random threads

Yes, on Sunday I put the finishing touches on my Central Park Hoodie Plus.

I’m pleased with the fit, except the sleeves are 1.5 to 2″ too long, but I can live with that. I re-blocked the ribbing to pull in more, and I may have to turn up the cuffs as they ribbing relaxes.

To recap the details:

Yarn: Mirasol’s Miski, 100% llama 2 ply in color Bluebell, a purply blue

Pattern: Central Park Hoodie Plus by Heather Lodinsky with larger size modifications by Lisa Shroyer

Size: 56″, took 32 skeins of Miski (not the 43 we figured…)

Modifications: Added an additional cable each side of front and back. Shortened sleeves, lengthened body by about 1.5″. Continued double cable up over top of hood to meet edge cable on hood. Picked up stitches for button band all at once. Did 2 short rows on front button bands to have more width there without adding width to hood ribbed band. Did 2-stitch applied i-cord bind off on button bands/hood band.

Yes, the hood is done, if not the entire hoodie, but I am getting close. I am picking up the stitches for the button bands/edgeing on the hood. That and sewing buttons on are the last steps. Sleeves are seamed on, side seams and arm seams mattress-stitched. I definitely put to use what I learned from Susan of Tropical Yarns on the cruise in November, plus a refresher from Vogue Knitting: The Ultimate Knitting Book (older edition I checked out of the local library).

I made some modifications to my hood from both the original Central Park Hoodie pattern by Heather Lodinsky and the changes done by Lisa Shroyer for larger sizes. I ran the double cable up the back and up the back of the hood, over the top of hood all the way to the cable that runs up the front edges of the hood. This allows the pretty cabling to show even if you have the hood down, laying flat on your back.

I followed the pattern instructions as written for knitting the hood just continuing the cabling for the double cable in the middle of the back, to the point of beginning the decreases. I did the same number of decrease rows as follows:

(WS) Work charted sts in pattern, purl in between charted areas.

(RS) Knit in pattern (edge cable then stockinette to last 3 k sts before double cable chart starts, K2tog, knit chart B for double cable, k1, ssk then continue row in pattern (stockinette then edge cable).

Repeat these two rows 4 more times. Don’t bind off at this point. Now work the double cable picking up and joining in the side hood stitches at the end of each row of the double cable.

Set up row (WS), Work charted sts in pattern, purl to start of double cable. Slip 1 as if to k, K1, p6, k2, p6, k1, ssk, turn work.

(RS) Slip 1 as if to knit (I think? I only wrote down sl1, not sure how I did it), p1, work cable section of chart B (not purl edges) in pattern, p1, p2tog.

(WS) Slip 1, k2, p6, k2, p6, k1, ssk, turn work.

Continue the last two rows until you reach the edge cables. Work each edge cable separately up to the middle point:

(RS) k1, p2, follow chart C for center 6 sts, p1 p3tog. Turn.

(WS) Sl 1, k1, p6, k2, p1. Turn

For the other edge cable:

(RS) Sl 1, p1, follow chart A for center 6 sts, p2, k1. Turn

(WS) P1, k2, p6, k1, sssk. Turn.

You’ll notice the edge cables use sssk and p3tog instead of ssk and p2tog–I found I had to work those at a faster pace to avoid flaring out of the edge of the hood. After reaching the top of the hood with both edge cables, I kitchenered them together, trying to keep in patter of knits and purls. Not perfect, but pretty good looking, if I saw so myself!

…so it must be time for a WIP update, right? The knitting continues on my Central Park Hoodie Plus, knit in Mirasol Yarns 100% baby llama Miski in the scrumptious color Bluebell. I’m currently knitting on the sleeves, both at once, so progress seems slower. I’ve read that many people found the sleeves too long, so I did some body measurements and calculations that suggest I should knit the sleeves about 5″ shorter than the pattern calls for. What was it designed for, gorilla-arms? I’m nervous that the calculated 15″ sleeve length to the start of the sleeve cap at the underarm won’t be long enough, but I have about 2″ to go before I hit that point and do a bit of a ‘try-on’.

As a break from knitting, I started on blocking on Sunday. I have a spaceboard and blocking wires that I bought perhaps 5 or 6 years ago, but have never used until now. The instructions called for ‘weaving’ the wires through the knit fabric at the edge every 1/2 ” or so, which seemed to ruffle or gather the edge a bit. I think it will be OK tho’. The Miski, being baby llama, continues to be a bit more hairy than I would like. When wet I feared it was almost felting, the hairs seemed to mat up, but when dry, it looks fine.

