Herringweave Complete

I started my Herringweave, by Anne Hanson, back in November.  I can generally knit an adult  size sweater in about a month.  This one was the exception.  The intricate herringbone pattern made it difficult to get into a smooth, knitting rhythm.  Needless to say, here it is . . . 4 months later, and I am just now finishing it up. 

This was my problem a few weeks ago, I had added back too many stitches on this buttonhole, causing it to flair out.  It was not a good look.  I had created a sewn bindoff (a first for me), so it took hours and hours to unpick it.  In addition, it completely ruined the length of yarn, which I was short on anyway.  But . . . it was well worth the effort.

You can see here, that I didn't have enough yarn to complete the buttonbands, so I had to rip out my swatch to complete them.  Thank Heavens, I had a swatch, the buttonbands still were no as wide as I preferred, but sometimes you have to take what you get.

The much improved buttonholes with the sweater unbuttoned and completely buttoned up.  The sweater was knit of Wollemeise DK, in the color Grundfink.  This is my "desert island" yarn, and it is hard for me to chose anything else.  It is so smooth to knit with, the colors are so vibrant, and it wears like iron.  There is very little pilling that happens with this yarn.

As on all sweaters I knit, I learned some great new things on this sweater (which always makes it hard for me to go back wear my old ones).  As always, I did a thorough search on Herringweaves knit by others on Ravelry.  This is such a great resource.  I looked for problems others may have had with the pattern, the yarns they had chosen, and any suggestions they might have for future knitters.  This helped me to know how the pattern would knit up in my beloved Wollemeise.  I also looked at the button sizes used by others, and any modifications they might have made.  Since I was also working from a Custom Fit Pattern, I knew it would fit, but I wanted to get the best possible look.

As I was planning my next project, I came across a finished sweater in the Custom Fit Groups, knit by Jankee.  In her comments, she gave specifics on how she achieves the perfect buttonband.  I used all of her recommendations for this sweater, on how to knit the buttonband, how to place the buttonholes, the best possible size of buttons, and how to properly sew a shank button using a Lucifer, and placing a small button on the wrong side.

Wow, what a difference these things made.  I'll never knit a buttonband any other way.  It really reduces gapping when a sweater is buttoned all the way up.  She also recommended using a sewn bindoff, for its stretchiness and the nice clean edge it provides.  It is time-consuming, but well worth the time (even when you have to unpick it).  I highly recommend her method.

I've nearly finished the fronts of my next project, which is basically a copy of Mousy Tail Clone, by Jankee.  There is not a pattern for this sweater, but using a Custom Fit Pattern, you really don't need one.  All of her suggestions have made it easy sailing on this one.

Since my last post, I've spent some time with my Mother and Sisters, celebrating a milestone Birthday for my Mom.  It was a great evening spent with a great view of the Salt Lake Valley.  These are some of the most valued people in my life.  They are the ones I whine to, cry with, ask for advice, and best of all . . . laugh with.  I hope you all have people like this in your life.  All though it helps to calm and center us, knitting is not always the only solution.  HAPPY KNITTING . . . . . .