2022 Fashion On The Ration Challenge

PipneyJane

PollyWollyDoodle said:

@skogar I have also made the owl sweater and I agree with Pip, it's a good first project. I think it was only my second full-size garment, I'd mainly done baby clothes before. Cabling is much easier than it looks, and the pattern is really well written.

However it is a fairly fitted style as I remember (I made it for a niece) - it's designed to have 'negative ease'  so if you want to wear it over something else you might want to go up a size. 

Also you can leave out the waist shaping, if you want but it is worth tracking the rounds for them, since one of the measurements is “from the end of the  waist shaping”.

- Pip

Laura_Elsewhere

TwibbleDee said:

New goal with my knitting stuff that I haven't touched in forever: I will figure out how to knit myself wristers (fingerless gloves with a thumb hole) before it gets cold.   

I'm making these for my Aged Ps for Xmas - really it's just a straight tube; no need for any shaping... once it's long enough from wrist to thumb-base, knit flat for an inch and then go back to knitting in the round. 

Laura_Elsewhere

@skogar, I'm the dissenter, sorry, sorry... 

The Owls sweater was my very first-ever garment too, but ended up frogged because the fit in the size I knitted was so peculiar it basically created a pair of, er, protrusions on the back, so you had a bust on both sides, so to speak... it also had alarmingly skintight sleeves that you pretty much couldn't get your arms into. 

I was very disappointed, wore it a few times, tries pressing the back flat, and eventually sadly unravelled the whole thing and gradually used the wool for other things. 

Now, it's entirely possible that glitch has been corrected since those far-off days - BUT I really would recommend reading every review you can find of the size you want to make, and look at the completed projects over in Rav to read those notes and see if it's still an issue. 
afaik the pattern worked perfectly in all the smaller sizes, but the larger size I knitted was... not really graded up properly. 

enkeltliv

Are you talking about the Kate Davies Owl sweater? With the little buttons for eyes? If so that is what made me want to take off with my knitting, however, I still, to this day, haven't cast it on and I don't think I ever will now. Hopefully the grading is better as she's got quite the reputation to uphold these days and the knitting community expect a lot from Indie pattern designers in terms of size inclusively and proper grading and testing. 

Thanks for the welcome, lovely to be here. 😊 

Laura_Elsewhere

enkeltliv said:

Are you talking about the Kate Davies Owl sweater? With the little buttons for eyes? If so that is what made me want to take off with my knitting, however, I still, to this day, haven't cast it on and I don't think I ever will now. Hopefully the grading is better as she's got quite the reputation to uphold these days and the knitting community expect a lot from Indie pattern designers in terms of size inclusively and proper grading and testing. 

Thanks for the welcome, lovely to be here. 😊 

Yes, I believe she was very ill at one point, so maybe the glitch got past her then - my failed effort was a good 15-20 years ago (!)... 

I've seen the little owls cabling design used beautiful in some other ways, mind you - the backs of mittens, and round a pull-on hat... maybe you could experiment with something smaller and less scary? The actual cabled-owl is an older one - I think it was around just after the war for children, but it took Kate Davies to see the application of them in an adult's sweater! 

I think I'm baking this weekend, so if people are around on Monday, there should be some jam tarts...  I'll drop them off on my way to the old quarry to go swimming   

skogar

Many thanks for all the comments on the owl jumper. It looks like the pattern has been revised as there are comments about the changes in sizing looks to be across the whole range of sizes and it looks like the waist shaping may have been taken out now. here are some comments about the back but it is unclear whether or not this is due to the older pattern as it isn't clear often which pattern has been used. Also unclear whether it might be affected by the amount of ease used.

Certainly the owl themselves don't look that difficult - as Pip said - looks like there are only 3 rows with fairly simple cabling so definitely the owls themselves should be achievable. So even if I don't decide to make the owl sweater itself then I think I can knit some owls for use elsewhere. Pattern itself looks relatively straight forward.

