater, and very warm, but not the most flattering garment. It also has a tendency to gravitate off my shoulders, which in turn makes the shawl collar go all goofy. I've worn it twice now and find myself hitching in the shoulders or tugging at the bottom fairly regularly, which is a PITA. I actually fuss with it less without the tie, but then I look like a beached whale (which might not be too far off given that I've consumed my body weight in clam chowder and cheese bread over the past week). If I were to knit this again, I'd only add 2" of positive ease, throw in some waist shaping, and make it a couple of inches longer.
Hmmm, I wonder if there's yarn in this one...
As for the pattern, the cabling isn't overly intuitive, but you do get into a groove with it! It would probably stand out more in a lighter color, though, or in the original's bulky weight yarn. But there is one great advantage to the Jr. version - you can see here how the bottom ribbing lines up nicely with the cable columns. In the grown-up version, I believe they're off in the pattern as written. Not to difficult to recalc, but it's nice when it's already done for you!
Yarn thoughts
This is Lorna's Laces Shepherd Worsted, my favorite! The sweater took up just about every bit of five skeins.
Wrap it up
Well, it's a bit too large, a bit too short, and makes me fidget with it. But the cabling is pretty, plus it's very warm and cosy, so I'll definitely wear it. Maybe we'll go with one thumb up.
And with that, we bid adieu to 2008! May you all have a safe, fun, and very Happy New Year! See you in 2009! :)
Starsky
Pattern: Starsky Jr. from knitty
Size: 12/14 (don't be all that impressed, it's sized for 36")
Yarn: Lorna's Laces Shepherd Worsted, 5 skeins in Cranberry
Needle: Addi Turbo, Size 8, 40"
Mods: Top-down set-in sleeves, short rows/three-needle bindoff on the shoulders, no belt loops
I have the chest size of a 12 year old. Great.
Guess I need a training bra
Since I live in a place where 60 degrees is considered effing cold, the bulky yarn in the grown-up pattern really wasn't an option. But it looked like the switch to worsted would require some serious calculations. Until, that is, I checked my gauge and saw that it was spot on with Starsky Jr.! Now before you go thinking I'm that small (which trust me, I'm not), the 12/14 in that pattern is sized for a 36" chest. So yeah, I've apparently got the bust size of a pre-teen girl. Cool.
Oh, AND that 36" allows for about 4" of ease. Not much of a self-esteem booster for my non-bodacious tatas, but much easier to wrap my head around than the 8" of ease in the original, which I'd be swimming in!
Butt shot in the backyard. Ah, the circle of symmetry. (That's not my backyard by the way, we just have dirt.)
I'm usually a fan of knitting without seams, but this would've been way too wieldy in one piece. Plus, the Banana Leaf (why do I automatically think banana hammock?) pattern has you cabling on both sides of the work and uh, yeah, messing up and having to tink through that many stitches was far too real a possibility. So, I knitted each piece separately and seamed them together afterwards. Luckily, I don't mind seaming all that much and it didn't take that long either. Plus, you can polish off a section more quickly than the whole, so the knitting definitely went by a lot faster!
Top-down set-in sleeves, who knew!
Sewing in sleeves however, that I do mind. For this sweater, I decided to pick up the stiches around the armhole and give top-down set-in sleeves a try. O.M.G. Absolutely LOVED this technique! If you hate sewing in sleeves as much as I do, get yourself a copy of Knitting from the Top or Custom Knits and give it a whirl. Believe me, you'll be glad you did!
I made them a tad larger than normal to fit proportionately with the added ease in the sweater so they're a bit larger than I'd like, but allow a long-sleeve shirt to sit comfortably underneath.
Other than that, the only other mods I made were to short row/three-needle bindoff the shoulders and skip the belt loops (me likes the option of wearing the belt higher or lower based on how I'm feeling that day).
Apparently 10 seconds isn't enough time to set the timer, run in front of the camera, and put my hand in my pocket.
