theraineysisters knitting and so much more

December 9, 2007

From Susan and Sally — Why Add I-Cord to Ballerina??

Filed under: Knitting Tips,Sally's Ballerina — Both Sisters @ 1:27 pm

Laura wondered about the i-cord on Ballerina, “I am not clear on why you added the i-cord to the bottom edge since there is already a knitted-in i-cord finish to it.” 

Susan answered this question in an old post here.  Basically, it is because the built in i-cord is not very attractive from the inside*.  With a swing coat, like Ballerina, it is possible that the hem will show because the back is longer than the front.  Doing applied i-cord afterward makes for a better looking finish:

Ballerina007.jpg picture by lv2knit
Susan’s Mermaid at top of photo, Ballerina at the bottom.

*PS from Susan: I should clarify: Hanne’s built-in i-cord is not very attractive from the inside — she does it this particular way in order to have single color i-cord at the hemline even though you are knitting 2-color stripes as shown in Mermaid above.

In general, it is absolutely easy to have built in i-cord on either edge of a garter stitch strip of any width:

For a 3-stitch i-cord edge on ONE side of garter stitch:
Row 1: knit to last 3 sts, bring yarn forward, slip last 3 sts to right hand needle one by one as to purl; turn
Row 2: knit

For 3-stitch i-cord edge on BOTH sides of garter stitch:
All Rows: knit to last 3 sts, bring yarn forward, slip last 3 sts to right hand needle one by one as to purl; turn

July 11, 2006

From Susan — Per Your Request

Filed under: Current Projects — surly @ 8:43 pm

A reader asked me to post pictures of Ballerina, which I said I would do but haven’t yet.  I really enjoyed making Ballerina, even though it felt like it took forever.  And then there is the “translation” problem with the pattern.  With Hanne’s designs, you kind of need an interpreter — and I’m not talking about Swedish to English.  I think it’s more like Hanne to everyone else.  She has her own unique way of writing directions that defies convention.  I have finished my third jacket of hers and finally think I can understand her.  I’m thinking of offering a class called “Hanne Helper.”

Anyway, as my knitting peeps know, I change every pattern somehow.  On Ballerina, the changes were minor.  I decided, based on my experience with Mermaid, to opt out of the built in i-cord hem.  Instead, I added an applied i-cord after the fact.  I also did an i-cord bind off around the neckband and ended up not needing the sleeve band. 

Here is a comparison of the two hem finishes for Mermaid (top) and Ballerina.  I was more concerned about the appearance of the inside of the hem on Ballerina because of the design — it is a “swing coat,” longer in the back, so I thought the inside of the jacket might show at times. 

Ballerina007.jpg 

I think the Ballerina i-cord looks much better. 

Not the best picture, but here is the front:

Ballerina003.jpg

Front detail:

 Ballerina002.jpg

Back:

Ballerina005.jpg

I am now a huge fan of i-cord in all of its forms.  I use it on just about everything.  I am so un-original!!

PS — to my Thursday group: I won’t be there this week.  I am going to the opening night of Wicked in the nosebleed section!

July 4, 2006

From Susan — Internet: the new Heroin

Filed under: Current Projects,Updates — surly @ 6:17 pm

Our internet service was out from the day I got back to today.  We were all in withdrawal.  Everything we did, we thought, “I’ll go check it out on the internet….no, wait, I can’t.”  It was horrible!  I had no idea I was so hooked.

I went to my friend’s daughter’s wedding on Saturday evening, which was the reason Sally and I had to hotfoot it back from Omaha.  The wedding was beautiful.  The following people were wearing my daughter’s jewelry creations:

Bride, three bridesmaids, two junior bridesmaids, two grandmas, one mother of the bride, two of my daughters, one guest, and me.  I was bursting with pride!  The junior bridesmaids each wore one of the small wedding ring purses on their wrists and then gave them to the bride and groom to open at ring time.  It was quite cute.  The bride wore the wedding purse throughout the reception.

I am 99% done with Ballerina — it is blocking at this very moment.  I wanted to block it before knitting the cuffs so I would know how long the sleeves would end up.  Good plan because the sleeves gained at least 3”!!  Thank goodness because they were SOOOOO skimpy.

I’ll post more later with some pictures and the update on my next major project — it is something that has been aging gracefully for at least 2-3 years (maybe more).   Sally and I will also share our impressions of the knitting shops we visited along the way. 

It is good to be home.

PS — Ballerina was dry this morning so I tried it on.  The sleeves are the perfect length without adding cuffs at all (!?!).  That was surprising!  I’ll i-cord edge the sleeves tonight and it will be D-O-N-E.

Powered by WordPress