Sunday, March 08, 2009
I finally finished one of my "lust knits"
You know the ones that you covet after seeing it on someone else for "oh so" long...the ones where you make all the preparations in getting the pattern and purchasing the yarn.
Yep that would be this one! 
Pattern: It's the Pimlico Shrug from the Knit 2 Together book. The collar had me at Hello!! :oD
I really have been wanting to make this sweater for about two years, and can now finally mark it as "conquered" :o)
Size: I casted on for the small/medium size knowing I would shorten the length of this shrug.
As someone simply put it this is just a blanket with sleeves! ;op
Time: I picked up my needles to begin this project at the very end of December and put them down by the end of February all while not being monogamous (when am I ever?!?), which explains all those fun mini knits you all have been seeing as they have kept my sanity! Haha!
Let me just say this thing grows like grass on your needles!!! It really does seem like an endless knit because there is soooo much of the body to do that is one huge square block, and then there is soooo much ribbing of the neckline to do! As some of you may recall I started fondly calling it "The Beast" towards the end! ;op
Needles: Using my Harmonies in US 5 for ribbing, US 7 for body, and US 6 for binding off. While utilizing the 36" cord for magic looping the sleeves, the 40" cord for the body of the shrug and then the 47" cord for picking up stitches and ribbing of the collar.
Yarn & Cost: I originally purchased 8 skeins of Malabrigo worsted in Stonechat (my 2nd fav colorway!)
But only needed to use 5 skeins total (having about half leftover on the 5th skein!). So it cost about $50 for this shrug instead of what I originally thought to be $80 in the Mal yarn. It also worked out well that one of my fellow Purl pals ended up buying my extra skeins :)
I truly do not plan on knitting with Malabrigo for large garments ever again (except to finish up Ms. Rho that is already OTN and quietly hibernating), as this yarn does not wear very well at all.
I can already see the "afro haze" and fuzz balls after only one wear!! Just like on my Buttony sweater...pfft. I do not like that at all.
I now plan to keep my use of Malabrigo limited to only accessory knit items.What I learned: Honestly not much at this point. When I actually desired to do this project I was a very new knitter so the entire thing terrified me, especially the collar and how I would have to pick up stitches with little experience.
Since then I've worked on many projects having done everything I needed to know by the time I made the shrug making it that much easier.
I didn't even dread picking up and knitting all those kazillion stitches (total of 478 to be exact)!
It just dawned on me that I had to M1P for the first time ever and was completely stumped on that for the increases. Thank goodness for the abbreviations in the back of the book. :o) That was a great new little tip I learned!
Modifications & Recommendations: There is quite a few here on this project and I will try to highlight them all.
I didn't get the bright idea to switch up the stitch pattern until I saw Yarn Abuse's Pimlico Yay!! Because the original stitch pattern had too many rows in the repeat for me to concentrate on ;op A hole is a hole is a hole is a hole Haha!
I just wanted something light and easy, so I altered stitch pattern to be: R1: {K2, YO, K2tog} last 3 sts knit; R2: K2 {K2, YO, K2tog} last 5 sts knit. Over the 161 sts
Knitted the body for only 18.5" to avoid the slouch in the lower back
However, the way the shrug is structured (square then pick up in a circle) you can't avoid the bat wings ;op I knew that going into this knit.
When seaming for the armholes I almost got twisted and thought to do the bind off and cast on edge, but you truly do the side seams! I mattress seamed the sleeves in for 5 1/2 inches, and should have left an extra inch as there is no budge since you are working with edges (so make sure you leave enough room as it can get tight around your arms).
I also picked up around the armhole then began knitting for the sleeve, rather than knitting the sleeves separately to attach later (nixing the whole seaming exercise).
When I did that I had about 26 sts. (half of the recommended stitches) and it was waaaaaaaaaaaaay too tight!
I could take my blood pressure with that! LOL
So I ripped back and still picked up for the number of stitches that was on the armhole (26 sts) then increase the next round by doing (kfb) in each stitch to double the count. Much better!! The 1st armhole came out great at 52 sts. then the 2nd one was 42 sts. and is a bit tight.
Highly recommend going with the 52 sts count on the sleeves.
I also shortened the sleeves by 1 inch in the 2x2 section, based on some comments by others that the sleeves were too long. But now wish I had knitted the full 10.5" sleeve (rather than a total of 9.5") as I like the long length.
As far as the collar instead of binding off the body I kept those stitches live and then came around to pick up the other half of the stitches for a total of 318 (later increased to the 478 with the 3x3 ribbing).
That worked out well for the lower part of the body to drape nicely. But if I had to do it all over again I would have bound off and took the time to pick up the stitches again for a better "structured" look.
Verdict: I am torn. As this has been one of my highly sought after knits, with lots of hours clocked in, but can't see myself really wearing it outside the house much.
As you can see so much has changed since my last post. It is sunny and mid 70s here this weekend!! So the shrug is really not needed outside anymore! I really was trying to beat the spring fever spell!
I am sure there will be a few more brisk days ahead and since the Malabrigo gets your body heat up super fast (read as: "hot as hell" LOL) I think this will now become my new house shrug, replacing my beloved Bobbilicious.
Glad to get the Pimlico Shrug out of my system, and I now have a new fav "cozy up in" knit!
I'm sorry to hear about the fuzzing and pilling, though, as I have a scarf started in the stonechat colorway.
Have a great weekend. Good to know the weather is nice in your area.
LOL@ blood pressure lol
Malabrigo is a beautiful and luxurious yarn, however, it is not for garments, imo. Just for the fact that is fuzzes so much. It is an affordable luxury for small items such as scarves and hats. It's so soft, that it's nice to wrap around your neck because it feels like butter. Then if it fuzzes, as it will, it's all good
I wish I could remember exactly what she said but an older knitter once told me that the fuzzing & pilling of yarns was okay and normal and eventually it goes away. I think she said to use one of those stones they sell for removing pills. Well so much for a helpful comment but ti does look fantastic on you!!
You did a great job and wrote another great post. I liked this pattern when i saw it but now that i have seen yours i like it even more.
yours is beautiful!
That stuff is s gorgeous -- it's really too bad that it doesn't hold up better. Kind of funny, too, how some of our "must have" projects turn out to be kind of "meh" at the end.
Yup, that's the conclusion I came to myself -- love the Mal, but use it for accessories only. Soooo not into the hanging clumps of fuzz :(
I've got some silky Mal and I think I'm going to knit a swatch first and pin it in my jacket for a few days and see how it holds up before I make anything bigger out of it.
Enjoy your week!
PS Is it me or are you becoming the shrinking woman??x
You did such a fine job on this piece and your pics are fab!
Love the photos!
Gosh, I've missed a lot! Your fingers have been on the move.