FO Friday

I have 2 objects today. (No, the shawl isn't one of them)


1) Teddy Bear Baby Sweater

Yarn: Caron One Pound, RHSS accents (100% acrylic)
Needles: size US 10 (6mm)
Size: 4T
Pattern: Improvised.

This project spawned from my realization that I cannot sew set-in sleeves. I decided to knit a pair of toddler sweaters (size 4T) for my son and neice to practice sleeve techniques. One (Teddy Bear Hoodie) will be to practice arms in-the-round with short rows, the second (Shark Hoodie) to practice seaming garments worked flat. Both will be made with acrylic that has been sitting in stash forever.

Pre-wash: it was pretty crunchy before it went through the dryer.
(I haven't worked with acrylic in a long time)

This first sweater was knit in the round up to the armholes. There I separated the front and back, did the armscye, neck and shoulder shaping. I then used mattress stitch on the shoulders, and picked up the sleeves to knit in the round from the top down.
I used a set of videos from Paula Ward on YouTube to figure out how to work the short row sleeves. The video explaining it can be found here, and the actual technique is shown here. I am very glad I learned this technique: I will definitely be using it in the future.

 Here is a close-up of the armhole:

It actually looks surprisingly good, especially when I compare it with a sweater I made last year. In my Cable Car Coat, I made a mistake in the sleeve and ended up trying to knit the sleeves from the top down, but didn't know about short rows at all. So there is quite a bit of armpit pouch, and this technique is a great improvement.

(When I wear this sweater I try to keep my arms to my sides.)

Anyways, this is (almost) the first time I have ever really designed a sweater. I used the following books for help with sizing, decreases, and the math:
1) Sweater Design in Plain English by Maggie Righetti
Found plenty of detail for sizing toddler sweaters here. (No I didn't just measure my son, because these are for next Christmas)
2) Stitch n Bitch Superstar Knitting by Debbie Stoller
Used the chapter "Bringing out the Big Guns" to work out armscye shaping.
3) The Sweater Workshop by Jacqueline Fee
Found necessary information for hood.

Then I busted out the crochet hook and added a simple border for the hood and ears from the pattern "Perfect Bear Ears" (and yes, they are pretty perfect) to make it extra cute.

I thought about adding some embroidery to the front, maybe a honeypot of a few bees to practice my embroidery. But if I haven't done it yet, I probably won't. So I'm calling this one DONE! Since it was pretty small it only took a week or two to go from concept to completion.

Though my son is modeling this sweater, it is actually for his cousin. His shark hoodie will be coming soon... Once I feel like working with 100% acrylic again.

2) Entrelac Hat
A week or two ago, I signed up for a workshop on Craftsy to learn entrelac. My hat is finally finished, and I am very happy with it.

I'm glad I didn't quit early because the final few decrease rows make a nice starburst pattern.

I used Cascade 220 and size 6 needles. I didn't really pick the colors, I just reached in and found the 3 biggest balls in the partial-ball bag. (I keep almost all my leftovers, and generally end up using them on hats...)
I haven't blocked it yet, and probably never will. I know how much Cascade likes to grow, and this hat is pretty big already.

I know I will do some more experimenting with this technique in the future. It was quite fun, and made a good break from some of my more boring projects. However, my next attempt at entrelac will utilize some self striping yarn to limit the number of ends to weave in.

And for those of you who want to see the reverse side...

Thank you for reading/commenting  ^_^
Check out more FO's at Tamis Amis.