Last Autumn (2015), after 1 and a half years of a seemingly unending studying period, I decided to come back to teaching knitting & crochet. I stopped in order to focus more energy and time on my Master thesis. After it was finished, along with the bulk of the studying that had to be done, it seemed evident that I could once again work out a schedule that could also include teaching. While the schedule was not the most flexible, I was able to set up a new class (instead of multiple ones) in October with a new working format. This new format was quite successful, since the classes have continued until this month (June), which is certainly a first!
The classes take place in Mouselin Patisserie, as they did also in the initial 2012-2014 teaching period, and one of the results of the activity in the shop has been the request of custom made items. Today I will talk about the two first ones.
There is one girl that works in the shop that likes crop tops and ruffles (lots of them!), but she has a problem: she is quite petite, so it is difficult for her to find sweaters in her size (and style) in the women’s section of department stores. That’s how she came to me and asked for two made-to-fit sweaters. We discussed the style, design elements, colors and yarn, took measurements and I got to experiment! 😀
Sweater #1: The Grey Top.
This top is worked in DROPS Lima & Nepal, in the round and top-down. This was a great opportunity for me to test the long-desired Contiguous method by Susie Myers. It took me a couple of tries in the beginning, but soon I got the hang of it and went on working with it. Apart from this construction method, the sweater was quite simple: square neck, bracelet length sleeves and wavy ruffles at the body’s bottom edge. One detail I found surprising was this: how awkward and weird the sweater looked in the hanger and in the same time how well it fitted the recipient. Usually one sees a garment hang almost entirely flat on the hanger and look pretty nice, not… this!
I think that the reasons behind this are a) the measurements b) the construction method. The sweater was made to be tight fitting on the entire surface it covered, which had as a result a very specific shape and size. Also, the Contiguous method is quite clever: it is meant to be curvy like the body, not like the hanger.
Sweater #2: The Pink Top.
This top was worked in this simply adorable DROPS Brushed Alpaca Silk pink, again in the round and top-down. The Contiguous method was once again used with very slight mods regarding neckline (in this example, it is wider). The basic elements are the same as in the Grey Top, with the difference that ruffles now appear at the shoulders not the bottom of the body. These ruffles were quite different, as they required quite the trial and error: their position was tricky and most ideas I had, did not look very nice. In the end, I opted for three separate rows of very very ruffly but rather short in length, afterthought rows of stockinette.
Both items were quite enjoyable to work with, both because of the materials and the construction method. I got to practice something entirely new and work with fabulous yarns like Brushed Alpaca Silk – it is so soft and lightweight, almost ethereal! I definitely would work with it again in the future, even work on new designs with it. 😉 Not to the mention the Contiguous method that might simply become my go-to method for seamless top-down knitting, it is pretty genius! 😀 Thank you Susie Myers for sharing it with the world! 🙂
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