Well, I can now tell you that it takes a special idiot who is very applied at the idiocy to make applied i-cord.
Children's Neck-Down Cardigan, Knitting Pure & Simple
100Purewool 3-ply in "Orchid", 2 skeins (24" chest)
I couldn't get a good close-up shot of the applied i-cord, but let's just say it has been a challenge. I first bound off in i-cord at the bottom and then decided to motor on around to the front edge, where I ran into problems. I think slipping the first stitch on the fronts of the cardigan was a bad idea because that elongated first stitch not a great area in which to pick up stitches. I was slipping the first stitch in an effort to keep that edge clean and allow for better pick up of stitches, but now I see it's just leaving fewer stitches to pick up and making the i-cord too short for the edge and pulling it up.
I'm making this sweater (oh, it's pink!) because I recently got two more skeins of 100Purewool 3-ply and could not fathom the idea of not knitting it immediately. The stuff is that nice. And although, technically, I wasn't sure I had enough for this sweater, I made it work. I decided I would take this opportunity to learn two new things: applied i-cord (hah!), and putting in a zipper. I do have some rudimentary sewing skills, so I'm hoping the zipper business won't be so difficult. Maybe I'm deluded, because I didn't anticipate applied i-cord would be that difficult, either.
Durn it.
10 comments:
The kitty bonnet I made for June a couple months ago had an applied i-cord edging and I HATED working it SO MUCH. It was so, so slow. Argh.
I really like how the cardi turned out and can't wait for the FO pic with zipper and I-cord. Good luck! :-)
It's lovely! I know what you mean about facing new knitting challenges. Lately the short row and I are discovering who is the alpha in our relationship. So far the short-row is winning. Erg.
So far it looks smashing; I think you can do it!! (thanks for the kind comments on my blog!) This is one of those knitting fear things, right? You just have to overcome it, and once you've mastered it, it will seem easy.
If (if!) you want to try something different, maybe you could do 3 rows of st. st. on the zipper part. From the right side, pick up stitches, then purl one row, then bind off. Or you could do it the other way by picking up stitches with the wrong side facing, knit one row, bind off.
But take this with a grain of salt, because THE GIANTS JUST WON. So I'm a little loopy.
Ha, "durn it". One of my favorite expressions.
I like a garter band at the front edges. It made a nice edging to the zipper on my son's reindeer cardi. I just picked up along the edge, then knit about 3 or 4 rows and bound off on the wrong side (seems I might have had to BO purlwise on one edge to make that happen). Binding off on the wrong side made the garter edging look so smooth at the zipper.
I'm going to have to get some of that purewool!
Your sweater looks beautiful! Love the pink! Hope your icord comes out ok...
Can't wait to see the FO. You will conquer that i-cord and zipper!
Bonne Marie Burns has a great on-line tutorial about zipper installation. And zippersource.com can match and custom-fit a zipper, if you have trouble finding one that works. (My learning curve issue on zippers: not any old zipper will work. You need one w/an open bottom. But you probably already knew that.)
I have never done an applied i-cord, have I, I don't think so. So for whatever reason, I am thinking it's going to be easy...maybe I should lower my expectiations...
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