Machine Knitted Pocket Cardigan

This picture had been in my pinterest for forever, and I’ve been very eager to make it. So as soon as I feel that I’ve mastered the skill to make up my own pattern on the bond knitting machine, I gave it a go!

My version (doh, i forgot the sunglasses):

I used up a little over 1 ball of the really big sugar& cream  (or maybe it was Lions) cotton yarns. I know that you are not suppose to use cotton for sweater projects, as cotton sweaters are not drapery, and heavier. However, I cant really see myself wearing something wool or polyester during the summer, as it would just be way too hot. I cant bring myself to invest in bamboo/rayon yarn for a pattern I havent tried out either. But the cotton yarn turned out OKAY. I was able to wash it in the washer without it shrinking much. Its comfortable and seems to shape decently against my body after wearing it a few hours. Its just not as drapery as the simply soft polyester yarn I used in all my previous machine knit sweater though.

Here’s the pattern I made up:

    Tension information: 2.5 tension plate, 2 out of 4 rods inserted at all times

back:

1. cast on 82 stitches with WY, knit 6 rows
2. K 100 rows, mark arm holes
3. K 36 more rows
4. put center 30 stitches on waste yarn – this makes the neck band on the back
5. each shoulder will have 26 stitches
6. knitting 6 rows with WY on each shoulder, then take them off the machine

front:

1. cast on 60 with WY, knit 6 rows
2. knit 36 rows, mark pocket,
3. on the next 2 row, bind off 16 stitches  every other, now you have 44 stitches
4. on the next 18 rows, bind off 1 stitches every row, now you have 26 stitches
5. k 44 rows
6. mark arm holes
7. K 36 more rows
8. of course, when you make the other front piece, make sure the binding off is from the opposite side so you have two symmetrical pieces

Front neckband+pocket edging:

1. join one shoulder and join the other shoulder
2. pick up 114 stitches from each front, 16 on the horizontal, 18 on the decreasing, and 80 for the vertical. hand knit the edges

sleeves:

1. bring out 50 stitches, and hook on between the markers
2. knit 100 time

Finishing:

1. sew the underside of sleeves and also sides of the bodice together. Make sure that you sew the edge of pocket into the body side seam.
2. hand knit the bottom, knit the two sides together to form the bottom of the pocket for the two front pieces while doing so
3. I chose to do I-cord finish with 3 stitches, but you can really do anything you want!

Errata:

There are some stuff I wish I did differently. I think the shoulders should really be wider, or rather, the neck band at the back should be shorter. I would probably make the neck band in the back 20 stitches instead of 30 next time, and each shoulder 31 stitches instead of 26. I also think I might have picked up a few too many stitches in the vertical area of the front edging, the front piece curls in a little bit. Also, next time I might make the back longer than the front. This is because I put so much stuff in the pockets that the front piece gets stretched more than the back.

Anyways, I hope someone out here have a machine and want to make this!  I know I will probably be making it again in another yarn and making it looser like the inspiration  Having huge pockets like that is seriously awesome when you got a little one that asks for crackers and snacks all the time.

Lastly, I am so proud of little K. Just 1.5 years old and she can pose like a band member:

One Year Gestational Period Sweater

I finished knitting a sweater! I started this sweater last year, before I went back to work, so it basically took an entire year! I learned a lot from knitting this sweater though – how to knit a cardigan top down, how to make waves, how to make button holes. It really shouldnt have taken that long but I only knitted in the car or 1 to 2 rows before sleeping until the last month of it when I was very motivated to finished it before it gets too warm. I’ve been wearing it almost every day since then – it goes very well with cropped pants or an A line skirt!

I used a little over 5 balls of ecocloud wool from Cascade that I found in Green Yarn Planet, so it wasnt the cheapest sweater. But the yard is spun in a pretty special manner such that its all interwoved, so I hope it will last a long time! It is also very very elastic – this sweater can stretch quite a bit if I try, but bounces back right away! Now I see why people say that wool is much easier on your hands than cotton, which is not as stretchy and more tiring for your hands to knit.

