Ummmm … grey cardigan? What grey cardigan? That poor thing has definitely not seen the light of day since my last Queue Check. No, it’s been all about the Summer of Basics dynamic duo up there, my vintage fisherman sweater and my first button-up.
I can’t believe it, looking at where it was a month ago, but the sweater currently sits at 4 parts all now at underarm height, so it’s time to start the yoke decreases. Thank heaven! Even knitting the parts round-robin style like this, the stitch pattern has gotten monotonous — as amazing and simple but oh-so-repetitive as it is — and I’ve been dying to get to the shaping. It will speed up from here, but I’m still nervous about getting it blocked and seamed and neckbanded by the end of August since I’m only working on it in the late evenings and allocating any weekend time to sewing.
The lovely Archer button-up is proving to be way more fun than I could have expected … so far. I’ve got the front/bands, pocket (made up my own), back/yoke all assembled, sleeve plackets sewn (ok, that part wasn’t so fun) and one sleeve basted on. My goal for yesterday was to have both sleeves attached and the seams serged. (I’ve decided to serge them, because I want to use my serger!) So I’m slightly behind schedule and gonna have to pick up the pace. The hardest parts are all still ahead of me — the collar and cuffs — and I don’t know how long to expect them to take, but I still need to fit SoB piece #3 in here, so I need to get this one wrapped up!
Speaking of which, you were all immensely helpful with the pants suggestions last week, and then on Saturday morning I totally scored at Elizabeth Suzann’s garage sale — the most exciting bit of which was some light army-green cotton canvas (garment weight) which I’m hoping will become my pants for piece 3 — I just need to commit to a pattern purchase. But all of that said, I’m still reserving the right to claim one or both of last week’s tops/tees as my third SoB if it comes to that! I sewed them in the time frame and they are definitely basics (and were under original consideration, even) but I don’t want to let that fall-back prevent me from trying to get the pants done. I can do it!
And for the moment I’m trying to not even think about what comes after any of that.
• Sweater is a 1967 pattern, Bernat 536-145, in Arranmore
• Shirt is Archer Button-up in sold-out fabric
(Porter Bin from Fringe Supply Co.)
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PREVIOUSLY in Queue Check: June 2017
I have never seen a pieced jumper knit like that, but how inspiring! Having just finished two-socks-at-time method, however, I know it seems to take forever but worth it in the end. Well done on your shirt!
Nice job!!
The cuffs will be relatively easy to sew. The collar is indeed a tad trickier but all you need is patience and good light (oh, and basting…I love basting).
Yeah, I’m a daylight sewer no matter what.
It may not feel like it … but you are zooming along on that sweater.
It does feel like I’ve been knitting it a lot longer than I have — I get really bogged down in the endless rectangle of body pieces and it feels like time is standing still!
As a relatively new knitter, who has only done a few cabled hats, this post brought up a question for me. What is the difference between a pattern that keeps you super interested versus one that feels monotonous by the end? I seem to recall you said that you were sad that your Chanel sweater was coming to an end (maybe I’m making this up?) but here, the pattern seems to be less fun. As I try to get more adventurous with my knitting, I’m trying to keep in mind all the different factors that go into picking a sweater, and this is one that intrigues me. I know why a stockinette sweater gets tedious (I have two that are years in the making, still on the needles!), but didn’t even factor in that even something like this fisherman’s sweater could get repetitive!
Meagan, the fisherman sweater is tedious because there is very little ‘break’ in the design. Stockinette really isn’t so tedious as it is monotonous. It is the same one (in the round), or two (in pieces) stitch(es) over and over again. Fisherman style knits are tedious in that every row (nearly) changes. If a mistake is made and not caught, it is frustrating and heartbreaking to have to frog, and tedious to drop back to.
Hope that answers your question.
As for your unfinished stockinette sweaters, you can easily finish those in small sessions between other projects. I am notorious at doing that while watching movies or riding down the road. I do not need to watch what I am doing, so the knitting goes very quickly. Give it a try. Then you will have nice sweaters to wear when the weather turns.
