2018 make nine

This is the first year that I have taken part in #2018makenine which was started by Rochelle of Home Row Fiber Co. 

In previous years it has past me by and I assumed it was more of a sewists thing – I once tried to be a sewist but I am a knitter at heart – but this year some of the knitters I following on Instagram were posting their plans and I thought I should join in.

I read Rochelle’s post and I thought 2018 make nine seems to be able making a capsule wardrobe (sorry Rochelle if I have read into this wrong), but I’m not really aiming to have a me made capsule wardrobe, probably because I’m not a sewist, but also because I do love a fine knit jumper, something that a hand knitter would never be able to make, but I do like the idea of having some sort of plan for the year and see how well I do. So I have done my own take on it:

• Three unfinished objects – so they actually get done
• Three work in progresses – so they don’t get side tracked by all the other patterns that I want to knit
• Three cast ons for 2018

Without futher ado here they are:

 

Unfinished objects (top row L – R):

1. My granny square blanket
2. Thor by Kim Hargreaves

3. Rohit the Peacock by Kerry Lord

Work in progress (middle row L – R):

1. Bleak by Kim Hargreaves
2. Kitten by Kim Hargreaves
3. Sweater weather socks by Tabitha Gandee

Cast on’s for 2018 (bottom row L – R)

1. Brackett by Whitney Hayward

2. Tulle Shawl by Helen Stewart

3. Thunderbird 3 jumper by Patons for my nephew

Please note that the only photo that is mine is my granny squares most others have been taken from the Ravlry pattern pages. The Thunderbirds picture was taken from Pinterest.

Hopefully I will get them all finished by the end of 2018!

Are you planning to take part in 2018makenine?

And of course thank you Rochelle for staring it!

Happy knitting!

Suse xx

Pattern Review: Raglan Jersey Suit

The basic stats

Pattern name: Raglan Jersey Suit (note this is just the jumper)

Pattern Book/Booklet: Second Size Woollies in P&B wools of 4-ply weight (Booklet number 406)

Date of publish: 1950s

Wool required: 3 oz Patons Beehive Fingering 4-ply

Needles required: Two No.12 and No.10* Beehive or Queen Bee needles measured by Beehive gauge

­Buttons: Four

Wool used:  Around 1 and a bit balls of Patons Fairytale Soft 4 ply, I ran out of wool and so also used some Berger Ideal because that is the closest thing I could get my hands on at the time

Needles used: Two No.12 and No.10

Would I knit it again: No – the pattern is a bit plan, I think would rather try a new pattern

Tension: As this is a baby garment I did not check my tension, the tension required is 7sts and 9 rows to one square inch on No.10 needles, measure over stocking stitch

Finished measurements: Chest measurement 18 inch measured flat

Sleeve length 7 inch from underarm seam

The sleeve length matches the booklet however it is meant to fit an 19inch chest, although there is some stretch in the knitting.

More in depth thoughts after the pictures…

 

 

More in depth thoughts:

There isn’t much to say about this project it was quite an easy knit. I ran out of wool which was irritating, I was on holiday at the time and the while wool was the closest wool that I could come across, although I think it looks quite nice with the contrast collar.

As styling goes I think this is quite a timeless jumper, and so could be given to someone who was a fan of more modern clothes as not everyone wants to put their babies in matinee coats and pram suits.

I know quite I few baby’s due to be born in 2016 so this is a good jumper to have in the stockpile.

This is the second knit from this pattern book, the first pattern can be found here. I also have plans to make the final top in the pattern booklet – Bears in his Pockets later this year. Personally I think this one is the cutest pattern, so it will be interesting to see how I feel after I have knitted it.

Miss S

xx

 

*Note that these are imperial sizes, a No.12 is approximately 2.75mm and No.10  is approximately 3.25mm

Pattern Review: Coat with a Round Yoke

The basic stats

Pattern name: Coat with a Round Yoke

Pattern Book/Booklet: Coats for the first 6 months in Patons Quickerknit (Booklet number 474)

Date of publish: 1950s

Wool required: 3 oz Patons Quickerknit Baby Wool, Patonised, or Pations Brilliante Quickerknit Baby, 100% Bri-Nylon

Needles required: Two No. 7* Beehive or Queen Bee needles measured by Beehive gauge

Wool used:  1 x 100g Rico Baby So Soft DK colourway melon

Needles used: Two No.7 needles

Would I knit it again: Yes

Tension: As this is a baby garment I did not check my tension, the tension required is 5.5 st and 7.5 st to one square inch on No.7 needles measured over stocking stich

Finished measurements: Chest measurement 19 inches

Sleeve length to underarm 4.5

This matches the measurements in the book

More in depth thoughts after the pictures.

