So, I also managed to do that finishing on the baby cabled cowl which brings my total finished knits for 2008 to a grand total of twenty-one. Wow!The Vital Statistics
Pattern: my version of Olga Buraya-Kefelian’s Cabled Cowl; I made it much shorter because I didn't want it to wrap around baby bear's neck twice as I felt that this might be dangerous. As such I also chose my own yarn (one that was in the cupboard - yay!), my own stitch count and my own cables. So really, all I did was follow the general layout of welt-cable-cable-edging. I used the double knit slip stitch edging from Annie Modesitt's Backyard Leaves scarf pattern. Cables were a five-stitch wide version of marriage lines (basically a zig-zag) and the peek-a-boo braid from Vogue Knitting Stitchionary Volume two, Cables: the ultimate stitch dictionary.
Yarn: two balls of vintage (judging by the ball band) Emu brand baby blue 4ply/fingering weight (yarn held double) that I bought at Value Village. It was a bit scratchy so I gave it a good wash in hair conditioner and that worked a treat.
Needles: 5.5mm bamboo straights which was a bit odd actually as everything else that I have been doing lately has been on circulars. 5.5mm is also just about the maximum size needle that I am comfortable knitting with.
Start to finish: 19 December 2008 to 30 December 2008.
Comments: Designing your own stuff is really quite difficult, even when you are borrowing generously from someone else's design. There is so much to take into account - stitch count and whether the welt will end on a knit row or a purl row before the garter stitch edging and how the two cables would interact.
I attached four buttons and made neat little buttonhole-stitched loops for closures. I had originally considered metal buttons for this project with an engraved or embossed design and thought that I had some on hand. Couldn't find them though so decided on something else that I had on hand instead - flower-shaped shell buttons. These turned out to be a great choice - they look wonderful against the baby blue and baby bear recognises them as flowers and is pleased by them.
Verdict: super happy with this project, it turned out better than I expected and looks just gorgeous on. It's something that I would like to try again and experiment with all those variables - yarn, stitch count, cable patterns.
2 comments:
It's beautiful. I also love the color. I have never heard of that use for conditioner - I think I'll have to try it on knitted opshop blankets - great tip.
Hair conditioner is great on wool, isn't it? Just don't use the expensive stuff!!
I love this project. Working to your own design is so rewarding and it constantly amazes me how much good information for doing just that is available on Ravelry.
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