Picot's Dog Sweater - Finished!

After finishing the body, I forged right ahead with the trim for Picot's dog sweater. The pattern calls for cuffs on the sleeves, a ribbed belly gusset, and ribbed trim around the bottom.

Sleeves:

Using Size 7 DPNs, slip/pick up leg sts. Work in the round K2P2, decreasing evenly in first round to correct for rib.

I picked up 32 sts, and ended up using 1x1 rib, just to make the cuffs a little stretchier.
Continue 2K2P for 22 rows.

I decided on a shorter, doubled cuff, so I knit 11 rows of 1x1 rib, then one purl row, and another 11 rows of 1x1 rib. Instead of a traditional stretchy bind off, I folded the cuff in (so the purl row was at the crease) and cast off my stitches by sewing them to the line where I picked up for the cuff. This gave me the added bonus of being able to sew up any pesky holes left from where I picked up stitches.

Repeat for second leg.

Belly Gusset and Finishing:

Slip Belly sts onto a circular needle. Place markers on either side of the Belly sts.

Pick up 1 sts per row along the sides, and slip on Back sts, so that bottom edge of entire sweater is on needles.

Row 1: Wrong side. Work ONLY the Belly sts – 2K2P rib, beginning and ending with P. Decrease twice evenly spaced to correct st count.

Row 2: Turn piece, and work right side. Slide 1 side st (outside marker) from right-hand needle to left. K2T (one st outside marker, one st inside marker). 2K2P rib until st before second marker. SSK (one st inside marker, one inside marker).

Row 3: Repeat Row 2, but on wrong side.

Repeat Rows 2 and 3 until gusset is 5cm long.

Begin working in rounds on right side.

Round 1: Slide 1 side st (outside marker) from right-hand needle to left. K2T (one st outside marker, one st inside marker). 2K2P rib until st before second marker. SSK (one st inside marker, one inside marker). Continue 2K2P for side and Back sts. Decrease evenly as necessary for ribs to match up.

Round 2: Slide 1 side st (outside marker) from right-hand needle to left. K2T (one st outside marker, one st inside marker). 2K2P rib until st before second marker. SSK (one st inside marker, one inside marker). Continue 2K2P for rest of round.

Repeat Round 2 until ribbing is 2 cm long. Bind off.

Sew in the ends, and your sweater is done! I had some left over yarn, so I decided to knit Nami a hat in the same variable stripes pattern so that she and Picot can match when they go on walks this winter.



Finally it was time for the big reveal!! Here is Picot modeling the finished product.

It is a little big around the body for her, but hopefully that means it will be comfortable for her to run and jump when she plays on the beach near her house.

I hope you love your sweater, Picot!

Mashup!

Here is where I need to admit that I have been watching Glee. It came a little late to Japan - we are just now at the end of the first season - and I am really enjoying a little bit of added Americana in my life.

One of the things they do on Glee is take two different songs and perform them together as a mashup. The idea is that the songs may be very different from one another, but they find a common element and make a new, exciting combination of the two. And that made me think of knitting. (I know, I know, I'm obsessed.) What a great idea to take two great knitting patterns, and mash them up into a new and amazing project!

So here it is - my very own knitting mashup. I combined the Anthropologie-Inspired Capelet pattern that originally calls for chunky yarn and 1x1 rib edging, with the gull lace pattern from the ever-popular February Lady Sweater. Add in picot edging for spice, and the mashup is complete.

For a better fit I knit two short rows on each side in the front for bust-shaping. Otherwise, the shape is a straight-forward top-down raglan.

I knit this sweater on size 3 needles using a 100% cotton yarn I got at Yuzawaya for 98 JPY a skein. What a bargain! In total (not including labor), this shrug cost me about $2.50.

Picot's Dog Sweater - Body

With the go-ahead to forge on ahead after our fitting, the rest of Picot's striped sweater knit up pretty quickly. I started off casting off for the leg openings:

K10, Cast Off 9 sts, K71, Cast off 9 sts, K10. (I slipped the stitches onto some scrap yarn to make them easier to pick up later.)

Work belly and back back and forth at the same time (using two skeins).

Continue in stockinette stitch for 9 rows.

Double check your measurements to make sure the leg openings will be big enough for the dog's leg before casting the stitches back on. I used a provisional cast on - again to make picking up stitches for the cuff easier.

CO 9 sts over leg openings, and join to knit in round. (total 113 sts)

There - that was the hardest part of the sweater (until the trim). After the leg holes, knitting the rest of the body is just smooth sailing.

Continue in stockinette stitch until sweater is 50cm from neck ribbing.

Cast off 12 sts, K85, Cast off 12 sts.

I slipped the “cast off sts” onto a piece of scrap yarn – these will be the “Belly sts." From now on, you knit the body back and forth, decreasing on each side.

Continue in stockinette stitch, decreasing one stitch at the beginning (SSK) and one stitch at the end (K2T), for each Knit row until there are 60 sts remaining (25 rows).