 

 

More in depth thoughts: As you may be able to tell, the top of my knit does not have the picot edge at the neck edge, this is because I ran out of wool when I got to the neck, this coat is knitted from the top up which is quite fun, but it means that I am around 6 rows out at the top

As I only had one ball of this wool I didn’t really want to buy another 100g for just six rows (also this wool is currently on sale on the John Lewis website)

I would like to knit it again so that I get all of the rows in at the top as it does look quite pretty, it was an easy pattern and pretty effective.

As this was knitted on No.7 needles it was incredibly quick to knit up, the speed of the knit is also helped by it mainly being stocking stich.

This was also the first time that I had used this rico wool, I really loved the colour of it, I had become a bit bored of knitting baby garments in light colours.

As I had gone for a bright colour as soon as I saw the glitter button I knew they were the ones.

 

I hope that everyone has had a Merry Christmas surrounded by family and friends.

 

Miss S

xx

 

*Note that these are imperial sizes, this roughly equates to a 4.5mm needle

Pattern review: Ely

The basic stats

Pattern name: Ely

Pattern Book/Booklet: Patons Fairytale Cheeky Cherubs

Date of publish: 2008

Wool required: Patons Fairytale DK

2 x 50g balls for 3-6 month size (there are a total of 4 sizes available in the book)

Needles required: 1 x 3.25 mm (UK 10) and 1 x 4mm (UK 10)

Wool used:

Rico baby classic DK colourway 023 Eisblau

I ended up using just under 2 50g balls

Needles used: UK 10 and UK 8

Would I knit it again: This is a quick knit and looks quite effective, I have made it before and I will probably make it again, I would also recommend it as a introduction to cabling

Tension: I’m half tempted to leave this out because I will always say ‘It’s a baby’s so I just went for it’ but I feel like I should acknowledge that checking tension is Knitting 101

Finished measurements: Chest measurement (unstretched) 14 inches

Chest measurement (stretched) 20 inches

Sleeve length to underarm 6.5 inches

This matches the measurements in the book

More in depth thoughts after the pictures. In the pictures the cardigan is unstretched but due to entire pattern being a 1×1 cable the whole cardigan is essentially a fancy 2×2 rib so has a lot of stretch in it.

The only change I made on the pattern was that I knitted the button band up with the front pieces (I made the right side first so I decided where I wanted my buttonholes on the left hand side. The only thing to remember with this is that you have an extra 5 stitches when working the armhole decrease.

I do this because:

1. I try to minimise the amount of sewing up I have to do
2. I always seems to knit the wrong length for sewn on button bands, so when I sew it on it ends up being too loose or too tight.

Other than that I followed the pattern.

This is a really easy pattern to follow, and the cable is really simple for anyone who is new to cabling as it doesn’t need a cable needle.

Miss S xx

Pattern review: Changing Guards at Buckingham Palace

The basic stats

Pattern name: Changing Guards at Buckingham Palace

Pattern Book/Booklet: Coronation Knits by Susan Crawford

Date of publish: June 2012

Wool required: Susan Crawford Fenella 2 ply wool:

4 x skeins main colour

1 x skein red

1 x skein black

1 x skein white

Needles required: 1 x 2.75mm circular needle 60cm, 1 x 3.25mm circular needle 60cm long and a pair 40cm long

Wool used:

Patons Fairytable Fab 4ply – 2 x 01053

Patons Fairytale Fab 4 ply – 1 x 01001

Patons Fairytale Fab 4 ply – 01030

Patons Diploma Gold 4 ply – 04285

Needles used: 2.5mm 60cm circular needles, 3.5mm 80cm circular needles

Would I knit it again: Once I am better at colour work I may make it again

Tension: Normal response to tension squares (I only really swatch when it is something for me, I know that is bad) and I just went for the needles that I could get my hands on.

Finished measurements: I forgot didn’t get time to measure it before I gave it away

More in depth thoughts after the pictures.

So I don’t normally get that interested in the royals, although I do think the Queen is awesome, but I have never really closely followed the royals are up to. However, when I saw the pictures of Prince George for his 2^nd birthday I thought I would have to make the little sleeveless pullover.

I knitted a pram suit for one of the people I work with son, which was from the time of the coronations in 1953, so I thought he would be the perfect person to knit this for.

Apart from the colour work this was a pretty quick (no sleeves!) and easy knit. I used needles that were a different size to those recommended because I knitted this while on holiday on Spain, I brought the needles the day before I left and they were the sizes that I was able to get.

And some points there are three colours been worked in a row, this really slowed me down, and as you may be able to tell from the pictures, my tension went a bit off on the during the soldiers. However, I am a beginner at colour work, so anyone would the soldiers shouldn’t put anyone off.

The knitting pattern also comes with instructions to knit it on a round, or to knit flat which is nice to be able to pick which style you knit. As I have an aversion to sewing up any sort of seams I went for the circular needles.

