Surfer tee finished and blocking

Posted on June 17, 2012 by Stefanie

Finished it! I finished my surfer tee last night and couldn’t be happier with it.

Mazie took this pic of me trying it on:

It’s a bit damp in this pic, I like to soak the knits in the sink, then spin out the excess water in the washing machine.

After that, the sweater’s still damp, moldable, and block able, but not so wet that it takes days to dry. I like to try it on at this point to see if I need to do anything special while blocking, like stretch the length or width.

I didn’t add the kangaroo pocket to mine, and I leave it up to you to decide if you want one on yours. I think it’s really cute with the pocket, but the look is a bit slimmer without.

I still need to weave in my ends. Usually I weave in ends before blocking, but I was too excited to see this one on!

Here it is blocking in the sun:

I’m in love with these rusty colors. Probably because I’m a redhead., I just love the array of reddish browns and deep oranges.

To think that I dyed this in my crockpot! So amazing.

One thing to keep in mind after finishing a knit:

blocking will sometimes open up the yarn and change your gauge. Think about this before judging your FO for size and fit. Block to gauge and THEN judge! :)

Here’s another pic that Mazie took:

Surfer tee: how to add waist shaping

Posted on May 15, 2012 by Stefanie

This is a very poor sketch of the basic measurements that you’ll need to take:

The measurements are:
1. Bust
2. Waist
3. High hip
A. Bust to waist
B. Waist to hip

Take these measurements and write them down.

Mine are:
42, 36, 41, 5, 4 inches, respectively. Now that I know these measurements, I can use my gauge to figure out how many sts to decrease for the waist and when to work them.

I don’t want a super fitted waistline, I just want to take it in about an inch on each side, and then increase back out for the hip.

Another measurement I’m going take is from under arm to waist, which on me is about 9 inches.

Gauge:4.5 sts & 6 rows to one inch.

If I want to take the sweater in by about an inch on each side, I’ll need to decrease 4 stitches before the piece is 9 inches (54 rows) long from the under arm.

I like the slope created by working the decreases about 8 rounds apart, so I want to start them 54 -16 = 38 rows from the under arm.

Then, I’ll need to increase back up to my desired number of stitches for the hip. I like this slope to be made of increases about 6 rows apart. I’ll work those increase rounds, then knit to desired length before hem.

Surfer Tee progress: Joined and almost to the waist shaping.

Posted on May 14, 2012 by Stefanie

Here’s Olive wearing her surfer tee, while holding MY surfer tee. This might fall under the category of Double Dealing (how hilarious are my glasses in that post!?) but then again, she’s just a baby!

More Olive:

You can see how the neckline is going to come together by looking at hers. I can’t wait!!

I dyed this yarn myself using low-impact dyes in the crockpot…what feels like AGES ago with my friend, Cindy. It’s got some white spots where I had tied the skein to keep it from tangling. See how every so often there’s one white stitch? So, I think I’ll have to go back with a paint brush and touch those spots up when I’m done. Maybe it won’t bother me as much when the whole thing’s knit, but they’re driving me crazy now.

In general, though, I love the color! It looks much darker in the hank than it does knit up. I think I did a good job of adding depth to the color without it taking on a trippy look, and of keeping it from pooling. So far, it looks like I’ll have plenty of yarn for at least a short-sleeved yarn with pockets. Would have been handy to have some notes on the yarn! I know it’s a BFL, and a light worsted weight. I’m using 7s and I like the fabric I’m getting. If I went up to 8s, it’d be too loose a weave for my taste.

I threw some bust darts into the front of my sweater, and now I’m just knitting down to a few inches below the bust, so that I can do a bit of waist shaping.

The pattern isn’t written to have any shaping, but I’m going to put some in this one. Tune in next time to see how I do it. I’m not going to do a full calculation like I do in my Fit Your Knits class, but I’ll show you how to nip in the waist a bit for a more flattering silhouette. I left it out of the original pattern because this is really meant to be a sweater that you pull on over a tee or Henley, a great casual top layer. When I designed it, I wouldn’t have wanted (or needed) a shaped waist at all (Olive was about 6 months old!)

I’m actually finally losing some baby weight and want mine to be a bit more fitted.

YEA! PROGRESS!

Surfer Tee progress…how to separate the sleeves

Posted on May 13, 2012 by Stefanie

I haven’t knit a sweater for myself in a while! I’m excited to have this one in my size. I think that I may just have a chance to wear it if I can get it finished up in the next few days.

Last night I stayed up knitting until I finished the yoke.

The first couple of rows are pretty easy. They set up the increase structure and the simple lace repeat for the front details.

Next, you’re instructed to repeat the last 2 rows a certain number of times. This does mean to repeat them x more times, ending with a WS row (ready to work a RS row.)

In the above photo, I’ve worked through all of the increase rows and have started the Separate Sleeves and Join the Body section.

Here, I’m using a darning needle and length of yarn recycled from my swatch to put the second sleeve on waste yarn.

I’m ready to knit around to the second front, and start working in the round.

How are your Surfer Tees coming??

It’s a knit along! Surfer Tee along with me!

Posted on May 12, 2012 by Stefanie

This is another mobile post from my phone, so please forgive the photo quality!

We are just getting home from the Fancy Tiger event (so fun!) and I’ve decided to knit myself a Surfer Tee to match the little raglan sweaters with kangaroo pockets that I knit for Mazie and Olive.

This out-take picture is pretty fuzzy, but a good representation of how the girls were during the event! There were cookies, and many were eaten by Mazie and Olive! (Which = major sugar rush and much crawling & climbing & squirming.)

Here’s Olive with the famous Ladies’ Fancywork Society deer:

The girls were wearing their Surfer Tees, and I’ve got the urge to make myself one, too! Want to join me? If you’ve got the book, this is a great project to start with…perfect for unpredictable spring weather!

Or, just go grab the free sweater pattern from Craft Foxes (previous post) and let’s knit ours together!

I’ve cast on and worked a few rows…this is going to be a great TV knit. Maybe I can even get it finished this weekend if I do a short sleeved version.

…Stefanie Japel Knits…

Category Archives: Book Talk

Surfer tee finished and blocking

Surfer tee: how to add waist shaping

Surfer Tee progress: Joined and almost to the waist shaping.

Surfer Tee progress…how to separate the sleeves

It’s a knit along! Surfer Tee along with me!