Tuesday, September 9, 2008

FO: Man's Vest

Ignore the funny red bubble behind my head. It's a lantern.

Pattern: Four Seasons "Man's" Vest by Pam Allen from CEY Summer book 1
Yarn: Four Seasons by Classic Elite in 7621 Pine Cone
Size: 43"
Needles: 4.5 mm
Mods: Lengthened the whole thing by 2 1/4 inches before waist shaping. This necessitated respacing the buttons.

Here's the thing. I think I should frog it and knit the smaller size. What a bummer, after waiting for buttons. I wore it today, and I couldn't get over how uncomfortably long the armholes are. I looked up the pattern on Ravelry, and it seems that this is the way the pattern is written, but I really don't like it (take a look at the photo below). Also, while it looks like it has a nice amount of positive ease in this photo, it really grew over the course of the day, and was kind of hanging off me by the end.

Initially, I chose to knit a size with positive ease, because I was factoring in wearing something under it (preferrably the girly blouse shown on the model, which I did not and do not own) and I figured that the intense amount of waist shaping would prevent it from looking too big. The waist shaping is nice, but I think it's still too big. Also, the width of the shoulders is on the verge of being too wide for me. I knit the back before Colorado, and the rest when I got back. I had reservations after I finished the back about the sizing, so I got out my trusty tape measure and measured the heck out of it when I returned. It seemed fine. This is one of those times the tape measure lies. I really do need to knit with negative ease most of the time, due to the generous nature of my boobs, even when I'm planning on wearing something under the garment. Live and learn.

I think that I may frog and reknit soon, since I think that this will be a super-wearable piece for the fall. I might just say screw it, but I love Four Seasons. It's a cotton/wool blend (so you might think I would have taken into account the stretching factor, but I didn't) and perfect for the fall-ish type weather we've been having lately. A great layer for chilly mornings.

When I redo this, I'll make the 39" size, and shorten the armholes by a lot. I think the reason they are so long is because Pam Allen was trying to take into account the wearing of another garment, but I think she over calculated a little, at least where I'm concerned. I can take a good 1" to 1 1/2" off and still comfortably wear a blouse underneath. I'm going to keep the extra length though. I think it's just right.

In other knitting news, I've ordered yarn for a vest for my dad for his birthday/Christmas present plus yarn for an Anais for me. I have to consider other Christmas presents too: mom, brother, and brother's fiancee are all going to need something under the tree!

2 comments:

Ithaca_chick said...

well, it certainly looks cute despite all the negatives you have about it! I'm always amazed at how many things you get done in a year!

Kara said...

I am sorry that you are going to frog it. But it is a beautiful vest and it will look amazing when you get it just right.