Tag: style

Finished Object – Flirt Skirt

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I had some Lion Brand Mandala Yarn that I bought as an option for my Tunisian Tee test project that I decided to turn into a skirt. So I poked around on LoveCrafts and found the Flirt Skirt by Claire Jackson.

Turns out the colors matched my computer, and once I was into the body of the skirt it made a great shoulder warmer when I forgot my jacket at baseball practice.

Details:

Size: 36 inch waist, worked as written

Yarn: Lion Brand Mandala in Spirit, two balls alternated each row, 210 grams

This is a great “mindless” project once you get past the waistband and set up your markers for the increase rows. Definitely recommend this for a nice spring skirt. I have worn it several times already since I finished it.

Finished Object – Biased Marie Sweater

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Finished my Biased Marie Sweater by Ila Quinn Designs last week and was able to wear it Saturday. I even whipped up a matching scrunchie.It is perfectly oversized, and perfectly 90s neon. This pattern was so nice to work up, too. My only issues were of my own creation trying to work out the stripes on the fly instead of planning it out from the beginning.

Bonus: The original snow outfit that inspired the color palette of this project – 

Swatching Up A Storm

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I’ve got to admit, I was not very good about swatching before starting a project for many years. Most likely because I was using cheap worsted weight acrylic yarn that doesn’t really change gauge much for so long that I didn’t think it was necessary. Using real yarn has taught me the value of doing a gauge swatch first. That and reading the book Custom Knits Accessories by Wendy Bernard. I rarely follow a pattern to the letter, so swatching is pretty important.

I’ve even started washing the swatches to see how the yarn does in a normal wash cycle, so I know whether or not it will be okay to wash the final product. Much better to find out that a small square shrinks than having an oddly misshapen hat or glove at the end of laundry day.

I’m casting on two projects this weekend:Starry Stole (swatch 1) and Zooey (swatch 2). I knit the swatches Wednesday, hand-washed them yesterday, and now I am ready to measure once more to be sure and cast on.

Oh, and my other swatch project is still going strong. Up to 297 out of 400 right now according to my Google+ Photo Album. Only 103 more to go.