In an effort to help out, I am officially declaring the next SKC knit along another double knit along including both Fifi (our winner -- yay!) and Annie's Red Carpet Convertible. I don't know about y'all but I am really excited to knit BOTH of these patterns! AND, as an extra incentive to knit BOTH, we will have a really nice drawing for all those who do! I know, I know, I haven't even gotten around to drawing a winner from the last knit along but I will soon I promise! Don't forget that the Fifi pattern will be available for all SKC members soon -- stay tuned for updates!
Annie, if you read this, on behalf of the Sexy Knitters Club, our hearts and prayers go out to you and your family. Please let us know if (other than donating) there is ANYTHING else we can do for you!
Edited to add: Kristeen just emailed me and has put together a special Fifi page just for the Sexy Knitters Club! This page is full of invaluable information regarding the Fifi pattern and yarn substitutions, so be sure to check it out. Kristeen hopes to have the downloadable version of Fifi available early next week for SKC members only so if you're not already a member of the SKC, NOW is the time to sign up! Thanks Kristeen!!!
Edited to add (again): I heard from Annie regarding the Red Carpet Convertible pattern and this is what Annie said,
Actually, I just found out that Classic Elite will be allowing me to sell the yarn on my website for $20/skein (about 50% off) which will be a wonderful thing! I don't know all the details yet, but you may want to pass that along to the group.
As far as substitutions, I would use a lightweight ribbon - like a nylon ribbon - which would give the drape you need and keep the dress from being too heavy. A light worsted yarn would be nice, as long as it had a bit of loft to it (once again, the drape + lightweight is what you're looking for!) A dense, heavy yarn would make a dress that would be hard to wear, but if one just wanted to make it corset length then a nice lofty silk would be good (like Artyarns Regal Silk).
Regarding how many skeins of the Classic Elite it takes to knit the top, Annie said,
I'm not sure exactly how many skeins are required for the top, but I'd estimate 3 or 4. It's always such a crap shoot...
And finally, regarding modifying the pattern for a 35" bust (or thereabouts), Annie said,
The reason there is such a gap between sizes is because of the way the ribbing falls. If you want to take some of the stitches out to make it smaller, that probably wouldn't hurt (as long as you're okay with reworking the math!)
Any mathematicians out there?
20 comments:
Nothing but agreement on my part!
I recently read this "So what I learned from fans of The Panopticon, even the ones I angered, is that knitters basically are all three — thoughtful, kind and generous. And for that, I owe Franklin another debt of gratitude. – Sid Leavitt".
I cannot agree more and the act of honoring Annie Modeset by making her design seems like the least thing we can do to help her and her family in this trying time.
I have already made my donation and downloaded the pattern and Friday I will be headed to the LYS to get the yarn to make this first. Fifi will have to wait, as Annie needs me first.
Terrific Lisa! I've also donated and downloaded the pattern and have emailed Annie asking for yarn substitutes and to see if it's possible to modify the pattern to fit 35" busts (or thereabouts). I'll let you all know if I hear back from her regarding this, but if any of you have suggestions for yarn substitutes for this pattern, please post them here! The pattern calls for Classic Elite's Playful Weekend, which is a silk ribbon yarn, but I feel sure yarn subs are out there if we just put our heads together!
Thanks so much for posting about this Jeanie! I was planning to post something too, but I couldn't have done it as eloquently as you! I think it's fantastic that you're making the next KAL a double one in honor of Annie. I doubt I'll be able to complete both, but I already have plans to stop by her site and donate and download the Red Carpet Convertible. I also wanted to let people know that she has a book coming out in August (that I already pre-ordered on Amazon before I knew about what was going on) called "Romantic Hand Knits". I'm hoping good sales from her book will help out with their current situation too. Thanks again for your thoughtful gesture!!
I would love for us to investigate some yarn subs, because I really can't afford the $400 for the yarn called for, but I would LOVE to knit it. I've bought the pattern and hopefully this will be the first KAL that I do with SKC.
I'm so excited about this being my first KAL. Knitting for Annie is something that particularly love. I'm been effected by Muliple Myloma (lost my father to it. I hope that it brings her some small ray of suhshine.
There are a lot of worsted weight drapey tape yarns out there. I would think a rayon or silk would work well. Annie said that Artyarns Regal silk would work for the top. That is what her silk corset pullover is made of. That is a worted weight. Alchemy Silk Purse is almost identical. I am thinking of using Artyarns silk ribbon. In my size it should only take about 4 skeins for the top.
What do you all think of this yarn as a substitute?
http://www.schoolproducts.com/product_info.php?cPath=27_68_99&products_id=1256
It's listed as DK weight, but it's a silk tape with about the same yardage per oz as the recommended yarn. Do you think it'll have enough coverage so that it's not really see thru?
Annie's comment was that a worsted weight yarn would work. She suggested Artyarns Regal Silk which is not a tape so I think you could probably fudge with the gauge to get that to work. It seems that the tape is more important if you are knitting the skirt because it requires a certain drape that the top alone doesn't need since it is quite fitted. That silk tape you linked to is a great deal. There are some nice colors too! That same site had a silk cashmere blend that was nice too but only available in one color. I'd say go for it! I'm looking at the Artyarns silk ribbon but I'm debating if I want a variegated colourway or more of a solid.
