handknit | Sewchet

November 3, 2018
by sewchet 19 Comments

Knitted Aran Jumper

Three and a half years ago, in mid February 2015, I started knitting myself a jumper – the first one since the Eighties, in fact, the first one in nearly thirty years.

Back then, I knitted lots of jumpers. All in mohair of course, as was the fashion, and all of which have long since disappeared into the ether.

Nowadays I favour a more practical yarn, one which doesn’t shed or tickle and one that washes well, so when I happened upon Stylecraft Special Aran with Wool in “Oatmeal” in our local garden centre, I bought a couple of 400g balls. A nice Aran jumper pattern also caught my eye.

Sometimes I wish I’d gone for the green in the photo on the pattern leaflet, but I figured that “Oatmeal” (aka “Beige”) would go with more things and would get worn more.

5mm needles, Aran weight yarn and a simple cable design ensured that the jumper knitted up relatively quickly.

I can’t remember exactly when I finished it, probably later the same year, but it immediately got relegated to the bottom of the wardrobe until a few weeks ago when it reappeared during a clear out.

Here it is.

I remember loving the generous ribbed roll neck…..

….and the simple but pleasing cable running down the centre front and back of the jumper.

The yarn was so nice that I even used the plentiful leftovers to make a two matching hats, one for myself and one for a present….

….and a pair of fingerless mittens for a Stitching Santa present.

So why didn’t I like the jumper?

I had set in the sleeves too tightly using a basic oversewn edge and it was uncomfortable to wear.

That was it.

Biting the bullet, I carefully unpicked the sleeves, shoulder and side seams of the entire jumper and started again.

Taking my time, I used a more appropriate method of construction which resulted in more flexible seams and a neater looking jumper to boot. A simple solution that took just a couple of hours, but one that I had procrastinated about for three years.

I was impatient to wear it but I’m naturally a hot kind of person who rarely feels the cold and rarely wears a coat, let alone a jumper. So, as soon as the weather turned cold enough this week, I gave it a try.

A freezing cold, frosty morning with blue skies and no hint of a breeze – perfect for a walk through the woods.

Knowing that a T-shirt and jumper would be more than sufficient, I confidently left the coat at home.

Even standing still whilst The Boys worked up a sweat on the rope swing, I was as warm as toast.

By now, the temperature had risen to around 6°C and I was almost too warm thanks to that cosy roll neck!

Oh, and the handknit socks that you can just see poking out of the top of my walking boots:)

March 16, 2018
by sewchet 41 Comments

Bellagio Shawl – Tadah!

You may recall that I went to the Unravel festival in Farnham a few weeks ago, and these are the skeins of yarn I came home with. Very restrained, I think, considering I could literally have bought something from every single stand had money been no object!

I bought the Bellagio shawl pattern from Debonnaire Yarns and planned to use the yellow yarn for it, which is a laceweight Ainsworth Prin bought from The Knitting Shed, 80/20 Baby Alpaca & Silk.

There’s something special about skeins of yarn as opposed to the balls that are more readily sold. I love the process of transforming it into a yarn cake, too. All part of the pleasure of hand knitting, I suppose.

I used a 3.75mm circular because I didn’t have the 4mm one that it required, so the final measurements were slightly smaller than those listed.

The border was an easy-to-memorise 16 row lace pattern and, unusually, it was an asymmetric design.

After completing the main border, I made a spontaneous decision to change the colourway and add in the navy yarn bought at Unravel. Making it up as I went, I included three golden stripes to break up the navy and add interest.

The ‘feel’ of the original pattern has totally changed but, as I wear mustard and navy together, this combination in a shawl made perfect sense.

The construction is slightly unusual, but I like the asymmetry of it which is enhanced by the three stripes.

A little under two weeks, and it was nearly finished.

I really must get some blocking pins, but until then, I’ll continue to use dressmaking pins and a towel on the dining table.

Here’s the finished shawl, laid out over the back of the sofa.

I did make several mistakes in the lace – not that you’d notice as the pattern is very forgiving.

Being laceweight, the shawl has a light texture and drapes beautifully.

It’s nice and warm around the neck, without being constrictive as it’s so light that you don’t really notice you’re wearing anything!

It’s already drawn lots of compliments (shawls do, don’t they?) and goes well with my Stag’s head dress – a favourite which is bearing up well considering how often I wear it.

The thing about hand knitted shawls is that you simply can’t buy them, which is why they get noticed, I suppose. I love having something unique….which is why I can’t wait to cast on another one with some more of that lovely yarn from Unravel:)

August 11, 2017
by sewchet 28 Comments

“Woolly Woofers” Knitted Dog Coat

Regular readers of the blog will recognise Fifi and Tess, a 14 year old Yorkie and 3 year old Chorkie, respectively.

Here they are in their Winter coats, all long, shaggy and warm.

Whilst we were in Spain, my mother looked after both dogs and took them for their annual haircut, and they now look just a tad different!

Trouble is, Fifi feels the cold and can always be found sat as close to the fire as possible whenever it is lit.

She has a variety of coats; here is her Winter one.

This one was a non-stretch fleecy number, made specifically to stop her licking her wound after an operation.

And who can forget this disastrous effort made in rather too much of a rush and was miles too big?

Point is that, no sooner had they had their Summer trim, the weather turned – 14 degrees and rain. For two weeks.

Poor little Fifi spent most of her time curled up in a ball in an effort to keep warm, shivering pitifully.

Of course, technically, her Rudolph coat would do the job perfectly well but, quite frankly the excuse to knit up another cute little number from Debbie Bliss’ “Woolly Woofers” in summery colours was too good an opportunity to miss.

After scrutinising the descriptions and measurements of various patterns, I settled on a ‘tube’ style coat, which would be close fitting and comfortable.

It’s called “Mod Dog” for obvious reasons, but it was the tube style that I wanted, not the Mod design.

Don’t you just love the illustrations?

I had the best part of a ball of “Rainbow” double knitting yarn left over from some project or other which would be plenty for this little coat.

Wool Warehouse stock it in a dozen different colours.

I started straight away. Well, it was howling a gale and pouring down outside, so why not?

By the next day, I had finished both the front and back pieces.

A quick trip to the garden centre later, and I had a set of 3.75mm circular needles to finish the cuffs.

How’s that for a season-appropriate colourway?

I put the coat on Fifi as soon as it was off the needles and she wore it all night without the need to be wrapped up in a blanket. (For “blanket” read “one of Mr H-L’s jumpers”, because he’s so soft).