I did short rows at the shoulders, and then bound off, so my plan is to undo the bind off stitches, put each shoulder back on needles and then do a three needle bind-off. I read that tip somewhere about doing the bind off temporarily to aid in blocking, and it seems to have gone well so far.

Tomorrow is Knit Night at Baskets of Yarn, so I’ll be lugging my sleeves along.

Sidebar note: Yes, I have been monkeying around with my progress bars, and have temporarily! broken my finished items list (off the needles!). Hope to figure that out soon.

I finished the back of my Central Park Hoodie Plus on the 8th, and quickly cast on for the left front. However, once I finished the ribbing, I realized I had a problem. I had assumed each front was equal to half the back. NOT SO! My so-called ‘clever’ modification to add two more single cables to the back that would smoothly transition over to the front hit a brick wall. I was short about 8 stitches for each front to make the cable up the open cardigan edge and still keep my existing cables in their position to match the back cables at the shoulder.

So a bit of frogging (4.5″ of ribbing) ensued and I thought about my options to handle the problem:

1) I have to shift the cable location towards the side seam and have ugly non-aligned cables at the shoulder seam (NOT! I couldn’t stand that)

2) I add 8 stitches to each front (I’m already worried it will be too big with 3.5” of positive ease, what would 3.5 to 4 more inches do? I’d be swimming!) or

3) I eliminate the button bands in favor of zipper with the cables on either side of the zip.

(Notice I didn’t even mention option 4) rip out the complete back down to the ribbing and change cable placement–I can’t bare to even contemplate that!)

The zipper option sounded best, even tho’ my next sweater is also going to be a zippered cardigan…so I was leaning to buttons for the CPH. But if I go with a zipper, I’m not sure how to handle the hood–would I still pick up and knit a ribbed edge/band on the hood? An applied I-cord edge, a facing, what?

Even without all the answers, I did cast on the extra 8 stitches for the left front and knit away. Once I got up to the neck area where the pattern calls for 11 stitches to be moved to the stitch holder to use in the hood, I put 19 stitches on the holder, so my shoulder seams will end up being the same width. So I may have a bigger than expected hood (maybe I should go hoodless and put on a collar instead?? More modifications, oh boy.)

I finished the left front on Sunday night and have cast on for the right front, again, with 8 extra stitches. The width of the finished front doesn’t look so huge, so maybe buttons are back in the picture again? I’ll have to see once both fronts are finished and blocked.

I have a new love on my needles… the Central Park Hoodie Plus. If you subscribe to Knitting Daily, you know that in early December, Lisa Shroyer, editor of KnitScene was a guest on Knitting Daily and she described her changes to the popular Central Park Hoodie pattern (original published in KnitScene) to make it for “plus-sized” women. She also made some other modifications to length, sleeve style, and button bands. The pattern was made available by Interweave Press via download from the Knitting Daily Pattern Store. So when I had a 20% coupon in my hot little hands for Baskets of Yarn, I was on a mission to find the right worsted weight yarn that was tweedy, a pretty color and in stock. Mission partly accomplished, as I bought 29 50-gram skeins of Mirasol Yarn’s Miski, which is 100% baby llama, in the loverly purply-blue color called Bluebell. I had to special order the remaining 14 skeins I needed (yes, that is a disadvantage of knitting for the plus-sized, it takes a darn lot of yarn!).

After I had my Christmas knitting completed, I did my gauge swatches, settled on US size 7s Addis (US 5 for the ribbing) and cast on. Four days later, I had 11″ of the back completed! I did add some of my own additional modifications, based on Lisa’s post-project comments. I am adding 1.5″ in the length, and added two extra single cables to fill in some of that stockinette expanse that occurs on larger sizes (I’m making the 56″ bust size). I think I’ll run the double cable up the hood on the back, but have not taken a position on the zip vs crochet loops vs traditional buttons on the band.

Sadly, another sock has assumed priority #1 in front of the lovely Bluebell. I’m working on a test knit of my soon-to-be released as a free pattern for Twisted Oval Socks–a bit modified from my Mom’s blue Oval Cables, but similar. I want to test-knit one sock to finalize my pattern before I recruit some test knitters from Ravelry, after which, I plan to make it publicly available here on my website.