As for the wool I was really pleased with how Fab knitted up, the only reason I used black in a diploma gold was because they didn’t have Fab in black in the shop I brought the wool from

Miss S xx

Vintage pattern inspiration: The Jester Wool company

Pretty pattern time:

The first one is Jester 1008, it is an amazing knitting pattern for a jumper, hat and gloves. This is the first Jester knitting pattern that I found, I got it from a vintage shop when I was a student in Exeter. It was £8 so much more than I normally spend on vintage patterns, but the picture was so nice I thought I would have to buy it.

I have discovered that this pattern is contained in Susan Crawford’s book which contains modern sizings and alternative wool if you wanted to have a go at knitting this.

The second Jester pattern that I have is publication 1021.

This one was an ebay purchase, again it was more than I normally pay for a pattern, but the artwork is amazing.

A little about the company:

Jester Company Limited was established in October 1944, the patterns have been seen in advertised in the late 1940s and early 1950s. The company dissolved in 1997 (more detail about the company can be found here)

The company also has a number of baby patterns, examples can be found here, more examples of women’s patterns can be found here and here.

Has anyone else found any more of these pretty patterns?

Hopefully you won’t have too much pattern envy

Miss S xx

Pattern review: Baby’s dress and coat set

The basic stats

Pattern name: Baby’s dress and coat set

Pattern Book/Booklet: Knitted Garments for the Family

Date of publish: 1950*

Wool required: 8oz 3-ply baby wool

Needles required: 2 No. 9 and 4 No. 11 knitting needles

Wool used: Katia New Babette 50g (less than 4 balls used)

Needles used: As suggested

Would I knit it again: Maybe

Tension: Normal response to tension squares (I only really swatch when it is something for me, I know that is bad) required tension is 7 sts. and 9 rows to 1 inch

Finished measurements: Dress: chest 14in, sleeve length 3in, length from cast on to cast off edge 14.5in. Coat: chest 16in, sleeve length 8in, length from cast on to cast off edge 10in. Note that these are approximate, the pattern also has quite a lot of stretch in it.

More in depth thoughts after the pictures.

The slightly rambling thoughts: Am I the only person that ever knits something because of the baby in the picture? It was the baby in the picture that made me knit this pattern and also because it does look like quite a cute set.

Looking at the pattern compared to the pictures in the book I probably should have swatches it first, as I think I may have wanted a slightly thicker wool or smaller needles because mine looks quite loose compared to the pictures in the book.

The comment under the picture says ‘Warm and cosy for chilly days, this charming little dress is knitted in pale pink wool’ and after knitting it all in white I think that I should have knitted it in a colour now because I’m not quite sure if it looks too much like a christening outfit.

The pattern was surprisingly quick to knit up, although the yoke took more work because of the rib. In the pattern the yoke of both dress and coat are knitted on 4 needles, after trying and failing with the needles, I knitted the yoke of the coat on 2 straight number 11 and knitted the yoke of the dress and circular needles.

The armhole seams weren’t the easiest to sew up, and because all the pieces were knitted individually there were some long seams to sew up at the end.

Overall I think it is quite a cute pattern and would maybe have a go and knitting it in some slightly thicker wool.

Miss S xx

*1950 is the date that is given on Amazon, no date has been printed in the book

** These are the British imperial sizes, these are roughly a 3.75mm and 3mm respectively. Don’t ask me why but there is no metric equivalent for a no. 9 so you can either go for a 3.5mm or 4mm, tension it out to see what is best for you would be my advice

Pattern Review: Round Yoke Cargian

The basic stats:

Pattern name: Round Yoke Raglan

Pattern Book/Booklet: Two Rangelands – up to nine months

Date of publish: 1959*

Wool required: 3oz Patons Baby wool 3-ply pationsied or 3oz Patons Brilliante 3-ply 100% bri-Nylon

Needles required: Number 11**

Wool used: Katia New Babette (I used 1 50g ball with some left overs)

Needles used: No.11

Would I knit it again: It was a pretty simple raglan cardigan so I think it’s a maybe with a tendency to knit again.

Tension: You will learn that I don’t really tension it out for baby knits

Finished measurements: Chest 18 inches

More thoughts after a couple of pictures

The slightly rambling thoughts: I knitted this because I don’t really like sewing in sleeves so I went for a yoked cardigan.

The lacy pattern was really easy and makes it slightly different. then just a plain yoked cardigan. It is one of those inoffensive cardigans that could become one of my standard knits, it’s not particularly exciting but was quite easy to knit.

The only change I made was a knitted the fronts and back in one piece until the armholes, because yay less seams!

I also only gave it two buttons because I missed the middle buttonhole in the pattern, so I would say keep an eye out for that.

What does everyone think?