Really useful info Laura especially on the arm measurements - I would never have thought to check that. Polly - a good comment about sizing - I am unclear on what amount of ease is suitable here but I am guessing I am looking at least 1 or 2 sizes up as the pattern says to pick the size for the amount of ease you want - so none built in. It would leave me very tight on yarn. looking a a 45-46" chest size wih no ease with no ease 46.75" would need 7x120m = (next size up 50.5" is the same number of balls and 53" would be 8x120m) I only have 1000m of Drops Eskimo (super chunky I think - drops yarn group ) yarn so perhaps it is too risky. Not really sure either how much ease I should be adding.

Not really sure now whether to try the owls or go for something else.

Only other thing I've spotted which might be easier to get to fit and I would have enough yarn (I'd need to make the largest size is this. Capo (Effectively a poncho with holes for the arms.) Not sure how well it would work in the Eskimo (suggested needle size for the eskimo is 9mm - the capo pattern is 8mm). No owls though!

https://www.ravelry.com/patterns/library/capo

I've now realised that drops eskimo has now been renamed drops snow for some reason.

If anyone has any bright ideas of a very easy jumper or similar to knit (ideally knitted in the round) which I can knit in a suitable size for a 45/46" chest with 1000m of super bulky wool please it would be very useful.

Laura_Elsewhere

@skogar - DROPS do quite a few designs for Snow which use less than 1000m - this one uses 905m for the XXL size https://www.garnstudio.com/pattern.php?id=10575&cid=19

I used Rav's pattern search and specified plus-fit, Super-bulky, 9mm, and 800-1000m and there are loads - and of course you can check the notes in finished or frogged projects to see if people had problems!

https://www.ravelry.com/patterns/search#craft=knitting&weight=super-bulky&needles=9.0mm&fit=adult+plus&meterage=800|1000&sort=best&view=captioned_thumbs

Gem-gem

Liverpool_Anne said:

Hi all,
@enkeltliv, welcome aboard, this is a very friendly and knowledgeable group, though you are obviously very knowledgeable yourself. I have learnt so much from following and occasionally posting , there is always someone who can help if you need it and they always share knowledge which is so generous. Looking forward to seeing what you make.
Take care everyone

Yes, @enkeltliv, welcome and I will second what Liverpool_Anne has said. Please do post pictures when you have finished making your creative wares. 

skogar

@enkelliv - Definitely love to see pics of any makes. :-)

Cherryfudge

Hello everyone, I'm loving all this creative talk. Welcome 'newbies', I can see you are going to be regulars round the stove at the Village Hall, right in the thick of things! In fact, where have you been up to now? You fitted right in.

I have been not-spending coupons again... another pair of jeans from a car boot sale (slightly longer than usual so hopeful they will be a bit of insulation if it gets cold) and around 850g of a super-bulky yarn (like this but charcoal grey with flecks) with which I might make a jumper for DH... if there's enough, it's only 57m per 100g. One ball is a nice purple so the jumper, if it comes into existence, won't be unremitting grey. All from the car boot sale so no coupons. So now to start pattern hunting.

I am in danger of having far too many projects on the go yet again. There's a blue jumper for DH that requires dedicated time and a fair bit of counting, there's a toy for DGD which is going to require a moment of thought and really I've neglected it, there's a little winter dress for DGD too, but I've been practicing the lacy pattern on it and can't quite get it to do as it's told. So what do I do but get interested in something else!

I have to admit today's yarn isn't pure anything (only 10% wool) but I have at least saved it from landfill. I can see the range of yarn has lots of nice variations should I need to supplement with more colours - anyone remember the grey and red jumper with the vertical stripe that took me absolutely ages and taught me lots?! This could be another. I'm not sure that pattern would adapt to this yarn though, and the stripes would have to be horizontal - I need a break from intarsia.

And on a related subject, what with rationing and all, I'm loving that so many apple tree owners are sharing their bounty for free or very little. We bought a few bags of small apples for a fraction of shop prices while we were car booting today, and DH got  a few more from a give-away box while out cycling. I'm also buying the occasional L!dl £1.50 box of less-than-perfect fruit and veg, and batch baking potatoes (they always have potatoes in!) which I then freeze. 

Incidentally, I've just come across instructions to make Steiner dolls in a craft book. I could see them being a great way to use scraps of felted fabric, or even jersey from tee shirts, as well as apparently being good for imaginative play (okay, and fun to make). The same book has instructions to make soap using supermarket ingredients. So I'm not short of projects.