Continue in stockinette stitch (without decreasing) until sweater is 72 cm long.

Decrease one stitch at the beginning (SSK) and one stitch at the end (K2T), Knitting in between, for 5 rows (This will be garter stitch).

Instead of this garter stitch ending, I decreased on one side, slipped 10 stitches at the beginning and end of the row onto some scrap yarn until all the stitches were on the scrap yarn. This created a gentle curving back end.

Cast off. (I suggest slipping “cast off sts” onto a piece of scrap yarn. These will be the “Back sts”.)

The sweater should look something like this now:

It has the shape of a dog's body. Trim will make the finished product more polished, but the general shape is complete. This is the belly view, so you can see the slipped belly stitches and both leg holes.

I hope to finish up the trim this week, so Picot will have her turtleneck sweater just in time for July (only the hottest month of the year)!

Mama Jacket - Pattern

Here is my version of the Drops Jacket pattern. This is not my original pattern, but my modifications to the Drops pattern. Modifications include a straight collar, raglan sleeves, and one piece construction.

Mama Jacket

Gauge - 17 sts = 10 cm

22 rows = 10 cm

Needle - Size 8

Yarn - KnitPicks Cadena

Measurements:

Hips: 100 cm
Waist: 76 cm
below bust: 90 cm
bust: 98 cm
upper arm: 30 cm
elbow: 25 cm
fullest below elbow: 25 cm
distance waist/hips: 17 cm
distance waist/bust: 20 cm
neck opening: 50 cm

Collar:

CO 100 sts.
Knit Double Moss st for about 20 cm.

Optional collar button: About 4 cm above the body, knit a button hole. (k2, p2, k1, cast off one, double moss st. Next row CO one st over the cast off stitch.)

Last row (wrong side), decrease 4 times (by k2tog) (total 96 sts)

Purl one row

Body:

Double moss st. 28 sts. Place moss marker. All sts before this marker will be Double moss.
Knit 2. Place marker. This marks where to increase for the right front panel.
Knit 8 sts. Place marker. This is the right sleeve.
Knit 28 sts. Place marker. This is the back.
Knit 8 sts. Place marker. This is the left sleeve.
Knit 2. Place moss marker. All sts after this marker will be Double moss.
Double moss st 20 sts. This is the left from panel.

Continue knitting Double moss on the front panels, stockinette st all others. Increase on either side of each increase marker on the right side by knitting in the front and back of each st.

Crochet a button loop about 2 cm from the top on the left front panel.

Knit a button hole on the right front panel, every 8-10 cm.

Increase until sts are:
Right Front – 55
Right Sleeve – 60
Back – 82
Left Sleeve – 60
Left Front – 47
(Total 304 sts)

Separate sleeves – hold on scrap yarn to knit later. (CO 6 sts, place marker, CO 6 sts) under each arm. (Total 196 sts)

Shaping:

Increase on the front side of the each marker (the side toward on the front of the jacket) every knit row until there are 214 sts. (18 times)

Knit one short row on right and left front panels.

Decrease on the front side of each marker every knit row until there are 202 sts (12 times).

Continue knitting, with Double Moss st on front panels.

About 15 cm below the short rows for the bust, decrease 4 sts, evenly distributed across the back of the jacket (at each marker on the back side of the jacket, and twice evenly distributed across the back, every 3 rows, until there are 178 sts (6 times).

Increase 4 sts, evenly distributed (on back of jacket), every other knit row, until there are 202 sts (6 times).

Increase 2 sts on the front side of each marker every knit row until there are 218 sts (8 times).

Knit Double Moss pattern for 14 rows.
Bind off.

Sleeves:

Pick up 17 sts to be knit in the round (total 77 sts). Place 2 markers centered under armpit.

Row 1 – K6, K2tog, K2tog, K56, K2tog, K2tog, K6, K1 (total 73 sts)
Row 2 – K5, K2tog, K2tog, K54, K2tog, K2tog, K5, K1 (total 69 sts)
Row 3 – K2, K2tog, K2tog, K2tog, K52, K2tog, K2tog, K2tog, K2, K1 (total 63 sts)
Row 4 – Knit (total 63 sts)
Row 5 – Decrease one stitch on each side of marker. (total 61 sts)
Row 6 – Knit
Row 7 – Knit

Repeat rows 5-7 until there are 49 sts. (total 36 rows)

In the next row, decrease once (total 48 sts).

Continue knitting until sleeves are 7 cm short of desired length. Knit Double Moss pattern for 14 rows.

Bind off.

Mama Jacket

I finished my first, real-deal, adult-sized sweater over Golden Week. It is the popular Drops Jacket, knit in one piece, top-down, as inspired by CanarySanctuary.

I used nine skeins of KnitPicks Cadena yarn, a nice alpaca blend, in neutral. The yarn bloomed a bit when washed, but generally held its size and shape (and also accepted some gentle tugging to make the body longer).

