The Swatching Process

     Over the past few days I think I've nailed down the basic plan for my wedding dress!  I am knitting a sideways band for a wide neckline which will show some neck and shoulder skin, and the rest of the dress will be wide and flowy from there down.  I'm already pretty settled on the stitch patterns, too! For the neckband I will use a smocking stitch...

...and from there down it will be stockinette fading into some simple clusters of eyelets, starting with just a few and then more and more around the bottom of the dress.

     The next step is to figure out exactly how wide it will need to be for the look I'm going for.  I did a stockinette swatch in the round (since that part of the dress will be knit in the round, it's important to ensure my tension will be consistent) and found that I'm getting between 4-4.25 sts/inch.  So I'm starting by casting on for a little over 40 inches (six-plus inches of ease, which may or may not be enough).  Since I don't know what my eventual pattern repeat will be for the lacy section, I wanted to keep it flexible by choosing a number, in the range of 40", that was divisible by many other numbers. 168 is divisible by 3, 4, 7, 12, 24, and many more, so I am starting there.

     If this seems to be the right width, my next step will be to knit through one full ball in order to predict how many it will take to get my full length.  Here's hoping 168 is the magic number!

#bridebrain

I know I've been the WORST and not kept up with this blog at all, but that's about to change starting right now!

Ned and I got engaged this past Christmas Eve.  We have always planned to elope for our wedding.  I'll go into specifics another time, but suffice it to say that our wedding will be completely non-traditional.  It will be outdoors in a place where I can't exactly have my hair blown out and makeup done for me.  The one and only detail that is important to me is to wear a white dress that makes me feel beautiful.  I hadn't really thought much about the dress until a couple of days ago when I told one of my favorite customers (at the knitting shop where I work) that I was engaged, and she asked me if I was making anything for the wedding.  I haven't been able to stop thinking about it since!

In general I'm not a fan of knitted wedding gowns, at least not just for the sake of being knitted wedding gowns.  For me to knit my wedding dress, there must be a good reason why it would be knitted and not store bought, not woven material, etc.  I woudn't want to emulate a gown that could be bought.  However.  I am getting married in the last days of August, amongst a lot of hiking, camping, and canoeing with my love.  I need my dress to be light, loose, casual, flowy, comfortable, and fit for a goddess of the outdoors.  Not too hippie-ish, but somewhat.  Does that give you a good mental picture?

So today I was back at work and talking with my co-worker Karin, as we often do on slow days, about our current and potential projects.  I have been a finishing queen lately and feeling very justified in starting a new project.  Really, it's the best feeling in the world.  So I was obviously very excited and showed her the Rowan Pure Linen that I thought might be perfect for this dress.  She immediately shared my vision and said all the right things ("think about how much money you're SAVING by knitting this dress.") and so now I am totally committed.  Not only was she excited for my project, but she actually ended up buying some of the yarn in another color to knit a top from Rowan's Pure Linen Collection.  It's a Pure Linen knit-a-long!

The crunchiest, most perfect white linen.

Filet Lace Knitting

     For the button-down shirt I am creating for The Fiber Factor's first challenge "Knit Your Life," I wanted to juxtapose sections of Zitron Filisilk (laceweight 70% merino 30% silk) with sections of Shoppel-Wolle Leinen Los (light worsted weight 70% wool 30% linen).  Although I am blocking the laceweight to 5 sts/inch, there was still the matter of reconciling the row gauge.  I had in mind something with a garter stitch ground, which would "take up" and come closer to the 7.4 rows/inch I was getting with the laceweight (my main-color yarn).  Leinen Los knits up into a rustic, dry-hand fabric, and in my project it represents my Arizona roots.  Turning the pages of the trusty Mary Thomas's Book of Knitting Patterns, I thought a filet lace section would be perfect for some Arizona-inspired designs on the back yoke of my shirt.

     

With live stitches on the needle in my mc, I turned and cast on with the cc,
working the yoke sideways,
joining it to the back piece as if it were a knitted edging.

     Filet lace knitting is composed of two units:  Blocks and Spaces.  Each unit is three stitches by four rows. It is very easy to chart a filet lace pattern of your own, as I have done for this project.  Just remember that the design should be suggested by the solid Blocks, surrounded by Spaces.

I've oriented this photo so you can make sense of how it looks in my piece,
but remember it was worked sideways starting from the right side of the chart.
The chart begins with the solid row of blocks on the right edge.

How to Knit Filet Lace from a Chart:

     Each chart square is 3 stitches wide by 4 rows tall.  Each chart square is either a Block or a Space.

     To work a Block:

Knit the 3 stitches on all 4 rows (garter stitch).

     To work a Space:  

Rows 1 and 3:  Perform a Double Yarn Over.  Slip a stitch knitwise.  Slip another stitch knitwise.  Pass the first slipped stitch over the second slipped stitch.  Now slip a third stitch knitwise.  Pass the second slipped stitch over the third slipped stitch.  Lastly, insert left needle into the third slipped stitch and knit it normally.

Rows 2 and 4:  knit stitch, knit first yo, purl second yo.

     To begin, cast on the number of squares in the first row x 3, plus any edge stitches (which are not included in the chart).  Let's add 3 edge stitches on the right and 2 on the left.  In this example, 7 x 3 = 21 + 5 edge stitches = 26.  Cast on 26.

     Rows 1-4:  knit edge stitches, make 3 spaces, 1 block, 3 spaces, knit edge stitches.

     Rows 5-8:  knit edge stitches, make 2 spaces, 3 blocks, 2 spaces, knit edge stitches.

...and so on.

     Filet Lace Knitting is something I've had on the back-burner since I first read an article touching on the subject about two years ago.  What stuck out in my mind was that it was a lace technique based on squares, rather than the soft, round motifs you achieve with most lace knitting techniques.  I've seen many examples of filet crochet that are quite exquisite (this comes from someone who generally does not prefer the look of crochet), but I will have to do more research to find out whether filet knitting has ever really been widely used.  I've had trouble finding much information or examples of the technique, especially from contemporary knitters.  The unevenness of this section gives me a hunch about why it isn't popular, but for my part I am very pleased with its rusticity in this project.  For a more even tension, Mary Thomas does recommend using a firm gauge on something like fine cotton.

Back on Blogger!

     After a yearlong absence, I'm back in the blogosphere!  During the break I focused on developing my work and figuring out exactly what direction I want to go, taking things one step at a time.  If you've stumbled into this blog, you are probably a family member aware that I'm trying to break into the knitwear design community.  I can feel the momentum building in my life and I just know that 2013 is going to be my best year yet!

My first two orders of business this year were:

     1.  Enter Franklin Habit's Templeton Design Contest on Knitty!

     2.  Apply to be one of the 12 contestants for Skacel's online reality show The Fiber Factor!

     How did these first two "steps" work out for me?  Not exactly how I was hoping, but I do see glimmers of hope.  Although I didn't win the Templeton Design Contest, the project page for my contest entry (Poinsettia) saw a sudden surge of attention on Ravelry about three weeks ago.  The number of hearts and requests for the pattern from fellow Ravelers warms my heart and definitely feels like a major win to me!  As for The Fiber Factor, I gave my application an honest assessment, found its weak points, and I'm confident that I can send in a more convincing application next year.  In the meantime, I'm thrilled that they've invited "watchers" like me to participate in the challenges.  They are posting project photos on thefiberfactor.com, and even awarding prizes.  The way I see it, this is still a huge opportunity to gain exposure in the knitting community.  I'm not sure if my budget will allow me to participate in all seven challenges, but like I said...one step at a time.