I decided to use my newly purchased pound of alpaca yarn to make a vest. It's my first attempt at making anything like a vest or sweater so it should be interesting LOL.
I'm using the Unisex Vest pattern from Lion Brand's website and adjusted the stitch count for using size 7 needles and to make it an XXL so that it should fit me if I did my math correctly.
I've cast on the back, finished the ribbing, and have just started on the body. That's a lot of knitting in sport weight and will take me a good while to finish the thing as I am not the fastest knitter in the world. But it should be a good learning experience and good practice for the sweater I plan to make soon.
About Me
- Knitting Guy
- I'm just a long haul trucker wandering the country hauling military vehicles, heavy machinery, and assorted other odds and ends. I can usually be found knitting when parked at a truckstop some place.
9 comments:
Well, now, won't that look dapper with your mango tie? :) You have gotten ahead of me. I haven't ventured into any items of clothing yet! Good luck and keep us posted of your progress!
Definitely a good learning experience and I think you are smart to start with a vest before trying a sweater - no armhole/sleeve issues and probably minimal shaping. Good for you! I'll look forward to seeing how it turns out.
Thanks. I thought so too, besides there isn't enough of this yarn to do a full sweater.
LOL sharly.
Thanks, I enjoy experimenting.
Just because I love working with Alpaca - it does not hold its shape very well, in my opinion. It tends to get droopy unless you hold a wool with it. Maybe its just the brand I've used - but I didnt want you to make the whole vest & then have the same problem. Maybe you can do a gauge swatch & then tug & pull & see how it hangs? Trying to save some disappointment! I do love Alpaca though!
Thanks. It is quite soft and wouldn't surprise me if that's true but the swatch seemed ok to me.
As I am so used to knitting in the round I decided to adapt the pattern for that and have restarted it. I just seem to knit better that way.
Although I did a swatch and all that the thing looks like it's going to come out too small. I'm hoping that's just because it's early on and it's just the circular needle itself making it look that way.
If not I can always frog it and re-do the math.
Since you are knitting the vest in the round, I'd go ahead and knit a few inches (at least 4 or 5) and then put about half the sts on a second circ, and carefully try the thing on. Knit work stretches and alpaca maybe even more so, so that is the only reliable way to know how the fit is coming, before you get too far. Don't forget that knits look good with no ease-- no baggyness. Too much fullness just adds pounds to our appearance. So get that thing tried on in front of a mirror and see what you think. Remember to consider that the fully finished garment will pull itself down somewhat, by it's own weight. (You have to imagine that part...)
Thanks Bonnie. Now that I am a few inches past the ribbing I'm feeling better about the size, but will be trying it on once I have enough of it knit to really be able to tell.
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