string*THEORY

Happy St. Crafticks Day!

May you find the perfect shade of green today...

Today, I'll be wearing these socks that I still have from high school, a "gift" from a very persistent recruiter. Can you imagine ME in the Army??? That wouldn't make you feel very secure, now would it?

Speaking of something else green, I realized that I didn't provide you with any closure after seeking your advice and opinion on the Balthazar vest...so rude, I know. Sorry about that. *blush*. I will be wearing that baby, but only under very certain circumstances (that bulk, ooh that bulk, hard to reconcile it). Work? No. Sunday morning brunch, hanging out in the city? Yes! Weddings or funerals? No. Rolling around in the snow? Most definitely. Thanks again for all the advice, I really did appreciate it, I wasn't being sarcastic, I swear.

G, Thanks!

Honesty you gave. And, thank you for that. I know it can be a little risky exposing your true opinions sometimes, so thanks for taking that risk and the time to comment for the sake of fashion! Reading through the comments made me feel like I was in a room full of girl friends, bantering about while sipping on martini's. Fun.

 

Photo courtesy of gm tv.

That raw & candid honesty is totally neccessary sometimes you know. And it reminds of my time living with my best-friends in college. Honesty was always looming about. Every morning when you stepped out of the bathroom and every night when there was nothing else to do but pick on eachother. This one morning in particular comes to mind. I thought I might try out that cutesy look of sweeping my bangs to the side, clipping them back with little drugstore clips. Reminescent of that femine (and maybe even babyish-obnoxious) Abercrombie & Fitch look of total hippie whimsy. Thinking I looked pretty urban-bohemian, I stepped out of the bathroom and on my way to school, before my best friend stopped me with a burst of laughter and the announcement to the rest of the house "ooh no....no way!! You look like a 3rd grade little shit!!!".  Ooookay, uuhm, so your saying you don't like it?

Brutal honesty and a total bow of appreciation from me. Because as much as the initial blow stung a bit, it paled in comparison to potential sting of "walking out like that".

There are some situations, however, when you need that (knowingly) lying validation. You know, the "noooo your ass doesn't look huge AT ALL!" And I may just use one of these passes for my next finished knit, projected to be completed some time next century. I am, of course, referring to the Lopi Von 4 sweater/dress. Remind me again who's bright idea it was to knit a whole entire dress in relatively small guage in the #1 most boring stitch ever created? It's strange to think that the cuff on one of the arms took longer to knit then the entire Balthazar Vest. I wish I was kidding.

This thing better look good when it's done, and it if doesn't, I would appreciate if you lied to me about it.

*That mini quilted number up top is a little postcard I whipped up for a little guy named Gio. He's participating in a Jog-A-Thon soon and needed a little "good luck charm". It was also a nice little knitting break for me.

Balthazar Vest

In my initial review of the book, I promised to try out at least a pattern or two. I thought it was only fair. So, I present to you the Balthazar Vest. Warm, thick and a bit bulky....ahem.

One thing I absolutely love about blogging is all the positive energy and encouraging words I get from you. This is why I need to ask of something different today. I need brutal honesty here (not that your not normally honest, I really believe you are). Give it to me straight though. You know, as if you were my sister...tell me I look like a sausage, if that's what you think. Would you giggle a little if you saw me walking down the street? Does it look ridiculous?

The total measurements came out to be about 29 inches around - that large chest opening in the front helps a whole lot when trying to squeeze into this tiny thing. I'm about 34 inches around which means that this poor little guy was required to stretch to be 5 inches bigger, and I'm pretty sure I heard the stitches scream in pain as I was pulling it over my head.

Pattern: Balthazar Vest from Twinkle's Big City Knits by Wenlan Chia.

Needles: Size 17 Crystal Palace Bamboo 24" circluars. This was the first time I've used these redesigned needles and loved them. They have smooth connectors that swivle about to avoid wire twisting. I also used Size 15 short Bamboo circulars by Clover.

Time to Knit: 1 weekend.

Yarn: 5 hanks of Blue Sky Alpaca's Bulky Hand-dyes in Teal, color # 1011. This is the second time I've used this stuff and continue to love it. Although, as I said before, it comes at a hefty price for a mere 45 yards per hank. The look and feel of this fiber is worth every bit of the 85 some odd dollars it cost. The Web's discount helps too. I used exactly 5 hanks = 225 yards with about 1 inch to spare (yes, I needed a drink afterwards, the final hours were pretty stressful). The pattern calls for 220 yards of super bulky wool for all sizes. There is absolutely no way that one could knit this in the M and L sizes with just 220 yards of super bluky yarn.

