Jun 25, 2007

Indigo Flowers III

Cross-posted from my blog; click to read about Indigo Flowers and Indigo Flowers II.


These flowers have been on and off needles for sometime now, and when they are on the needles, I love how they grow (albeit slowly). Both yarns (Calmer and Zephyr) are smooth and soft, and I have yet to get tired of the cool colors. Good signs! I surely hope that this vest would become a wardrobe staple for me. Well, although there were a few moments that I had to pause and double-check my decreases and see on which row I was at, it took me less time to finish the second half front piece.

Now both front pieces are waiting for three-needle bind-off ;-):


Looking at the neckline, I frowned a bit and decided that some finishing touches might be necessary. I did not expect to get this irregular neckline, but hey, it's lace and lace is supposed to be wavy!

Now this problem directly leads me to another one: the back neckline would be wavy, too--vertical ripples will appear. My current plan is to finish it with a few rows of garter stitches. Or maybe I can add a ton of beads along the neckline?

Oh and I almost forgot to say that the two lace panels are not mirror-imaged. I thought about that before casting on the second half. Then I decided to make them identical, because:
1. It is easier to keep track of the shaping.
2. When sewing with a print fabric which has a very small pattern repeat (6 X 6 sts here), few people would try to match the pattern precisely. It's simply unnoticeable.



That's all for now. Maybe my next post will be the last for Indigo Flowers--stay tuned and happy knitting!

Iris

7 comments:

phoenix said...

I been following your progress with curiosity, and I say I think that it's developing beautifully. (For some reason I was expecting it to be completely asymmetrical, so I'm also surprised.) The front neckline is quite interesting; I'd love to see it on a model. As for the back neckline, In my mind I see a simple rolled finish, like an i-cord bind off, but I can't wait to see what you design.

Hattie said...

It is really turning out great! I think beads on the neckline would be awesome. But then, I loooove beads.

Marnie said...

It's coming together really beautifully. I like it more the more you knit of it.

At this point, this information is a bit moot but one thing to consider for a simple and clean edging is the icord selvage that Annie Modesitt outlines in her Scarf Style piece. You essentially double knit the 3 selvage stitches and produce a nice little finished edge. To work it, on the right sides you do the following:
K1, sl with yarn front, K1, work as normal to last 3 stitches and repeat.
Then on the wrong side rows, you do the following
Sl with yarn in front, k1, sl with yarn in front. Work as usual to last three stitches and repeat.

knitterchick said...

I love the woven appearance of the lace. I can't wait to see it on a model to see how it drapes.

Unknown said...

I have to agree that it's not necessary to reverse the lac stitch pattern. I really like the way the lace contrasts with the solid sections.

Julia (MindofWinter) said...

It looks wonderful, Iris! This is such an original, creative piece. It's a lot of fun to watch it come together!

Ruinwen Dagorielle said...

I love the way this is taking shape. The contrasts are so interesting to watch develop. The lace looks awesome against the darker blue! :)