I used Levenwick pattern that I found on Ravelry. The instructions were very clear and the only changes I made was to skip a few rows to make the sweater slightly shorter for myself. It still turned out longer than I thought it would though!

Excess fabric in the back means I didnt make the hip wie enough and waist small enough? or is it excess vertical fabric? oh well, its not too much!

The buttons are salvaged from the very first jacket/coat I made back in 2007. I have been better at letting go my past creations that are just learning mistakes now!

I wear it buttoned up, except the first button or the last, depending on my mood

This pattern uses the “wrong” side of stockinette stitch, which means the sweater curls in a little at the ends, despite the i-cord finish. I love the texture of the wrong side, but the curl in is a bit annoying, perhaps it will go away with wear.

I hope you like this sweater as much as I do! I am thrilled to have my first  hand knit sweater that I’ve worn out of the house for more than 10 times!

Cuteness

You’ve already seen this creation but I just have to share again, pictures like this makes it hard for me to insist being a selfish seamstress/knitster…

My friend’s son turned one recently and they took more photos of him in the hat I knitted for him, which made me so happy!

Kids grow up so fast! I cant believe this little cute guy here is 1 year old already!

On another hand, we finally got around to take photos for a sweater I had been working on for more than a year! I am a slow knitter so I am so happy its finally finished. come back next week!

Multiway Grey Sweater

I made my third sweater on my bond sweater machine and its amAAAAAzing! (Sorry, been watching too much Happy Endings. its  a great show for sewing!) I think I finally got the formula down for that slouchy/oversized look that I like so much this season.

This sweater was knitted up on my Bond machine over the course of a few weeks. All the ribbing takes quite a while on the machine (still not as much as hand knitting). I made it so that I can wear it inside out, or outside out I actually prefers the texture of the “wrong” side of the stockton stitch. It looks like a Garter stitch, which Bond machine cannot do. The only thing is that when you piece two pieces together, it is really awkward if you try to sew it with the wrong side together instead of the right side together. So when I wear it on the wrong side, there are two seams running down the side (not shown here). I made it really neat though, so it doesnt look too bad!.

Note sure if you can tell the difference from the photos, this is wrong side out:

The neck part can be pulled down for the off the shoulder look, which make the sweater a little longer to be worn as a dress as well. I call that sexy mode. When I wear this to work, I wear it like a turtle neck like a sweater, which also makes the sleeves shorter and more convenient for cooking at home. I call this slave/mommy mode.  It is truely a versatile piece!

Lastly, this is made from 100% polyester. I just loved the fact that my first sweater had been washed almost every week during the winter and it never gets damaged or dirty. I am going to have to rethink my position as a fabric snob. I love how the sweaters from this yarn is really soft, and it falls close to my body which shows off curves without being tight or obscene. Though it is quite staticy – my hair goes a little wonky with this dress!

If anyone arrives here looking for Bond Machine knitting patterns, I actually recorded down this one diligently! Though, does anyone even have a bond knitting machine out here? It doesnt seem very commonly used at all!

machine knit sweater – grey:

2.5 tension, 2 out of 4 rods inserted
back:

• cast on 82 stitches with WY, knit 6 rows
• K 90 rows, mark arm holes
• K 36 more rows
• put center 40 stitches on waste yarn
• each shoulder will have 21 stitches
• knitting 6 rows with WY on each shoulder, then take them off the machine
• flip it around, with wrong side facing you, hang the hem, knit 10 times then rib it. then bind off

front:

• cast on 82 with WY, knit 6 rows
• knit 90 rows, mark arm holes,
• knit 20 rows
• put center 22 stitches on WY
• for each shoulder:
• - Knit 4 rows, decreasing 1 st each time
• - knit 8 rows, decreasing 1 st every other times
• - knit 4 rows
• - knit 6 rows with wy
• now each shoulder should have 22 stitches

join one shoulder

neckline:

