Recreating a favourite sweater

My jumper’s really old – what can I do? Make another of course

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I tend to wear the heck out of my clothes. I’ll fall in love with a particular piece and just wear it until it falls apart. And then I’m bereft. So, for me, one of the best things about designing your own knitwear is being able to recreate favourite sweaters when they’re past wearable.

The wool in this jumper is pilling and it's not going to
last much longer. Time to replace it. Photo by Idoru Knits.

One such piece is a pink jumper originally from Jane Norman that I picked up for a few quid in a charity shop. I love this jumper. It’s really fitted, has nice chunky fold-over ribbed cuffs with a matching ribbed collar, both of which have a touch of angora in. The neckline is a very deep V, so I always wear it with something underneath – this can be a low-cut strappy top for going out or round-neck jersey top for work. It could be in a co-ordinating colour or something with more contrast.

The cuffs and sleeves are a very slightly
different colour. I want more contrast.
Photo by Idoru Knits.

But the wool is seriously starting to pill and the jumper is clearly past its best. I won’t be able to replace it, so I’m going to recreate it. But better. For one thing it’s got a sort of ‘insert’ in the V neck that I don’t like. Plus those ribbed cuffs and collar are in a very slightly different colour, but I want the change to stand out more. I also want to add a ribbed hem to the bottom.

I already know what I’m going to knit it in – Artesano Alpaca 4ply in sweet pea (for the main jumper) and belize (for the cuffs, collar and hem). Now I just have to buy the yarn and get that tape measure and calculator out!

Here you can see the 'insert'. This will
not be in my design. Photo by Idoru Knits.

Knitting a dress

The challenge: to design and knit a dress from scratch, preferably by the end of the year

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I wanted a big project – something to really get my teeth into. I’ve knitted sweaters; I’ve knitted lace shawls; I’ve knitted big cabled pieces. So I needed something else. I decided it was time to design and knit a dress. This was back in July, so how have I done so far?

The completed front. I really like the
colour changes and wide neckline.
Photo by Idoru Knits.

First up I had to come up with the style. After making a few sketches I settled on a flared or A-line skirt just above the knee, coming in to a fitted waist then out for the bust and up to a round neckline. Long flared sleeves would finish the look.

Next choice was yarn. I wanted a variagated colour, though nothing too bright. Ideally it would also change thickness. I was thinking something from Noro. But a dress takes a lot of yarn and Noro isn’t cheap. I’m lucky enough to have some very good friends, though, and one of them had a whole load of Rowan Damask, a linen blend, bought in the sale that she was willing to give me. Yes, give it to me. For free. I did say I was lucky.

Lattice cable pattern test. Using some spare yarn I tested
out how the cable pattern would look. I really liked the
effect and thought it would work well, even with a
variagated yarn. Photo by Idoru Knits.

Some measuring and maths later and I was ready to cast on. I’d already decided to knit it in stocking stitch, partly because there would be so much of it I didn’t want anything too complicated and partly because I thought the rolled-up effect that stocking stitch gives would create a nice effect at the bottom of the skirt and sleeves. By the time I’d got to the body of the dress, however, I was ready for a change. The dress was shaping up well, but knitting so much stocking stitch was dull and the piece itself would benefit from some variety.

Because of the yarn’s differences in colour and thickness, nothing too fancy was required and I decided that a lattice pattern on the bodice would be ideal. So how to create it? The simplest method would be to use a combination of knit and purl stitches. But that wasn’t the look I was going for. So it was time to trawl the internet and my stitch pattern books. I found the perfect cable pattern in a book I found in a charity shop.

That lattice pattern on 'the real thing'. Patterns can
easily be lost in variagated yarns, but because
this is so simple it works well. Photo by Idoru Knits.

I’ve now nearly finished the back. Then it’s just the two sleeves to do. I don’t know if I’ll finish the whole thing by the end of the year. I’m also crocheting a blanket and sewing up the crossover tank top I designed. But I’m nearly there and so far I’m very pleased with what I’ve produced.

Book review: Parade’s End by Ford Maddox Ford

Hard work, but worth it – mostly.

