A Skirt: Finished!

I finished my beach skirt!

When I last wrote about this project, in June, I was just starting the purple part at the top, and I said I would show you the pattern later. Well, later has come:

Wavy pattern with knits and purls

I created this pattern by a simple alternating pattern of knits and purls. I had a few false starts though. I actually miscalculated the number of stitches I had, and tried to do repetitions of 18. Then, when I realized that it wouldn't work, I used my fixer tool to good stead and changed it to repetitions of 12.

I am, of course, leaving out that I tried a different pattern first. My first version had a thin wavy line instead of what you see here - but I didn't like it. The nice thing about knit/purl patterns, is that they are relatively easy to change, without redoing everything: just let a single stitch unravel, and bring it back up the way that you really want it to be.

When I had the skirt as long as I wanted it, I needed to make a sheath for a drawstring. It wasn't that hard, but there were a lot of stitches on different holders to keep track of. I knit each stitch forward and back to double the number of stitches, put the back stitches on a string to hold, and knit up the front stitches (leaving a hole in the front for the drawstring). Then I put those stitches on circular needle to hold, and knit up the back stitches. After putting in the drawstring, I used kitchener stitch to bind it up.

Ready to kitchener. There are four needles, a drawstring, and a stitch holder in the picture. It was a lot to keep track of, and things kept falling off the holders because I was too lazy to use a real stitch holder.

The drawstring was actually pretty easy to make though. I just got a length of each of the three colors of yarn and spun them together. Then I folded it in half, and plyed them. It is a great technique for quickly making a thick string that isn't too long.

Drawstring

To fit with my ocean theme, I also added silver fish beads (from Etsy)  to the ends of the drawstring, to give it a little weight.

Finally, I had a stain to cover up, so I was going to use some handspun yarn to make "foam". Unfortunately, stitching using the yarn did not look good - the yarn was too thick, and uneven, and it didn't look like foam.

But I was able to sew some thick ramboullet roving to the skirt directly, and it looked better.

What do you think? Does it look sea-foam like?

Well, all in all, I think the skirt came out...ok. It is a bit large for me, and the drawstring sheath is a little loose. Also, it came out as a bit of a "mermaid" cut. because of the herringbone pattern. Not really my thing.

Well, enough criticisms. What do you think?

Skirt: front

Skirt: side

Skirt: Back

Color Transitions

Well, it's been awhile. I started a new job, and my commute is much longer. So, less time to write blogs. But more time to knit and spin!

I have been getting a lot done on my skirt:

Beach skirt: if I finished it today, it would go just below my knees

I finished up the darker blue part, and started on the purply-gray. As I mentioned before, I had originally planned on just using two colors, but a last minute substitution was necessary.

I am using a pretty simple pattern for the purple part: plain stockinette, punctuated by wavy-lines made out of purl stitches. I will show you all a picture when I finish a repeat (I ripped out my test).

The question was how to transition between the two patterns and the two colors. The first option (a) was simply to stop doing the blue and start the purple with the new pattern. The second option (b) was to start the purple, but continue the herringbone pattern for a bit. The third option (c) was to start the purple, but to do a k3 slip 3 pattern for a few rows, making a wavy line at the edge. Well, I tested all three options:

From left to right, option (a), (c), and (b) 

And I really liked how option (b) looked. It seemed to create the smoothest transition between one color and the other. I ended up doing seven rounds of the herring-bone pattern with the purple before switching to the new pattern.

Close-up of the transition

I'm also liking how the purple and gray are blending in while I knit it up. I was somewhat afraid of pooling.

Well, maybe the next time I talk about this project, it will be finished or close to it. Maybe.

Checking In

Hello!

I know it has been awhile. Partially, I have been busy with school (graduation, May 8th!), and partially I haven't had much to show.

The problem with working on large projects is that they don't change much from week to week. But let's see what we have, anyway.

First, we have the beach skirt project. It is progressing, but it looks very similar to the last time we checked in, just longer.

Starting to look like an actual skirt. Quarter sitting on the fabric for scale.

However, I have made some changes to the plan for the skirt. Using just the yarn I had, I am pretty sure that it will not be long enough for me (which, at minimum, should be mid-calf). But I wasn't able to find any more of the color I had - anywhere. Nor could I find a similar color in a matching yarn. So the top part of the skirt will be a purplish gray. I haven't quite decided what pattern to use for that section, but it should evoke the deep ocean.

Color "Paula 2" from Brooks Farm Yarn

I also finished spinning my seafoam yarn for the edge embroidery. I also kept some singles and some roving, in case the 3-ply doesn't look good.

Sea foam yarn in skein, next to fiber.

On to the next project: the shawl.

I have finished one skein worth of knitting. Uh oh.

Looks a bit small. Quarter sitting on the fabric for scale.

I only have three skeins, and it looks like it won't be nearly enough. Guess it is back to the wheel for more lace-weight!

Speaking of spinning, I have also made some progress on my drop spindling project. I now have a full skein of carded, spun, and plied yarn.

95 yds. worsted-weight navajo-churro undercoat. Say that 3 times fast.

Unfortunately, unless I did my math wrong, I only have 100 yards, which is not enough for the project in mind. So, guess I need to do another skein of this one too.

Hopefully I will check in sooner next time, but it will depend on my schedule. I might also start doing some smaller projects, just to have something to report.

Project Updates

I have been getting quite a bit done on the projects that I have mentioned before, so I figured it was time for a basic update.

First off, I mentioned back in July that I was making dryer balls with the combing waste from my shawl project. I have now felted five of them and have a sixth one stuffed and ready for felting. I finished off the last of that ugly green yarn that I made as an experiment.

Felted dryer balls

 They aren't exactly pretty, but they seem to be doing their job, and they scratched my itch to never throw anything out, even combing waste.

Speaking of the shawl, I have now finished two skeins of laceweight yarn, and I am currently plying the third, and final, skein. It has been a really useful experience to make so much yarn of the same type, and keep it consistent. I can tell that I have improved since I started the first skein. I am not sure anyone else would notice the difference though (or I hope not, they are all going into the same shawl).

In August, I talked about my spinning lesson and the experimental yarn with the blue BFL top. I have finished all of the roving I received, into about 150 yards of extra-bulky three-ply yarn.

Chain-plyed BFL top

I had initially over-plyed the stuff that I did in class, so I had to run it through the wheel again to make it more balanced. By the end, I think I was really getting the hang of Navajo plying though. No current plans for the yarn.

In August, I also wrote about a skirt that was on my needles. Progress has been slow (small needles, big project) but I have added a few more inches since I last wrote.

Beach skirt: a bit more modest now, but still racy

And finally, just last week I wrote about a hat that I was working on. The hat is off the needles and I have started a matching scarf.

I think it came out looking great! The crown was a bit of a challenge, mostly because the instructions were so over-wordy, but I managed in the end to figure it out.

That is all I have for now. Happy crafting!