Woof!

Here's a new FO. And in crochet no less - which I don't do too often lately!

Meet Stitch, the puppy dog:

Pattern: Pomeranian by Brigitte Read

Yarn: Knit Picks Suri Dream (plus some worsted merino on his belly area for contrast)

Hook: F (3.75mm)

This technique is called brushed crochet. You crochet your item, and then literally brush the fur out. The pattern calls for a slicker brush (which you can find at pet stores.) Instead, I used my new handcarders as my brush - and they worked great. Surprisingly, pretty much any yarn will work for this. The suri alpaca worked extremely well to give a nice long coat to the doggie, but the merino yarn I used on his belly brushed out quite nicely as well, although not as long. I ended up with some holey spots (I really needed to crochet this much more tightly than I did), but they were easily covered over with some creative darning and vigorous brushing. :-)

Overall, a very fun and quick project! And now I have a cute doggie of my own, who doesn't need walked and fed! Win, win situation for me!

Wherefore art thou, Romeo?

....Here is my finished Juliet cardigan!



Pattern: Juliet from Zephyr Style
Yarn: Plymouth Royal Silk Merino in White (held double) - 10 skeins
Needles: US 10.5 (6.5mm)
Pattern Size made: XS (fyi, this pattern runs really big)


Modifications: I made several modifications to get the exact fit that I wanted in this sweater. I knew I didn't want to do the cropped version, or have the lace start right at the middle of the bust line (can you say maternity sweater??). And I don't particularly care for really short cap sleeves. So....here are the mods I made:

1. I did two extra increase rows (4 extra rows total) prior to starting the sleeve division. I ended up here with 110 sts. I wanted a bit more room in the armhole area.


2. I then worked the garter section until just at the bottom bust line. This was about 3 inches past the sleeve division.


3. I then increased a smaller number than called for in the pattern prior to starting the lace- I didn't want the baby-doll flare that I thought would look maternity-ish. I wanted a more trim look. So I increased as follows: K3, (K4, Kf&b&f) repeat 10x, K2, M1, K2, (kf&b&f, K4) repeat 10x, K3 = 151 sts.


4. I ended up doing 6 repeats of the lace section, which ended up about at my hip bone.


5. I did 6 extra rows on the sleeves to make them slightly longer.


6. I fastened it at the lower bust line with two buttons, instead of staggering the buttons up the front.


Things I would do different if I had it to do over:

I don't particularly care for how the underarm section of the sleeves bunches up. I would try to increase the length of the cap sleeves without adding to the bulk in the underarm area - probably with short rows. I may actually rip them out and re-do them at some point. Other than that I'm really happy with it.



"Good night, Good night! Parting is such sweet sorrow, that I shall say good night till it be morrow!"