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I downloaded this having watched the BBC adaptation starring the wonderful Benedict Cumberbatch. This is the first of Maddox Ford’s books I’ve read and I’m not sure it’s the best introduction to his work. For a start it’s huge – 906 pages, according to my Kindle. It’s also quite hard going.

Set in the early 20th century, it tells the story of Christopher Teijens, the youngest son of an old, respected Yorkshire family. Unhappily married to Sylvia and bringing up a son who might not be his, Christopher finds his head turned by the young Valentine Wannop.

This isn’t an easy book to get into, but it is worth the effort. It is incredibly well written. Christopher goes off to fight in the First World War and the sections on his experiences of trench warfare are some of the best I’ve ever read. At times moving and comic, it conveys both the horror and the stultifying boredom perfectly. Christopher’s frustrations with his commanders and the politicians back home will surely be recognisable to any captain in the field.

There are some great moments of humour, with Sylvia’s arrival at her husband’s barracks almost farcical in its mistaken identities and misunderstandings. None of the characters are particularly likeable, but this didn’t matter. In fact it made more sense than the BBC adaptation, in which Christopher was essentially sympathetic and I couldn’t understand Sylvia’s antipathy towards him. In the book her behaviour is much more understandable.

Sylvia herself is an interesting character. It would have been easy to cast her as The Bitch or The Whore, but she isn’t. She takes lovers throughout her marriage and there is a suggestion that Christopher isn’t the father of her son, yet she isn’t judged by the book. In fact all the women are ‘real’ characters, with their own motivations. A very unusual and refreshing situation.

So why only three stars? The book is seriously let down by the ending. The BBC series finished with the end of the war and the troops coming home. The book, however, carries on with some rather long-winded and to my mind pointless chapters told from the point of view of Christopher’s brother Mark and his French mistress, as well as Valentine and Sylvia. For me this final section put something of a dampener on what was otherwise an excellent book.

The Shetland hat

My newest knitted design and some thoughts on saving money.

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My latest design, the Shetland hat, is a red and white bobble hat. It was inspired by Shetland, a TV show based on the books of Anne Cleeves. A thoroughly enjoyable crime thriller show starring Douglas Henshall, it is, unsurprisingly, set on Shetland. Shetland is very cold and very windy, so there was a lot of knitwear, much of which was stunning. A second series is coming soon – check it out.

A very important part of a Shetlander's wardrobe is, of course, a cosy hat. This one is knitted in Erika Knight’s bulky-weight Maxi Wool in Marni (red) and Canvas (white). The wide ribbed band keeps the hat firmly on your head, while the denseness of the reverse stocking stitch will ensure you stay warm. And the gorgeous red pompom just finishes the whole thing off!

The Shetland bobble hat in Erika Knight Maxi Wool.
I really like this colour combination,
and the weather's definitely turned, so I'm
sure to get plenty of wear out of the hat.
Photo by Idoru Knits.

 The chunkiness of the yarn means this is a very quick knit; it’s simple too – ideal for pub knitting. The yarn itself is lovely; soft to the touch and a joy to knit with. It isn’t cheap, though, and this got me to thinking. Knitting can be a rather expensive hobby and this is something I want to address in my designs.

Maxi Wool costs £8.95 and the pattern requires one skein of each colour. I know we don’t necessarily knit to save money, but I still think that nearly £20 just for the materials to make a hat is quite costly (although I did get two hats out of it). I’m not saying it’s not worth it – the yarn is beautiful and I’m really pleased with finished product – but not everybody wants to, or even can, spend that much.

So my plan from now on is to always find two different yarns that can be used for every project: a ‘save’ yarn and a ‘splurge’ yarn. In this case the Maxi Wool is the latter. If you want to ‘save’, however, I recommend Wendy Pampas, which I picked up for £4.50 per ball. Another bulky yarn, the gauge is marginally bigger than the the Erika Knight, so might require a smaller needle.

A 'selfie' of me looking happy in my new hat.
Photo by Idoru Knits.

This pattern will be available for free at some point in the future ...