Modifications: The pattern calls for all the ribbing to be done in size 16 needles. I did the waist ribbing in the standard size 17, because I knew it was already going to a tight fit (ooh, and also, because I forgot to start with the small needles...but we'll just pretend for the sake of my ego that I did that on purpose). I knit the shoulder caps on size 15 circulars, and the neck band on size 17's which also worked out nicely. The pattern called for picking up 34 stitches around the neck band. I only picked up 26 because that's what made the most sense when I was doing it and I needed as much support as I could get to pull this thing in tight around my bust. I'm glad I did it this way, because it provides a lot more shape, I think.

Errata: The published errata (pdf) is incomplete and only talks about yarn requirements (which is still incorrect).

I found quite a few mistakes, here they are if your planning on knitting this. If your not, just scroll down and critisize the pictures (I'm kidding, I'm kidding!!):

BACK: With RS facing, BO 2 sts, knit 16 (18, 20, 22), BO 2 sts....

SLEEVE CAP: With RS facing, starting from armpit, with smaller needles...

NECKBAND: Row 1: *K1, p1; rep from *. Work 5 more rows in K1, P1 rib as established.

Notes: The pattern is an interesting design, but very poorly written. It's vague and assumes too much. For example, it doesn't help you along to make sure that your keeping the eyelet detail along the sides. And the neck band, ooh the neck band. It just tells you to pick up the stitches and rib, providing no direction on how to create that criss cross detailing in the front.

All in all, I give this pattern a 5 out of 10 for being cute, but messy and poorly written. I'm having trouble letting this book go though, because the designs are so chic. I think it might be better served as a coffee table eye-candy type of book for friends to flip through when visiting, rather then something functional. Which, I guess is consistant with the runway in general. Interesting to look at, impractical to wear.

Twinkle's Big City Knits

A Book Report & Social Commentary

Have you had a chance to check this one out? I have. I pre-ordered it like 20 years ago because I'm impatient and just couldn't wait to see the pattern photos before footing the bill to pre-order. I regret that. Not because I don't love the patterns, but because I'm slightly offended by the book....but let's start from the beginning before I begin my ranting.

       

How about a quick summary?

This is a pattern book by acclaimed designer, Wenlan Chia. While Wenlan generally specializes in women's fashions, interior design accessories and jewlery, she is dabbling in handknit pattern design with this new book. The book focuses on 31 patterns using chunky yarn for everything between sweaters, vests, dresses and skirts and a few accessories thrown in between. All for women. Now, for the good, the bad and the ugly....

The Good....

I appreciate the attempt to introduce high-fashion to the art of knitting. The sweaters really are interesting, some light-weight yet chunky, some cute and flirty.

In the pattern market, we have our fair share of "practical" patterns from Debbie Bliss, "super feminine" patterns from Interweave, "fun" patterns from Knitty and of course, who can forget the "classic timelessness" of Rowan?  I also appreciate the the feminine edge with chunky yarns - who doesn't love a quick knit? Now we have high-fashion with Twinkle. With that said, the patterns are unique, artful and fashion-forward and the photography is beautiful.

The Bad...

As much as I appreciate an entrepreneur, I lose a lot of respect for the books and magazines that only use their yarns. It's tacky and comes off as greedy. Especially when we're talking about an uncommon yarn - I mean come on, how many times have you seen "Twinkle Handknit Cruise" at your local yarn store? Approximately....never. It's not to say that you can't substitute - I almost always do, but there are times, especially when the gauge is written in a non-standard format of "6 inches to the square" that you just want to play it safe and use what they recommend.

 

The Ugly....

And now for the offenses. Other titles appropriate for this book could include; "Knits for Skinny Chicks", or "Anorexic Knits" or "Handknit Dolls Clothes". Because seriously, is there a reason (besides mathematical laziness) that the largest size is often a "33 inch chest". Let me put this in other terms; my favorite pattern, "Best Friend Cardigan" comes in the following sizes:
28" chest = Small
30.5" chest = Medium
33' chest = Large

Since when was a size 3 considered large? What kind of message is she trying to convey here by making the largest size much smaller then the average person? Is it "I'm too fancy to bother with normal sized people"? It doesn't come off that way. This kind of sizing comes off as lazy, and it's offensive that someone would bother designing, publishing and selling a book that doesn't include sizing for the majority of those that would buy it. It's poor planning and makes it obvious that she is not a knitter, but just a designer trying to make money from knitters. It only perpetuates unhealthy body images and irritates the very customers she is trying to entice.

But I'll give it a chance (I did buy the book you know). I'll (grab my calculator and) try a couple of the patterns, and blog about them here. I appreciate the effort, it's the execution that needs improving. I hope to see more from Wenlan, I think she's talented, but I would love to see more realistic schematics. You know, patterns that we can actually knit. Is that too much to ask?