The 2015 Fringe and Friends Knitalong is currently underway and the theme for this year is Cowichan-inspired knits. The chosen pattern is the Geometric Cowichan-styled Vest from the Japanese yarn and pattern company Pierrot. It looks to be a fun but daunting knit for many reasons, so a little pre-project planning was called for in order to make the process more enjoyable. Here's what I came up with so far:
=> Since the pattern is written in the Japanese-style, with the instructions mainly consisting of a page of schematics & several charts which outline the pattern stitch by stitch, a way to keep track of the charts is a must. Dusting off the magnetic chart-keeper that I had bought years ago and never used plus some highlighter tape.
=> The vest is knitted at a super-bulky gauge so I am using three strands of a worsted weight yarn held together. I decided to ball up the yarn ahead of time instead of pulling from three skeins while knitting. Boy, has this made a huge difference! Now the project is more portable and there are less skeins to manage at once (and less tangles).
=> Also trying my hand at catching floats every other stitch. This wouldn't be too much of a problem if the project was knitted in the round instead of flat. But since I am not very familiar with how to do this on the purl rows, I ended up making a cheat sheet of instructions after viewing these helpful series of videos by Andrea Rangel on Instagram. I had to adapt the instructions from two-handed stranded knitting to how I knit colorwork (both yarns carried in the right-hand).
Do you fun-proof your more complicated projects too? What kinds of things do you do? Oh, almost forgot the most important tip: take lots of tea/chocolate breaks :)
that really was brilliant to run those three strands together and ball them up that way.....i'm definitely going to remember that! And your reverse side is looking grand....I'm getting ready to do a stranded hat and might try to catch every other stitch, too. ???? maybe.
ReplyDeleteBrilliant! I am a planner so this post and your preparations make my heart sing. Your WS looks amazing. Well you done you!
ReplyDeleteSo smart to make all these preparations to ensure this to be an enjoyable project! I love the pattern you chose, especially with the dark green in it. And that magnetic chart keeper looks so nifty, where did you get it?
ReplyDeletethis is such a great idea - no I don't plan this sort of thing enough but clearly I need to, I particularly like the plenty tea/chocolate breaks instruction :) jenny xx
ReplyDeleteMy gosh, you are brave. The only colorwork I've done are beanies, a smaller scale. You prepped wonderfully so you won't have to fumble around.
ReplyDeleteThat is some serious colorwork going on! It already looks absolutely stunning, can't wait to see FO!
ReplyDeleteOh yes, I love the planning stage where I get all my notions, yarn and pattern in a project bag. Most of my bags are not cute, just simple plastic ones, but I like how I can put them flat and see through my ongoing projects even when I'm not knitting. If the pattern requires it, I also add a cute post it note, a pen and colored stickers to follow the charts. Then knitting can start.
ReplyDeleteI like the colors you chose for that vest. Looking forward to seeing the finished product.
I just try to make sure I have all the items I need. That is a win for me. LOL Half the time I leave home without the pattern, yarn, needles, you name it.
ReplyDeleteThis looks intense. However I agree if we take a little time to get organized on the thinking projects it can me the challenges more digestible. I can tell you like a challenge. The colors you have chosen are great and I know I will enjoy following your progress :)
ReplyDeleteGreat color choices, looking forward to seeing more as this evolves.
ReplyDeleteooh, cowichan! a great idea. I've not tried to catch floats every other stitch, I tend to catch them every 4th or 5th stitch instead, but it all depends on gauge and your comfort, of course. Highlighter tape is a brilliant idea!
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