The buttons are wooden toggles that look like bamboo, purchased at Tokyu Hands. Michael helped me with button selection - and thank goodness for that. I had my eye on some beautiful shell buttons (that were about 1600 yen a pop), but Michael convinced me they would just blend into the creme wool, and encouraged me to get these dark beauties. It definitely helped that they rang up at 105 yen each!

I didn't even try to make gauge - I knew that I wanted to add some modifications and wanted to strive for a custom fit. SO - I wrote out my own pattern. I have found that I am terrible at following patterns (ditto on recipes - it must be a personality flaw), but I find great delight in writing my own patterns based on patterns I find on Ravelry. I changed it up a little as I went along (per usual), but I'll be posting the final result on the blog.

Picot's Dog Sweater - Measurements

My friend, Nami, asked me to knit a dog sweater for her dog, Picot. I looked at some dog sweater patterns on Ravelry, and decided to use a few to put together my own version. I borrowed heavily from Esther Smith Bozak's Custom Fit Dog Sweater and Terri Lee Royea's Side Button Greyhound Sweater.

The first step was getting Picot's measurements:

1. Neck measurement. - Nami wants Picot to have a turtleneck sweater. Because her t-shirts usually end up too stretched out around the neck, I will knit a ribbed neck to keep it fitted on Picot's neck. Nami measured around Picot's neck, where her collar normally sits.

2. Chest Measurement. This measurement should be around the biggest part of the chest. With Picot's hair, Nami got a range of measurements.

3. Chest Length. Nami measured from the neck to the end of Picot's sternum. This will be the length of the sweater as it extends down Picot's belly. You don't want to extend the sweater too far down, to avoid any pee wetting the sweater. (I know, what a lovely thought.)

4. Leg Circumference. This sweater will have leg openings and small cuffs. The measurement should be taken around the largest part of the leg.

5. Back Measurement. This measurement, from the neck to the tail, will be the full length of the sweater on the dog's back.

While Nami took measurements, I knit up a gauge swatch. My yarn's gauge on size 8 needles is 10 sts x 15 rows = 7x7 cm.

Green

This pattern was found on Ravelry - I modified it to knit in the round, and didn't continue on the neck. (The original has instructions to knit a cowl neck, but I stopped with the boat.) This yarn is pretty bulky, and I thought a cowl would be too warm with the sleeveless top.

The shaping turned out well - I was nervous and kept measuring my torso, but I think everything turned out. I still have to tuck in all the loose ends, but because I knit in the round there are only 2.

I got this yarn at the Yuzawaya in Kichijoji. (Love that place!) It was on sale - I got 10 skeins in a package, and only used 4 for this project, so I have to find something else to knit. Maybe I'll knit up a top for my Mom as well.....

Top

I knit this little sweater using a heavily modified version of the Easy Baby Cardigan pattern. I put the opening on the shoulder to make a little snap open for baby's head, and then joined to knit in the round. Believe it or not, this sweater only took 1 skein of yarn!

I used Premier Yarns Serenity sock weight, self striping yarn, with ivory trim. The yarn is a wool, bamboo, nylon mix. I got the yarn at Joann's when I was back in the US over Golden Week. I started this project on the plane back to Tokyo, and finished about a week later. Progress was facilitated by Michael's long working hours!

Close up of the puff-sleeve. I was pretty proud of it.

I will be sending this beauty off to our friends Anhtuan and Anne, who are expecting their first baby together!

Wool Baby Jacket

This is the first project that I started for ME. It is also the first project I completed in Japan.

I love this wool, purchased at a Lodenwelke in Austria, and I decided it would make a great little unisex jacket for a future Downie (as my mom likes to call her future grandchildren). I used a really simple 5 square pattern (knit 5 squares - a big one for the back, and then 2 for the front, and two for the arms). I used a 3-needle cast-off to attach the back to the front panels, and then picked up stitches for the arms. The neckline, front, and wrists are in garter stitch, and the rest is in seed stitch.

I've purchased some wooden buttons, but haven't put them on yet. I'm playing with waiting for a Downie to make his or her arrival before putting on buttons, or just biting the bullet and getting fun colorful buttons. The hope is that this jacket will "grow" and could be used as a cardigan for a 2-3 year old as well.

Easy Top-Down Baby Sweater

This is the first top-down baby sweater I knit, and it was a blast. Not only is top-down the ONLY way to knit sweaters, this one is the perfect base to make all sorts of modifications. I used this pattern, which I found on Ravelry.

I knit this using inexpensive synthetic yarn from the 100 ￥ Shop. It took about 5.5 small skeins, and a few days of diligent knitting. I knit this up right after the move to Japan, so I wasn't working yet (which explains how fast it went).

This sweater might look familiar - I blogged about it on my Japan blog here. I ended up ironing a cute whale patch onto the front, and sending it to my niece, Celia, for her first Christmas.