• bring forward 89  needles
• with right side facing, pick up 89 stitches:
• 40 on back neck, 14 on side front neck edge, 22 on front WY, 13 on the other side front neck edge.
• knit 60 rows, then do ribbing (1 in 4), i made the ribbing at the 2nd stitch and 2nd to last one

join the other shoulder. sew the turtle neck together by hand

sleeves:

• bring out 50 stitches, and hook on between the markers
• knit 90 time, rib the last 8 rows

sew the underside of sleeves and also sides of the bodice together

Forest Green Mommy Sweater

Happy new year everyone!! I am still posting projects I did back in 2012, like this green sweater! This is the sweater that I made on my Bond Machine knitting sweater that I am not too crazy about. But it looks decent as an underlayer so I’ve been wearing it here and there.

For my own reference, here’s the exact rows I used. It is based off their instruction pattern, only slightly modified:

2.5 tension plate, 2 out of 4 rods inserted

back:
cast on 72 stitches with WY, knt 6 rows
K 68 rows, mark arm holes
K 48 more rows
put center 36 stitches on waste yarn
each shoulder will have 18 stitches
knitting 6 rows with WY on each shoulder, then take them off the machine
flip it around, with wrong side facing you, hang the hem, knit 10 times then rib it. then bind off

front:
cast on 72 with WY, knit 6 rows
knit 68 rows, mark arm holes, twist center 6 yarsn every 10 rows (the first one should be after only 5 stitches)
knit 32 rows (continue cable)
put center 18 stitches on WY
for each shoulder:
- Knit 4 rows, decreasing 1 st each time
- knit 8 rows, decreasing 1 st every other times
- knit 4 rows
- knit 6 rows with wy
now each shoulder should have 19 stitches

join one shoulder

neckline:
bring forward 81 needles
with wrong side facing, pick up 81 stitches:
36 on back neck, 14 on side front neck edge, 18 on front WY, 13 on the other side front neck edge.
knit 10 rows, then do ribbing

sleeves:
- bring out 66 stitches, and hook on between the markers
knit this 12 times:
- knit 6 rows, on the 7th row decrease one on both side
then knit 17 rows, rib the last 10 rows, bind off

We went on a road trip without little K and I had to bundle up like crazy! but I like how my outfit looked. I am also wearing a scarf I knitted earlier in 2012. Its a really warm wool scarf in seed stitch. I kept on forgetting to do a nice photo shoot for it, but I recently ruined it by putting it in the washer and totally shrunk it. oops! At least I got a lot of good wear out of it!

I hope everyone had a great new year!

Red Riding Hoodlet

It is getting colder and mildly winter-y here in the bay area. Little Kaylee here still doesnt have much hair yet. I always feel that her head gets cold when we are out and about. However, ever since she mastered hand motions, she always take her hats off within 2 seconds (maybe her head doesnt really get cold). I knew I would have no hope of her keeping a cute warm hat on. But she always have trouble taking hoodies off, so I decided to knit her a hoodlet!

hoodie off:

Isnt she adorable in it? Its hard to not post all 20 pictures we managed to get down to

I made up the pattern myself. Here it is for future reference and if anyone is interested. If you do use it to knit one, please send some pictures/links after you are done! I dont read knitting patterns much so if there’s anything thats not clear please feel free to ask in the comment!

Material: 2 skein of loops and threads cosy wool (I know I keep on using them- they just look so fuzzy and cute!)

Tool: size 15/10mm circular needle (I used a 30 inch one that includes the length of the needles. but I think a shorter one would be fine too)

• cast on 56 stitches
• knit 10 rows
• decrease 4 stitches eveningly
• knit 6 row
• decrease 4 stitches eveningly
• knit 3 row
• decrease 4 stitches eveningly (44 stitches now)
• knit 1 row
• decrease 4 stitches eveningly (40 stitches now)
• stop knitting in the round – at where you want the neck opening to be, reverse and purl instead of knit every other row, and do not join the two sides. (you start to knit the hood part here)
• When the hood part reaches about 10-11 inches, stop knitting and bind off using kitchener’s stitches.
• Make a ball and attach to the hoodie

Tada! Easy, right? Please note – little kaylee is about 30 inches tall, and 20 pound heavy and this fits her perfectly.

