Monday 3 January 2011

Living on the edge


Estonian shawl wip
Originally uploaded by Asplund

Here's my first attempt at a border around the Estonian shawl. I really like the one in the original design (easy to see in the shawl knitted by Flickr's annalore) but knitting it separately and then sewing it on - no thanks. So, I decided to pick up stitches around the shawl and then knit the border pattern upside-down instead - and resize the pattern to match my number of stitches. (Anything to avoid sewing.)

Unfortunately, knitting a pattern with nupps in the round didn't work,at least not for me: no matter how I try one of the stitches next to a nupp becomes enormous, looking like a big hole. I thought about knitting this section back and forth instead, but finally decided to try something completely different instead. What I've done so far looks promising, but I haven't knitted enough for good pictures yet. Will get back!

Frogging the edge at least gave me an opportunity to take a picture of the shawl. I'm quite excited about it and wonder how big the finished shawl will be. Unblocked and without a border it's about 70 cm (27½ in) wide. I've knitted lace shawls with this yarn before and they grew considerably during blocking.

This one may not grow quite as much, though, since I'm using slightly thinner needles (3½ mm/ US 4) and I don't know if the nupps will make a difference.





Here are some basic notes how I knitted the baby cardigan:

  • I cast on ca 90 stitches.
  • After getting the desired width I knitted about 1/3 of the stitches with a separate thread (for the sleeve) and then went on as before.
  • When the back was wide enough I did the same thing for the second sleeve and then went on to knit the second front.
  • Strand removed and stitches picked up around the armholes; sleeves knitted in the round to desired length.
  • Shoulder joins sewn together.
  • Buttons sewn on and loops crocheted.
  • Strings crocheted to be able to tie the two fronts together on the inside.

Happy new year, everyone!

8 comments:

sanna said...

Följer din sjal med intresse! tycker också att sy på spetsen är på tok för mycket jobb. Ska bli roligt å se vad du hittar på.

ylva said...

ojoj oj! sjalen kommer bli fantastisk! Jag gillar när det blir reljef i mönstret, tänker på dina "pluppar"...

rosalia said...

Gorgeous!
I'm thinking that this year will be a year of lace. An orenburg shawl or estonian shawl is dancing in my mind but I don't know wich one.
I admire your patience and dedication.
Nupps are tedious but the result is stunning!
Waiting for block...

FadenStille said...

Auch dir ein ganz "bestrickendes" Neues Jahr ... so viele nupps, machen Runden und Reihen da wirklich einen Unterschied?
I am looking foward and wat I see is more than promising....
Anett

Marias garnhändelser said...

Sjalen blir fantastisk, tycker du är modig som bara vänder på kanten utan att prosticka lite först...det måste vara miljoner maskor runt om!

Anonymous said...

You definitely are an inspiration. I don't have any lace weight wool here or I would be knitting a shawl right now. It is gorgeous. And thanks for the pattern. Very kind of you.
Ron in Mexico

Anonymous said...

That shawl is going to be stunning. Good luck with the edging. And thanks for the pattern for baby sweater!

Anonymous said...

Bravo !! ton travail est vraiment fabuleux. Mon préféré reste le shawl qui est vraiment très très très beau. (tout comme toi d'ailleurs, n'est-ce pas mesdames ?! ^^)
Je suis d'accord avec Rosalia, cette année sera l'année du lace... À très bientôt, en espérant voir d'autres de tes prochains ouvrages.
Blandine (Fr)