I'm confused about Annie's suggestion of Regal Silk as a substitute for the CE Playful Weekend ribbon. According to Classic Elite, Playful Weekend is a bulky weight of ~2.5 stitches/inch (granted, on big needles), but I routinely get 6 stitches per inch with the Regal Silk, never 4-5. I've knit with wide, silk ribbon like PWeekend before, and knitting it to a worsted weight gauge made it very un-drapey. Does anyone have some experience with the Playful Weekend yarn? What does it typically knit up to gauge-wise?
I was puzzled by the gauge also. The Classic Elite website shows the gauge being something like 2 stitches per inch on siaze 17 needles but Annie's dress uses size 8's and knits it to 4.25 spi. This top is very similar to her Ribbed Corset Pullover which uses Regal Silk so I think you could probably make it work. I think the ribbon is lightweight which is what must be necessary for the dress to avoid having it be too heavy.
Glad that I'm not the only one puzzled by the gauge. I tried to use the Regal silk for the Corset tank, and when I swatched several times, I found that I had to make one of the largest sizes (I usually make the smallest) for it to fit. So, I can't really see using the Regal Silk for this one, either since getting it to 4.5 stitches/inch would be knitting it *really* loosely. I like your idea of the Artyarns Silk Ribbon! I have some Louisa Harding Kimono ribbon that would work (I think) but it's *very* variegated, and I'm worried that the ribbing pattern would get lost in it.
A couple of other possibilities--I wonder about Noro Hana Silk which is a ribbon. Also--for those on more of a budget--I wonder how Berroco Bonsai which is a bamboo ribbon would work. It's very silky and I think it would look really good for this design. The other bamboo ribbons have more of a matte finish to them (I'm thinking Rowan specifically). There is a ribbon yarn called Salina which is bamboo and cotton that might work as well. I believe it is by Lana Grossa. They have it on the Webs website. I think this one will require some experimentation. I'm starting to lean toward the Bonsai because there is a color I like, though I'm still intrigued by the Artyarns ribbon.
One thing to consider is the yardage per oz for the yarn, because that really tells you how heavy the garment will be when all is said and done. This is probably most important for the dress since a heavy dress would be really hard to wear.
The Berroco Bonsai only has 77 yd per 50g, whereas the recommended yarn has 164 yd per 50g, so I would think that it'd be a tad bit too heavy. However, both Salina and Noro Hana Silk is about 130 yd per 50g, so that's getting pretty close.
For example, it takes approximately 1640 yd to make the size S dress. In the recommended yarn, that would be 500 g, which is just a little over a pound. If using 130 yd per 50g yarn, then the dress will be 630 g, or about 1.4 pounds. If using the Bonsai, the dress will become 1065 grams, or 2.4 pounds!
Good point! I hadn't looked at it that way! I'm thinking of doing only a top so weight won't be such an issue. The artyarns silk ribbon has 128 yards per 50 grams so it may be good for a top. I think the hana silk (noro) would be really nice and it comes in lovely colors.
I am only going to do a top - the mention of ribbon made me think of the Tess Designer Yarns microfiber ribbon I have in my stash. For anyone who's familiar with it, what do you think about that? I have a tasty coppery-red in my stash.
I think that yarn would be gorgeous! Tess has a booth at Maryland Sheep and Wool Festival every year and I waited until the second day to go this year. Bummer as most of the colors I liked were sold out! That is gorgeous stuff and would have a nice drape!
Has anyone investigated Phoenix SoySilk as a possible substitute for Classic Elite Playful weekend? It's about a third of the list price of the Classic Elite but still a natural fibre and seems to have a similar yardage.
I've bought Annie's pattern and am contemplating making a long top out of it.
I'm a mathematician, and I think the easiest way to knit an in-between size is to fiddle with the gauge, rather than the pattern itself.
The gauge for the pattern is stated as 4.25 spi, or 17 st/4". For example, to knit size 35, you can either knit as for the size 32 with the gauge of (17*32/35) = 15.5 st/4", or knit as for size 38 with the gauge of (17*38/35) = 18.5 st/4".
I think this is a small enough change in guage not to affect the texture of the fabric too much. Try knitting up a swatch for both variations and see which one you like better.
Hi! I'm new so I'm late to the party, but excited to be here.
For a size 35 bust: My solution is going to be to work the top part over 150 sts, keeping the armholes at 19 sts, and then remove 6 sts from the charts for the fronts as follows: lose one plain k st from each edge of charts C & G; lose one plain k st from charts D & F. This will make the front section 55 sts (6 + 1 + 41 + 1 + 6) and the back 57 sts. I didn't futz with the "bib" chart, as changes to the width of that will change how many rows you can do to the waist (since you are losing sts as you go to charts D & F).
Not sure how many sts I will do in the back rib patt before I start the armholes - somewhere between 28 & 38 - I'm just going to center everything up according to the patt sts when I get there.
It all works out on paper, anyway. We'll see when I get there! ;)
One question I have: is the gauge meant to be over stockinette, or over the back rib st patt?
I swatched some Blue Moon "Luna" which is a nylon ribbon similar to CPY "Party" - I got gauge in stockinette but the fabric was way too loose in the rib patt. I also swatched some CPY Deco ribbon which I thought came out way too firm in stockinette, so I didn't try the rib patt - but after swatching the Luna and seeing the other comments I am now re-thinking...
I want to make the "Red Carpet Convertible" as a wedding dress, that being said what is the general opinion about using this ribbon?
http://www.fiber2yarn.com/catalog.php
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