Overall, I'm kind of on the fence about it. It's a nice, roomy sweater, and very warm, but not the most flattering garment. It also has a tendency to gravitate off my shoulders, which in turn makes the shawl collar go all goofy. I've worn it twice now and find myself hitching in the shoulders or tugging at the bottom fairly regularly, which is a PITA. I actually fuss with it less without the tie, but then I look like a beached whale (which might not be too far off given that I've consumed my body weight in clam chowder and cheese bread over the past week). If I were to knit this again, I'd only add 2" of positive ease, throw in some waist shaping, and make it a couple of inches longer.
Hmmm, I wonder if there's yarn in this one...
As for the pattern, the cabling isn't overly intuitive, but you do get into a groove with it! It would probably stand out more in a lighter color, though, or in the original's bulky weight yarn. But there is one great advantage to the Jr. version - you can see here how the bottom ribbing lines up nicely with the cable columns. In the grown-up version, I believe they're off in the pattern as written. Not to difficult to recalc, but it's nice when it's already done for you!
Yarn thoughts
This is Lorna's Laces Shepherd Worsted, my favorite! The sweater took up just about every bit of five skeins.
Wrap it up
Well, it's a bit too large, a bit too short, and makes me fidget with it. But the cabling is pretty, plus it's very warm and cosy, so I'll definitely wear it. Maybe we'll go with one thumb up.
And with that, we bid adieu to 2008! May you all have a safe, fun, and very Happy New Year! See you in 2009! :)
Starsky
Pattern: Starsky Jr. from knitty
Size: 12/14 (don't be all that impressed, it's sized for 36")
Yarn: Lorna's Laces Shepherd Worsted, 5 skeins in Cranberry
Needle: Addi Turbo, Size 8, 40"
Mods: Top-down set-in sleeves, short rows/three-needle bindoff on the shoulders, no belt loops
posted by weezalana at 2:00 PM
13 Comments:
Love it!! It looks fabulous on you!!
happy happy new year!!!
Love it! Bummer the fit is a bit of a PIA, but looks great on you!
Happy New Year!
It looks great!! And good to know about the set in sleeves. I love Custom Knits and can't wait til I can knit something out of there.
Red Starsky sounds kind of like some type of communist movement, doesn't it? Regardless Comrade Weez, it is a beautiful sweater and it does look fabulous on you.
Happy New Year!
The color is lovely on you. And it looks very comfy. What about adding a hook and eye to keep it closed??? Maybe that wouldn't be a god fix. Who knows!
I'm sorry you're not completely pleased with the finish product. I think it looks quite nice on you, but I've always been of the school of thought that wrap sweaters of this style aren't meant to stay in place or where you want them to be. I always think of them like a robe you can wear outside the house. Yours certainly looks nice and cozy!
Hope you have a great 2009!
It looks great! Though I can understand the frustration of a garment that you have to fiddle with all the time. Can you maybe tack down the collar on the underside to make it stay in place? Maybe doing so would help keep it on your shoulders? Or maybe I have no idea what I'm talking about. Anyway, I really like it - beautiful cables.
it looks very cozy and the color is gorgeous. happy new year!
Beautiful! It really looks nice on you - too bad it is fiddly. Love the color - I've always wanted to work with LL Shepherd Worsted. I hope you have a very happy 2009!
Gorgeous! And don't feel bad about the size, I often buy a boys' large when Tarjay has shirts with bats on 'em for Halloween. The fit is all that matters, and Starsky Jr. fits you very nicely -- in a very grown-up, flattering kind of way. Doesn't look like a kids' sweater at all. I may have to try this too because the "real" Starsky would make me look like I've been swallowed by a sweater.
Such a complete run down, I really love the details you give about the sweater. I can see how a sweater that make you fidget is irritating, but it looks great on you, and LL color is one of my faves:)
too bad about all the fidgitiness, the cables look great on the back.
Happy New Year!
Fab new sweater - sucks you have to fidget with it but it really looks great.
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