A thought for the Weekend

"Don't bend, don't water it down;don't try to make it logical. Don't edit your own soul according to the fashion. Rather, follow your most intense obsessions mercilessly."     Franz Kafka

 ...I didn't know Kafka was a knitter! ;)

Have a great weekend!

Minimalist Cardigan FO

Its all in the name...

min-i-mal-ist - one who provides a bare minimum of what is necessary."

Pattern: Minimalist Cardigan by Ruthie Nussbaum

Source: Interweave Knits Fall 2007

Yarn: Moda Dea Washable Wool

Colour: 4461"Maize" Lot:128
Unlike what you see in the photos the colour of the yarn is the same as the one I've used as a highlight throughout this post!

Needles: 6mm Aero straights

Started: February 4, Finished April 27, 2010

Modifications: Worked in Wool rather than Alpaca

"Minimalist" really sums this one up. No shaping, embellishments, buttons or belts. It provides the bare minimum of what is necessary in a knitted cardigan... yarney warmth with sleeves and an open front. - oh and amusing to knit - 'can't forget that!

In fact lets start with that! The tedium of all over seed stitch and how time consuming it could have been was overcome for me by working it in my fledgling Continental technique. If you don't have this in your repertoire I heartily recommend it. The only thing thats hard about it is being patient with yourself long enough to cultivate the skill. I applied it bit by bit on various accommodating projects before using it full time on this knit and that greatly minimized the "pain". As a result I will now look at other patterns in rib or seed or moss stitch less warily - its like opening a door to a new world of potential projects!

Also entertaining for this knitter is the way the two broad panels of flattened stockinette are knit as one with the front panels of the sweater to ultimately flank the front opening and extend up past the shoulders, around the neck forming a handsome stand up collar. The blocked stockinette lies miraculously flat and hangs perfectly on the body - a wonderful visual and textural foil to the bumpy staccato of the neighbouring "seeds". No need for closures or embellishment - remember its just the bare minimum - and it works!

I like the collar at the back. My minimalist ;) hair makes the collar's apparent seamlessness visible, hiding the clever construction. Nice! More practically though it will also keep my neck warm. (Not against outdoor chill so much as the kind that comes from indoor air handling. I can't stand those down drafts of cool, unrelenting "wind" in modern buildings!)

As you might remember I knit this wool yarn at a looser gauge to end up with something akin to the soft, drapey quality the designer intended in recommending Alpaca. That attempt sure worked out. I wish you could feel the drape and hand of this fabric! I used about 850 yards of the Moda Dea yarn or just over 5 balls which brings this knit in at a total cost of less than $50.00 (Remember, there are no buttons or zippers to buy so even the price is minimal on this one!)

As for fit? I would say its "okay". As you can see above the shoulders are a tad wide, ditto the cuffs below. In being a bit large they detract from the intended minimalist aesthetic but only a tad. I'll live.

How does it suit me? Ditto the fit. "Okay".

Amy over at Stash Knit Repeat is posting a 10 part series on "fit". Currently the first and second installments are up and definitely worth checking out if fit is one of your bugaboos! Anyway, in her words, that I read yesterday just after completing this sweater, my Classic Hourglass is not suited to boxy shapes creating a line between the two widest parts of my figure (upper and lower body) while obliterating the view of the narrower bit in between at the waist. Sigh.

But then I have to remember its not supposed to be a "Maximizing Cardigan". Its "Minimalist",  providing the bare minimum - sleeves, a front opening and entertainment for the knitter. Check, check and check. I should be happy with this one and in fact I am.

Thanks for dropping by to review my little FO with me today!

P.S. Hey Leslie! in answer to your comment yesterday re: setting in sleeves... after wet blocking the pieces flat to the measurements cited on the pattern I steam block the curves of the sleeve tops while pinned in place to the pieces of the sweater body letting everything dry completely before moving it. This establishes matching ease on both pieces so when it comes time to stitch things together there's no visible sign of pulling (or pushing!). Rue also commented yesterday on needing to understand how to work with sleeve design...for what its worth I found this VK article very helpful when I was working on understanding how the sleeves would come together for my Olympic Sweater.

Minimalist - Almost Finished the Finishing!

Tomorrow I should be able to post a full FO report but even so close to the finish there are still things to say...

First of all, in making this all over seed stitch cardi I definitely improved my Continental technique. It was evident from the beginning of each piece to its end with my tension getting more consistent with each row. With this being my first all Continental all the time sweater its naturally not even close to my usual English knitting.  This is especially evident in the stockinette panels dominating the front of the sweater (above) and the presence of more than a few gaping seed stitches (below) that despite a double dose of blocking (wet and steam) there are obvious tension issues and visible "rowing out"*.

From a distance and among non knitters this will probably be a non issue - especially since the drape of this piece is gorgeous. The blocking wires ensured all the lower edges as well as the inside edging of the open front are dead straight and even which distracts from the uneven quality the rowing out lends to things.

I'll leave commenting on the fit on me until tomorrow but the way the pieces fit together really is the stuff of the assembly story.

 I know many people knit so as to avoid assembly and finishing altogether. In fact several of the sweaters I've happily made in the past year and a half fall into such a category but I have to admit I quite appreciate the effect and shaping that's possible when pieces are knit separately and seamed, sleeves are shaped and set in and blocking is done in advance of finishing. It lends a different quality to the garment that when I put it on, makes me feel good for having made the additional effort.

I dedicated last evening to doing that work and sewed in all the ends. What remains now is to graft the centre seam of the collar back. (BTW the shot below also illustrates the rowing out. To the right of the pins you can clearly see the pairs of one loose and thereby more prominent row and then one slightly tighter row with its resulting tendency to kind of recede in comparison to it looser neighbour.

I admit I don't always go the extra distance to correct the grafting at the toe of a sock if its a bit off but I am going to really strive to get this very visible seam dead on and so try to do it in the light of day when my wits are about me and the distractions of my family are not!

Thanks for dropping by!

*"Rowing Out" results when one row is knit at a different tension than the other - apparently its most notable in Stockinette.