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It’s been awhile since I’ve made a post.  I took some time off knitting to move and paint my daughter’s room.  I also got hung up on the bust dart.  I finally went to Abundant Yarn and got some much needed help.  I would recommend you patronize your yarn shop for help on this one.  Wrap and turns are a PAIN especially when picking them up the purl side.  I finished the dress last Thursday night after knitting two straps of I-chord (5 stitches) each 12 inches long.  Friday night I put the dress in the washer and washed it at 120 degrees.  Rowan recommends 160 degrees but I thought I could always shrink it on hotter water if it didn’t shrink enough.  I admit I was really scared - what if shrunk too much, would my daughter have a new dress?  I was practically shaking when I opened up the washer and it looked fine, almost too big.  I put in the dryer and waited an hour for it to dry.  I pulled it out and put it one and was PERFECT!!! I sewed the straps on and thought they were perfect. Then I wore the dress and gravity pulled it down and I had to readjust the straps.  Readjust again, and finally readjust again. I would recommend 10 inches in length.  I ended up sewing the area that’s supposed to be the arm hole up because it was flopping forward. In hindsight I wish I would not have left the arm hole open and had taken in a few stitches about 2-3inches below the top.

I am really glad I did this project.  I got over my fear of yarn-overs and simple lace patterns.  I also learned how to do a bust dart, but I have to admit it’s not my favorite thing to do. It was also fun to make something really BIG and different.  This project also increased my love for Rowan Denim.  The color is fantastic and the vine lace and pattern at the top look absolutely stunning after some shrinkage.  And the shrinkage - my calcuations of adding 20% length the portions (the skirt, the waist to the arm hole, arm hole to the top) really worked well.  There was a little bit of shrinkage on the width too. I promise to add some more photos of me in the dress soon.

The Mason Dixion After Dark Nightie is DONE

The false seam is one of the better knitting tricks.  It’s going to keep the dress from fitting like a tube, and it gives some definition to the garmet. I knitted a skirt in the round several years ago and didn’t do a false seam (I didn’t know about it them), and when I walked in the skirt it swirled (I’m  not sure if that the right word) around and would get bunched up between my legs.  Not a pretty sight and rather difficult.  The false seam is rather daunting because you are basically ripping a stitch all the way to the bottom and picking it up.  I don’t know about you, but I have spent the last 20 years trying not to drop stitches and it’s never easy to go and pick them up - it never seems to look quite right too.  Anyway, I pulled down the first stitch on the side for 35 inches.  Yes, it was tedious and took a long time and I was trying not to freak out.  Once  I started picking the stitches up, one stitch, then two stitches (see the pattern for “Blu” for great directions) it wasn’t so bad. I got the first side done,  knitted around the other and got it done.   Now it’s time to start on the last 4 1/2 inches!  The goal is to have this project completed by Valentins day.

This Skirt Portion Completed

To start the project I made two gauge swatches, both 20 stiches by 20 rows on size 4 and size 3 needles, and washed and dryed them.  Since I will be wearing this as a dress not as a nightie I wanted the gauge to be tighter and the swatch that came closest to the gauge in the pattern was the size 3 needles  I decided to use size 3 needles.  I debated in my head the correct size to knit the garmet as a dress.  In the picture it shows the nightie as being fitted and I wanted something a little looser (I’m always cold so I will need to fit a shirt under it).  I took my measurements and was somewhere between a large and meduim so I decided to make the large.  I am also thinking the yarn will shrink a little bit horizontally too and I’d rather have something a little big than something for my daughter to wear in a couple of years.  I cast on 112 stitches on straight needles and completed 5 inches of the vince lace pattern, then knit  the 5 inches onto to circular needles.  I deamed that first group “The Back” and put some green scrap yarn so I wouldn’t get confused between front and back.  I cast on another 112 stitches and knitted the vine lace pattern for 5 inches, then joined the front with back and now everything’s wonderful because we’re all on circular needles.!  I followed the pattern and did a lot of knitting in the round - 24 inches (I wanted the skirt section to be 20 inches and 20 inches X 20% = 24 inches) of it!!!! until I did the waist decreases per directions.  From the waist I knitted 12 inches (10 inches from waist to underarm X 20% = 12 inches).

I know it’s a lot of knitting  (35 inches!) but when you have an 18 month old it’s easy to pick up and put down knitting in the round.   If I had to do it all day I’d go crazy, but when a little person comes running after you with a sippy cup saying “wader” you get up and get her water.  She doesn’t doesn’t understand that anyone needs to finish a row.

Now it’s time to put in the false seam down the side so it doesn’t look I’m wearing a tube.    I am hoping to find some uninterupted time and some good light to do that.  Knit on!

The Vine Lace Pattern on the bottom

One of my favorite knitting books of all time is “Mason Dixon Knitting.” I saw the “After Dark Nightie” and decided I wanted to make that as my first post-Shayna (my daughter) project.  Never on to take things lightly I decided to make a dress instead of a nightie because who wants to go through all that work and not be able to show it off to the world???  During my pregnancy I met the writers of the Mason Dixon book at Abundant Yarn in Portland,and they had on display a pair of baby jeans that’s Kay Gardiner has published on Knitty.com (http://www.knitty.com/ISSUEwinter05/PATTblu.html  ).  I feel in love with jeans, made two pair and in the process discovered Rowan Denim - you wash it in warm water with your jeans and dry it.  No pampering this yarn!  I decided to make the After Dark Nightie with Rowan denim because with a toddler I need to be able to wash whatever I make and I like the colors/shades.  But here’s the caveat - I need to account for 20% vertical shrinkage.  I got started and ended up ripping out the vine lace pattern several times because I kept messing up for whatever reason.  Any new parent will understand that babies cloud the brain.  I took a week of work to clean and knit and got the vine lace portion finished.  I knitted the pattern on straight needles for 5 inches.  I found it really helpful to use stitch markers every 9 stitches to keep track of where I was in the pattern.  Stitch markers - don’t leave home without them!