Wednesday, March 10, 2010

Holey Moley

I have finished Wisteria and really like it. It's a fabulous pattern with an interesting cable that was really fun to knit. Even though it's getting warmer here, I still had a chance to wear it today because my office is really chilly. These are not the most pristine freshly-blocked pics since I've been wearing the sweater all day, but here you go:



Because I'm behind updating my gallery, for now, you can find more pics and details on Ravelry.

You know, I did not come up with the name "SoKnitpicky" randomly. Let me show you where I'm critical of my knitting.


See holes there on the left side of the cable? This was knit top-down, so that actually represents holes created on the right side of the cable as it is knit.

The other place where there were holes was right around the underarm, where stitches are picked up to continue the sleeves. It always happens at the confluence of stitches going in different directions. I forgot to take a picture of the "before," but I did have to do some creative weaving-in-of-ends to tighten things up.


Some yarns are more forgiving than others. I think since this is a superwash merino that is less elastic than regular wool, and since it is not a textured yarn, the holes show more. I wish I understood the anatomy of why these holes happen so that I can prevent them. If you have pointers, I'd love to hear!

8 comments:

  1. Gorgeous! And no one will notice the openness next to the cable but you :) I've not found a solution to the gaps at the underarm when picking up for the sleeve. If it won't be too bulky, I pick up more rather than less stitches and immediately decrease them in the first round. This helps some.

    ReplyDelete
  2. I love it, it's beautiful!! And I understand being picky with your knitting. Whenever people complement me on my hand knits I say thank you and then proceed to point out every flaw and there's always something that I feel is a flaw no matter how perfectly the garment is knit.

    I don't know why you're getting the holes next to the cables but I know the armhole thing always happens to me. I either do what jillian does or I pick up what they say and then I sew the little holes closed and that usually works.

    ReplyDelete
  3. its a beautiful sweater!! And those very small details are present in most knits, but it's always easier to see them if you knitted it yourself. Definitely think it was the yarn that didn't fluff up enough to close the holes during a good wet block. But don't sweat it- it's gorgeous!!

    ReplyDelete
  4. Nobody, but nobody is going to notice anything wrong with this beautiful sweater! Lovely job.

    ReplyDelete
  5. I love this sweater on you! it came out great! I still don't know how to not get a hole at the underarms. I either do some creative weaving or pick up a couple of extra stitches. usually a combination of the two.

    ReplyDelete
  6. The sweater is just beautiful!! Love this pattern and you have a great fit with it. I also get holes near my cables, but only sometimes. I don't know why I do, but if you find out, please share!

    ReplyDelete
  7. Very pretty! I haven't seen any good solutions to the holes next to the cables. I will use a needle to jiggle the yarn/stitches around before blocking, to try to make them smaller. When picking up stitches I pick up an extra one on each end, and then decrease one on each end on the next row. All in all, very nitpicky stuff that only oneself will notice! :)

    ReplyDelete
  8. The holes next to cables can be minimized by using combined knitting for just those stitches: when you throw the yarn for the purl stitch on each side of the cable (yeah, I do it on each side), wrap the yarn in the opposite direction around the needle (i think it is clockwise rather than the usual counterclockwise if I am imagining this right). Then on the return row, knit through the back of the stitch to untwist it (since you have created a twisted stitch with that kind of wrap). You are using less yarn to make the purl stitch with this method, so the hole is smaller. It often does just relax into unnoticeability with wearing. I looked at the problem about four years ago when I knit the Irish Hiking scarf, and this was about the best solution I could find on the whole Interwebs, and in my knitting references.

    ReplyDelete