As promised (threatened?), here are a few progress shots of my Hanne Falkenberg Mermaid. I’m finished with the body and I’ll start the sleeves as soon as I have a chance. (That might not be until I finish the Widdicombe Fair baby blanket; that baby’s arrival is getting closer and closer.)
I’m not sure what I think of this project yet, although it looks better in person than it does in my crappy photographs. It started to rain just after I got Lucy nice and comfortable on the bench so I had to flee to the indoors before I could get some better shots.
Here’s the front (I would have positioned the lapel better if I had had the time):
Here’s a shot of the back:
The garment feels a bit “stiff,” and it doesn’t have a nice drape to it. I’m hoping that wet blocking will soften the yarn and let it relax. We’ll see.
Like Susan, I made a couple of changes to this pattern. You are supposed to knit the i-cord edge for the left side, then pick up stitches into the i-cord and start knitting. Instead, I did a provisional cast on so that I could knit the right and left lapel/collar in one piece and not have any seam up the middle of the back neck. In other words, I had live stitches on both the right and left side and worked the i-cord on those. That turned out nicely. The one issue is that when knitting an applied i-cord in a contrast color, the original color (white in this case) sometimes pops through. To avoid that, the easiest solution is to knit one row in the contrast color before binding off in the i-cord. I couldn’t do that here, though, because the entire jacket is knit in garter stitch AND the collar/lapel folds back on itself. If I had knit a row in blue, there would be obvious “bumps” of blue and white at the edge of the i-cord when the collar was folded back. It would look like the color transitions on the inside of the jacket:
Wrong side:
Susan reminded me of a technique we learned at Meg Swansen’s knitting camp. It was invented by Joyce Williams and can be found on page 18 of Sweaters from Camp. Let’s assume you are doing a three-stitch i-cord bind off. Normally, you would have your live stitches on the left needle and then cast on three stitches. Then you would knit 2 and then SSK (slip two stitches one at a time as if to knit — the second stitch being slipped would be one of the live stitches from the garment — then knit the two slipped stitches together through the back loops). When faced with wanting to make sure that the color of the live garment stitches doesn’t show through, you do this variation: Knit 2, slip one, yarn over, knit one (this is a stitch from the garment, in my case white), then pass the slipped stitch and the stitch produced by the yarn over over the knit stitch. It’s a bit futsy (the yarn over can be tricky to get your needle under), but it definitely helps hide the color.
Here is a close up of the i-cord bind off.
The jury is out on how Mermaid will turn out. I’m still undecided.
If you decide you don’t like it, I know someone who’ll take it off your hands 😉
It’s gorgeous! And very flattering!
Comment by Marina — June 27, 2007 @ 5:59 pm
I think it looks wonderful on Lucy. The acid test will be how it fits you, but presumably you and Lucy are the same size 🙂 Gorgeous.
Comment by kmkat — June 27, 2007 @ 6:23 pm
Sally! This is a beautiful garment. Thanks for the close up of the icord. I have often wondered how the finished fabric looks – none of the pics I’ve seen have been close enough to demonstrate this.
Comment by Gale — June 27, 2007 @ 6:53 pm
From Susan — a) the jury is IN: it IS gorgeous, b) it will get softer when blocked, c) it will be beautiful when done. I love the I-cord edging. I will add it to my class on i-cord techniques. I had not done it before but it really works well! And I know Mermaid will fit because you tried it on when you were here!
Comment by lv2knit — June 27, 2007 @ 7:03 pm
Sally- It looks like perfection from where I’m sitting.
And I love the I-cord cast-off. Where would we be without Elizabeth
Zimmermann?
I really like the understated color choice as well. Very wearable.
Comment by Lorraine — June 27, 2007 @ 8:41 pm
I can SEE you wearing it! It definitely LOOKS like you!
Comment by Jennifer — June 27, 2007 @ 10:08 pm
The jury is still out?! I love it! 🙂
Comment by Romi — June 27, 2007 @ 11:20 pm
Gorgeous, and thanks for the i cord tip. This is probably heretical, but I just finished a sweater for my grandson in a very stiff yarn — it was a stash gift from someone who can no longer knit because of arthtitis, and I suspect that it had been sitting for a very long time. Anyway, when I soaked the sweater for blocking, I gently washed it with my own shampoo and followed up with conditioner, figuring that what softens people hair will soften wool. It worked like a dream, and the sweater has been transformed from harsh and stiff to cuddly.
Comment by Astrid — June 28, 2007 @ 8:31 am
The jury might be out but the peanut gallery is in ~ it’s fantastic!
Comment by Michelle — June 28, 2007 @ 8:32 am
Astrid — I have often recommended using conditioner on yarn to soften it up. I may try it with this sweater as well. I am like the princess in The Princess and the Pea — I just hate scratchy yarn against my skin.
Thanks for all of the nice comments!
Comment by surly — June 28, 2007 @ 8:48 am
It looks beautiful! I am considering making a very similar jacket (Garter Stitch Jacket from Norsk Strikkedesign) and in looking around the web to see if anyone else had done it, I found one. She had found the yarn knit to the recommended gauge too stiff, so she had loosened up and got a drapier fabric. While quite nice, it does not really look like the picture in the book. I have a similarly-shaped fulled jacket, and the stiffness really makes it look great!
So I hope your jacket softens, but does not drape TOO much!
Comment by Barb Outside Boston — June 28, 2007 @ 10:56 am
Good trick to know, with the applied i-cord. I think that is a beautiful sweater!
Comment by AuntieAnn — June 28, 2007 @ 12:19 pm
It really is pretty. The colors are wonderful. Hair conditioner for scruffy yarn? The things you teach us!
Comment by Wendy O'C — June 28, 2007 @ 4:30 pm
I think it’s lovely so far!
Comment by Octopus Knits — June 28, 2007 @ 8:38 pm
~drool~
Comment by Carol — June 29, 2007 @ 1:07 pm
It looks gorgeous. I hadn’t even really noticed the I-cord edging. Oh no. I think I might have to knit this.
Comment by Carrie K — June 29, 2007 @ 5:09 pm
The structure of the Mermaid is lovely. I love the shape of the back and the soft lapel. I also think the color combination is great – can’t wait to see the sleeves.
Comment by marie — July 3, 2007 @ 8:36 am