knitting neels

This morning, I got sick of just looking at my three main UFOs – Alien Heads, Gatsby Girl and the green mess that currently is Granny Smith – and decided to do something about it. So, for the next three Fridays (well, including this one), I am going to have a FO. Next week will be Granny Smith and Birthday Hat week. The following week will be Gatsby Girl and Birthday Shawl week. So! Here it is! Finally!

It fits!

Pattern: Lotus Blossom Tank from Intwerweave Knits, Summer 2006.

Needles: Denise 3.75mm (for the whole thing).

Size: 33.5″ size but I am 36″ around. It fits fine.

Adjustments:

1. I didn’t use larger needles at the beginning as suggested because I didn’t want it to be too floppy.

2. I forgot to do the decreases at the bust line. At the time, I was afraid it would be too tight, so when I realised I didn’t bother ripping back and putting them in.

3. Because of this, I had different numbers when it came to divide and do the sleeves. I worked it out proportionately for the short rows. Eg. According to the pattern, I should have 80 stitches. I need to knit 66 before I turn and purl back. I actually have 100 stitches (or whatever). So cross-multiply: 80x = (66)(100). x = 6600 / 80 = 82.5, so knit 83 stitches before you turn, or whatever. I wasn’t exact but it turned out fine.

4. The schematic says that the body part should be 10.5″ but I made mine 16″ because I don’t like cropped tops. I added about four extra lace repeats and when it came to just knit plain for the bust, I kept knitting until it was the length I wanted before starting the armholes.

I am still not 100% happy about the neckline. One side has slightly fewer stitches than the other. I may rip it out and just do a simple single crochet around. It still needs to be pressed, there are a lot of lumps and bumps in it 🙂

Phew! I’d better get some practice done! Soooo looking forward to visting This is Knit tomorrow morning!