Miss S xx

* 1959 is a date on Amazon, no really reason to doubt this, I have always assumed these were 1950-60 patterns

**This is an imperial size, this would be a modern day 3mm needle, however you can normally get imperial sized needles from charity shops.

Pattern review: Double-breasted Dolman Jacket

Pattern name: Double-breasted Dolman Jacket

Pattern Book/Booklet: Second Size Woollies in P&B wools of 4-ply weight (Booklet number 406)

Date of publish: 1950*

Wool required: 3oz Patons Beehive Fingering 4-ply

Needles required: Number 10 and number 12*

Wool used: Patons Fairytale Soft 4ply (I used 2 50g balls and had some left overs)

Needles used: No.12 and No.10

Would I knit it again: Probably not

Tension: I was naughty and didn’t do a tension square, in my defence it is a baby jumper, how precise does it need to be? I am the school of they can grow into it 🙂

Finished measurements: Chest 19 inches (roundly 48.5 cm), sleeve length 8 inches (roughly 20.5 cm), length 8.5 inches (roughly 22 cm)

More in depth thoughts after the pictures.

 

The slightly rambling thoughts: So I made this pattern to increase my stock pile of knits because it seemed like quite a cute pattern and also because I actually want to ‘finish’ some of the pattern booklets that I own.

In a discussion with the guys at work they asked me if knitting pattern books were something that you had to complete and knit all the patterns from them, like finishing a computer game. I had never really thought about it before but the seed has been sewn and I thought as booklets go this is a pretty cute on.

The pattern was easy enough to follow and the fact it is not plain stocking stich was nice. As this is a dolman sleeve cardigan it is knitted in a style that I like to call ‘up and over’. You work up the fronts separately, increasing as you go up for the sleeves, you then join the two fronts together at the shoulder seams and work over and down to the bottom of the back edges, decreasing the sleeves as you go. This gives a more baggy sleeve than a set in or a raglan sleeve, but it does mean that you don’t have to battle with sewing the sleeves in (that bit has always been my least favourite part of knitting). The only down side is when you are at the point at the top when you have all the stitches on the needle the knitting can seem to go on forever.

The collar was knitted with the main body so the only finishing off required was picking up stiches for the cuffs.

Overall I probably won’t be knitting this again, not that I didn’t enjoy knitting it, just I feel that I have better patterns, although if you have never knitted a dolman cardigan I would say give it a try if anything just for the small amount of seams that have to be sewn up.

I followed the pattern exactly, for older patterns it was pretty easy to understand, however I may be slightly bias because I have a ton of these little booklets and love then

Miss S xx

*1950 is the date that is given on Ravelry, the dolman sleeve were a bigger trend in the 1950s so I  have no real reason to disagree with this.

**These are the British imperial sizes, these are roughly a 3.25mm and 2.75mm metric needles respectively.

Pattern review: Outdoor pram suit

The basic stats

Pattern name: Outdoor pram suit in first and second size

Pattern Book: Knitted Garments for the Family

Date of publish: 1950*

Wool required: Baby 3-ply wool

Needles required: Number 9 for the second size, No. 10 for the first size**

Wool used: Patons Fairytale Soft 4ply

Needles used: No.9

Would I knit it again: Probably not

Tension: I was naughty and didn’t do a tension square, in my defence it is a baby jumper, how precise does it need to be? I am the school of they can grow into it

Finished measurements: I forgot to measure it, sorry.

More in depth thoughts after the pictures.

The slightly rambling thoughts: For starters I should point out that I only ended up knitting the boy’s jersey, the pattern also includes a girl’s coat, leggings, cap, hood for a girl, and mitts. The aim was to knit the entire pram suit for someone at work whose wife was having a baby. I started the knitting a little late and so never got round to making the leggings and cap and mitts.

I was also slightly disappointed by the cable because I thought a 4 stitch cable would have looked better but it was an easy pattern to repeat

I was definitely disappointed for the collar, it was the main reason that I had knitted it was to see what I thought of it for making for a stockpile for my sister (call me weird but I wanted a couple of years to build a stockpile for her – she knows this so its fine) and she loves a peter pan collar, but the collar is just a straight rows sewn on, I really didn’t like the raw edges and so tried to sew them down (still not 100% that made it look better)

The reason for not making it again would be because I think that I have better pram suits pattern so I think my time could be spent better knitting something else.

I followed the pattern exactly, for older patterns it was pretty easy to understand.

Miss S xx

*1950 is the date that is given on Amazon, handily they haven’t print the publish date in the front cover, based on the styles of patterns and the fact that some of the pictures are in colour I don’t have any hard evidence to not agree

**These are the British imperial sizes, these are roughly a 3.75mm and 3.25mm respectively. Don’t ask me why but there is no metric equivalent for a no. 9 so you can either go for a 3.5mm or 4mm, tension it out to see what is best for you would be my advice