All these choices - alla dessa val

Blue or green?, a photo by Asplund on Flickr.

It took a while to choose between blue and green as contrast colour for the neckband, but I finally settled for blue. I generally think green and red is a better colour combination than blue and red, but in this case they won't be next to each other. What's more, this shade of green is so dark and close to the shade of dark grey that it might not show - and as a friend said, what's the point of a contrast colour if there isn't much of a contrast?

Another friend joked about my initials on the gusset: "Does it stand for i armhålan (in the armpit)?" A week later it still makes me laugh :)

I first tried joining body and saddle using a three-needle bind-off, but it resulted in rather too thick ridges on the wrong side, so I'm grafting them like Maria suggested.

Friends in need!

grafting - maskstygn

Det var inte helt lätt att välja kontrastfärg till halskanten trots att jag inte hade mer än två att välja på: mörkgrönt med inslag av blått och mörkblått med inslag av grönt. Det blev den blå till slut; det som avgjorde saken var att den gröna är så mörk att en smal kant kanske inte skulle synas intill det mörkgrå. Som en vän sade, det är ju inte så stor mening med en kontrastfärg om det inte blir en kontrast.

En annan vän fällde en kommentar om initialerna på ärmkilen som fortfarande får mig att skratta högt: "Står det för i armhålan?"

Jag håller på och monterar sadeln med maskstygn, som Maria föreslog. Först provade jag att plocka upp maskor längs kanterna och avmaska dem tillsammans med maskorna på fram- respektive bakstyckena, men det blev lite för stumt och klumpigt på avigsidan.

Grafting "Viften/The Fan"

Grafting "Viften/The Fan", a photo by Asplund on Flickr.

I like avoiding seams as far as possible, not only because I don't like sewing, but also for comfort: why have welts at the back of the neck and under the arms if you can avoid them?

For this project I have learnt how to graft garter stitch. I have grafted stocking stitch before ("Kitchener stitch") and was happily surprised garter stitch was easier. Excellent instructions here. (Of course, this is a form of sewing too, but I don't mind it that much when the resulting seam looks like knitting.)

I have been asked how I modified the decreases knitting the border.

Here are the four kinds I've used:

1. "knit two together" for decrease to slant to the right.

2. "slip one as if to knit, slip one more as if to knit, put both back on left needle and knit them together through back loops" for decrease to slant to the left.

3. "slip one as if to knit, slip one more as if to knit,knit one, pass slipped stitches over the stitch just knitted" for a double decrease when the middle stitch is top of a purl ladder (to avoid a purl on top). You could simply knit three together (the knit stitch to the left would end up on top instead of the one to the right) but that decrease feels slightly more like a bump in my picky fingers' opinion.

4. "slip two together as if to knit, knit one, pass slipped stitches over the stitch just knitted" for a double decrease where the middle stitch end up on top of the other two.

"The Fan" construction

Isager's The Fan/Viften in progress, a photo by Asplund on Flickr.

This is what it looks like folded into proper shape;
makes me eager to start knitting the missing sleeves!

Late last night I finished the raglan-shaped back section from the armholes to the back of the neck. I think Marianne Isager's construction is ingenious!

The border is to be seamed and then attached to the back. I think I will graft the pieces (Kitchener stitch) instead of a three-needle bind-off to avoid a welt. For the same reason I will probably knit the border in the round if I make it again.