Tuesday, January 24, 2006

Pico is Finished!

Sorry for the bathroom shots, but here it is. My finished Picovoli. Kathy's a genius and was absolutely right about ironing the "shit" (hey, if I'm quoting somebody cursing, it's not as bad) out of the picos to get them to lay flat. And for anybody using Luna, you CAN iron the "shit" out of it without damaging it. I ironed my Picovoli on a medium/high setting (no pillowcase between the iron and the knitting) and spritzed it with water first, and it worked!

I really like this top and at first thought it might be a little too small, but after wearing it around the house for a while, it seems to be loosening up quite a bit. I will definitely make at least one more of these tops -- maybe even one more while the KAL's still going! I did several things "wrong" on this top but it still turned out just fine. First, somehow I managed to miss the part of the yoke where you do the pico eyelets before beginning the rest of the top, so ended up doing those last by picking up the live stitches from the provisional cast on and adding them last as you do with the hem and arms. It still worked out just fine. I also did something wrong with mid-row cast on. Mine turned out okay, especially since it's under the arm and will rarely be seen, but by reading some of the previous posts, I see that I was supposed to do something differently. BTW, where ARE the directions on how to do the mid-row cast on (correctly) and how did I miss those? I think that I'd like to somehow make the armholes just a little bigger on the next top so adding a couple of extra stitches to the mid-row cast on might be an option for me; either that or going up a whole size for the entire thing. Another thing I did wrong, was not to read about how to do a nice job when joining new yarn... you can see here where I tried to weave in ends of a join and didn't do a very good job of disguising it. Guess I'll have to go back and find out how to do my yarn joins better. All in all, I love Kathy's pattern, love the Luna yarn, and love the top.

Edited to Add: I forgot to mention that I also added another two inches or so to the length so that I could get more tummy coverage. Also, I've been wearing the top for several hours and while it's relaxed a bit, I'm still thinking the next one I make will be a size larger -- you can see my bra strap lines from the back which I hate... kind of like visible panty lines, but this is visible bra lines (ew!).

13 comments:

Landstown Poultry said...

I'm not huge on picos. How do you feel this would look without that particular edging?

Landstown Poultry said...

BTW, I totally suck...I meant to leave more to my comment and...well, obviously didn't. I showed this post to several of my friends because I absolutely love how it turned out. I'm really looking forward to making it, but as the comment above said...I'm just not big on the edging. :-D

Great job!

Anonymous said...

What's up with focusing on all the things you did "wrong"??? Goodness gracious, the top looks fabulous AND looks fabulous on you! The armholes do look a little tight, but report back after you've worn the top for a few hours. If you still feel they're a little tight, work one more increase round in the yoke next time :).

Oh, and would you like this to appear in the gallery? http://www.grumperina.com/gallery.htm

Amy said...

It looks great, and you look incredible in it!

kilsharion - I think the original version of this pattern was picot free. Here's a link that includes a photo: http://www.grumperina.com/picovoli.htm

I think it looks great both ways.

knitncycle said...

It looks great and super flattering! I think it must be something in the water this week because I seem to be seeing all the boo-boos in stuff myself. Funny how much we notice our own mistakes? Betcha no one else will even see it at all. I didn't do the picot edging this go round but I will definitely be doing another one of these and adding picot to it. The top looks so great and will be super cool in these hot Texas summers. Anyway, it looks fab and you've definitely convinced me to pick up some Luna for sure!

Anonymous said...

Thank you HeatherD, Amy, and KnitNCycle!

Kilsharion, to be honest with you, this particular yarn (imho) would have looked better without the pico's for a bit of a silkier sleeker look, so if I make it again in this yarn, I'll do it sans picos. It's a great pattern with or without.

And Kathy, I'd be happy to be in your gallery! Thanks so much for everything!!!

Otter said...

Wow! Great job! I wish I knew mine would look as good on me as yours does on you. My problem is I have no waist! Seriously...it's a genetic thing. I am thinking I will have to do a lot of trying on when I get to the decreases so I don't go too far and look like Mae West all trussed up.
I can't stand visible bra line either.
cyndye

Catherine Kerth said...

wow! what a great job! why do knitters point out their mistakes? i do it too!

Anonymous said...

You did a great job!!!! Is anyone seeing that this chick has great arms???? Awesome job!

gaysknits said...

that's just gorgeous!!! love the pattern, love the yarn, love the total finished package!!!

JustApril said...

AWESOME JOB! The picos look so good! Good save on doing them in "Reverse" or however that could be described =) It looks really good on you, so flattering =) Maybe I'll get my cast on right this time. I've done it like 3 times - and the last time, I managed to twist the stitches >=( I was like 5 rows down by the time I noticed it. {='/ If at first I don't succeed..... cry cry again

thatfarmgirl said...

Yowza. That top looks fabulous (and fabulous on you)! I've been trying to join SKC, but can't get a response. Maybe I'm not sexy enough...

. said...

Love the color!