Fair Isle Pullover nearing completion

I've been in a big rut, just not feeling 100%.  I'm on the way back up now. 

Here are some photos of a Fair Isle Pullover sleeve, one in progress and one completed.

Although I don't have any photos to show it, the pullover is now nearly finished.  It's all sewn up, collar knitted, and I'm now in the process of weaving in ends.  There are tons of them!  I spent ages on it last night and there's still lots to go.

I used Shirley Paden's "Knitwear Design Workshop" to work out how to do a polo collar.  It's worked out beautifully!  I'm feeling like an awesome clever clogs!!  :)

I wanting to get this finished so I can get going on a scarf for this year's Scarf Festival which is being hosted by the National Wool Museum in Geelong.  I haven't done this before.  It should be fun!

Go on.  Take the plunge and design a scarf for this festival!  Entries close on the 6th of May.  This year's theme is the Rhythm of Life.

Scarves are great to start designing with.  No shaping issues!  You can just knit till you've had enough and then stop.  Entry forms are available from the linked page.

Abundantly knitted up.

Yay!  All finished and sewn up.  I love the look of it. The modelling and photography talent in this household isn’t top notch, so we’re still working on that.  But here’s one photo to give you an idea.

I’ve got the pattern pretty well typed up. I just need to put it all together now – pattern, schematic, stitch charts, photos. And it’ll be ready to put out for test knitting. I hope I get a few takers.



I’m just so pleased that following Shirley Paden’s guidelines for shaping armholes and sleeve caps, I’ve come up with such a proper looking pullover. And first time!


I’ve knitted a sample square for a cowl. Next is the laundering and measuring so I can do all my calculations.  Onward and upward!

A new project

Such is our family schedule, like most others, that it hasn’t been possible to even make a date to go shopping for some lining fabric for the trellis bag. So I’ll move on to another project that’s been on the back burner. Way back in June, I knitted these tension squares. The yarn is Sirdar Juicy DK, 80% Bamboo and 20% Cotton. It’s beautiful and soft and has a lovely drape to it.

My idea is to make a summer pullover in two different lace patterns. One will be for the sleeves and top half of the body, the other for the lower half of the body. The “squares” were laundered, dried and then hung overnight to determine any drop. I didn’t weight the squares as they hung, as the garment is intended to be close fitting, and therefore will be supported more by the wearers body than the rest of the fabric.

The above was written 12 days ago. In the intervening time I’ve had a crisis of confidence about my tension squares. After hanging, they dropped a little, as expected. However, after being put away for a couple of months, they seem to have retracted to their original size. Aaaaargh! What does it all mean? Does this mean that all my calculations based on the hung squares will be wrong? After much worrying, I decided to hang them again, out of curiosity to see what would happen. They dropped again, but not as much as the first time. I’m wondering if I was hallucinating when I took the first batch of measurements. After seeking advice from fellow fledgling designers on Ravelry, I’ve decided to go for a “split the difference” approach, somewhere between the two measurements, which isn’t huge anyway.

In the mean time, I’ve finished all my calculations, written up the pattern, bought yarn and actually begun knitting. It’s my first attempt at designing something with sleeves. To me, working out body and neckline measurements seems pretty much common sense, but armholes and sleeve caps are what have mystified me. In the absence of a convenient class to teach me these things, I have resorted to scouring knitting design books. Some of the instructions for working out shapings have seemed a little on the vague side to me. My most recent book purchase, though, has shed a lot more light on the subject. “Knitwear Design Workshop” by Shirley Paden has clear specifics which I’ve been able to comprehend. It remains to be seen whether I can convert this into a successfully designed garment. I remain hopeful.

Also, since I began writing this post, I have managed to drag DD1 to Spotlight to choose some lining material for her bag. In the next week, I plan to make up the bag and lining and get the pattern close to ready for publication. Exciting!