Saturday, March 10, 2012

At long last....

... I finally have some decent shots of my Lore Hoodie.
Once I got the buttons in the right place, it fit a little better, so I'm pretty happy with it. I would eventually like to change out the faux-horn toggles for some nice plain wooden ones, but I haven't been able to find any I like just yet. The faux-horn ones were in Mom's stash, so they'll do the job for now.
There are several mods to this pattern - the most obvious are the sleeves. The pattern calls for plain 1/2 sleeves, but since I wanted to wear this as a coat - that wasn't going to cut it. Not long after starting the lace for the skirt, I had the brain-wave to mimic it on the sleeves. The result, as you can see, is a nice bell sleeve.The pattern also calls for chunky - but I used a super-chunky. knit on 6.5 mm needles, it created a nice thick, firm fabric, better suited to outwear than a cardigan I think. Final mods were small construction-based changes. I didn't bother casting off at the neck, then picking up stitches for the hood - I just kept knitting the hood. Also, I grafted the seam of the hood closed instead of casting off and seaming. For the front bands, I knit them right to the edge (much like the construction of the 10-stitch blanket) - saving another little bit of sewing.
This yarn is an alpaca/merino/silk blend (dyed by me). We don't carry it in our shop, it was something special offered by our supplier - but I can recreate the colour (Vampy). I have some in Fluffy Cat Lite in my stash. It definitely is warm - it was hovering around freezing today while I was out and about and I wore this instead of my winter coat.

So, all in all, not a bad pattern and garment. My fingers are starting to itch to make a cardigan now...

11 comments:

Zenitude said...

It looks so good on you. I love the length. I wish I had the patience and talent to take on such a project.

Rachelle said...

Looks lovely and warm, suits you well. Love the kitty; neither of mine like being picked up; it's lap time or no time for them

Anonymous said...

Very pretty. I love those bell sleeves.

Minding My Own Stitches said...

Very nice! I love all the mods you made - lacy bell sleeves especially. It's still pretty chilly here the last couple of days so I'd still be wearing the hood up!

Monika said...

After finishing this huge project, you deserve to cast on a cardigan! Do you know which one yet? What yarn are you going to use?

Delusional Knitter said...

It is beautiful! I agree on plain wooden toggles. The sleeves are great!

gayle said...

Your mods really make it a prettier sweater than the original... Romantic and lovely!
(I'm jealous of your no-snow-on-the-ground. *sigh*)

lexa said...

Love it!

Araignee said...

It's gorgeous!

Barbara from Nova Scotia said...

Well done! It's perfect with your changes!

RobinH said...

Looks wonderful! And the cat accessorizes well. :)