In the meantime, have fun… KNITTING!
Mm, this one’s definitely more monotonous than tedious. There’s very little to pay attention to — just a cable every sixth row. I just have a really short attention span, so doing anything over and over that many times will eventually bore me a little. But thankfully, right about then comes some shaping!
Thank you for this! :)
I don’t think there’s really a fixed answer to that, Meagan. There’s just some mysterious alchemy that happens sometimes. Channel was just such a melodious stitch pattern to work that I could have gone on with it and never gotten bored, but that was compounded by the yarn being so amazing to have in my hands. It just really sang, the whole thing. This one is super fun — fun to watch it develop, and I love this yarn as well — and no more or less repetitive to knit than Channel (both are extremely simple charts with very little happening, that just repeat endlessly from cast on to bind off), but it doesn’t have that extra magical quality somehow. It might have something to do with the fact that the raspberry stitch makes my hands hurt a little, so it’s just not soothing in the same way Channel was. But I could also knit both again and have the exact opposite experience with different yarns and moods, who knows.
Definitely go for the pants. I cut mine out after breakfast and was wearing them for lunch, although I didn’t do your pocket thing. Also, I sewed Sonya Philip’s Shirt #1 yesterday in a Kaffe Fassett shot cotton. Two Sob items down, one (a knitted piece of my own design) to go!
I really like your idea of using shot cotton for Sonya Philip’s Shirt #1. I hadn’t thought of using it for clothing before.
Remind me which pants you did?
Just the basic 100 Acts of Sewing Pants #1. I should add that I had to go down a size to XS for both of Sonya’s Pants #1 and Shirt #1. I stuck with size S for Dress #1. You can’t always rely on the sizing chart. The cut of the garment will affect how if fits too.
Wow, you’re almost done with that sweater!! For the Archer collar, I always use the four square walls method over what is in the instructions: http://foursquarewalls.blogspot.com/2013/09/sewing-collar-different-order.html So much easier if your seam allowances aren’t absolutely 100% accurate after cutting and sewing! Can’t wait to see it :)
Thanks, Kelly – I just read through your link. It makes so much sense! And the hints about trimming the under collar and inner stand also seemed perfect for attacking past frustrations in shirt making.
Oh, interesting. That does sound more appealing to me. I’ve only sewn band collars (the stand without the collar) and, once upon a time, a hood instead of a collar.
Heather Lou made great tutorials during her Kalle Sew-Along. She showed two different methods for sewing the collar+collar stand. As far as I can remember, one was close to the Four Square Walls method and the other close to Jen’s for her own Archer sew along. You have a third method on Sewaholic. I’ve tried them all, and each has pros and cons. My only advice is to practice on scrap fabric before actually sewing your collar (but you know that already).
PS : congrats for your fisherman ! I have to admit I did not like the Bernat pattern at all, but your version looks munch more modern, and thus much more covetable (not sure that word exist in English …).
YES! Changing up the sewing and assembly in this way changed my sewing life!
Wow ! I am impressed by the speed on this sweater. I know it does not feel like it, but it took me nearly six months to knit my aran sweater, so you are super fast, really ! Love the fabric for the shirt. If you manage to sew the pants, you will get a fantastic outfit at a result of your Summer of Basics. Very inspiring!
I know — now that it’s presented itself to me that way, I really want to wear that outfit!
Love your blog and all the conversations that come up. I have been knitting and sewing for 50 years and never tire, too much fun. Pants pattern suggestion: cuttinglinedesigns.com Pattern: Easy. Ageless.Cool.
It seems to have all features you are aiming at.
Having fun checking on Instagram summer of basics, even though i did not join.
Thank-you!
I was just searching through patterns for the perfect panrs pattern and saw Simplicity 2224 – it reminded me of the pants you were dreaming up. Well, at least a good start!
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