Here’s one last photo to tempt you into making one for your own little one.

Knitted Jedi Hat

Hello! Its been so long since my last post! Life had been busy but great with my little one She’s one year old now and just full of cuteness! I will spare you from listing down all the stuff she can do now because it is a pretty long list! We had been doing bathroom remodel for the past month (with contractors) and I havent really made anything presentable, except for a machine knit sweater which I am not 100% crazy about.

But! I had knitted this hat for a friend’s baby shower last year. The baby’s dad is really into Star Wars so I thought I’d knit a nice warm hat for him. Well, the baby was born and amazingly it seems to fit him now that the temperature finally dropped! Isnt he such an adorable little Jedi?

p.s. I didnt really use a pattern – just seed stitch for the hat part, and then picked up a few rows and knitted the ears!

Life is good

Knitting in the backyard under the shade with baby playing next to me. This is the life! (forget that we were evicted from the house  after I “over-boiled” the soup and making the house a little smoky. oopsies).

Hoodlet by the Sea

For some reason I had been very attracted to the sea foam color this season, much to the dismay of my husband. I made this hoodlet from tiny owl knits, and as impractical as it is, I LOVE it! I think its perfect for picking seashells along a beach, which I only get to do about twice a year. So I just wear it to our Sunday farmer’s market trip.

I started this project at a knitting party my husband’s coworker invited me to at the end of January. So from beginning to finishing it took me 2 month! Well, that is actually not too bad given the amount of time I have. The first 1/3 of the pattern took forever as there’s many cabling and ball making. The last 2/3 are basic stitches and I actually started bringing the project with me on car rides to finish them up faster. There are three mistakes in the hoodlet, can you tell? When I have found them I had gone too far to want to go back to fix them. The ladies at the knitting parties call those “humble stitches”. It reminds you that nothing is perfect. I am just going to have to call them humble stitches from now on!

All in all, I am very happy with the making of this hoodlet. I learnt how to make ball and how to do kitchener stitch.

I think I might make another one, maybe even one for Kaylee. It is just too whimsical to resist!

(hmm, perhaps I should make that tassel shorter!)

Knitted baby blanket

Thanks everyone for your advices on my skirt! I do love it and I think I will heed most people’s opinion on wearing opaque tights with it for work. It has loosened up a little from wear and now sits about 1 inch lower on my waist, so I think it shall be quite safe! I am surprised at the amount of readers who are also engineers hello!

One thing that surprised me about having a baby, is how much laundry you end up having to do. Between diaper accidents, squirting breasts, and outrageous spit ups (projectile!), we end up going through her blankets/towels quite fast. Luckily, we received tons of blankets and baby towels from our friends and coworkers. One of my favorite blankets is a hand knitted blanket from hubby’s coworker. It is made from merino wool and features very subtle teddy bears. I love the color, and I love how soft it is — kaylee is very active and this is the only blanket that she cant kick off easily since it drapes over her. I also love that its knitted — I dont worry too much about it getting on her face and suffocating her since its loosely weaved.

I myself has no patience for blankie knitting, but now that I have a machine, I got no excuse! I made one for Kaylee:

I made it so that there’s cables running down the side to alleviate the curling, and rows of eyelets. It took a little longer than I anticipated due to the details, but I think its still much faster than hand knitting. It still curled more than I like, but after a wash it softened up and its not too bad! Since this is my first time trying out eyelet and cables, I used 1/2 a pound of cheap poly/arcrylic (what is the diffeence between those two anyways? they are both plastic, no?) yarn from Caron. I love the seafoam color, and it is surprisingly soft. But the fabric snob in me is still slightly on the fence about the fact that its not natural fiber. But Kaylee seems to like it, and it is very awesome for the carseat!