Thursday, July 31, 2008

Kimono Vest

Just finished the Kimono vest (pattern Cabin Fever, wool Mountain Colors Bearfoot Red Tail Hawk and something else - can't find ball band) The button came from a sweater I made for my late sis-in-law. She picked the yarn, the pattern, the buttons. After she died, no one wanted it, so I unraveled and wound the yarn and donated it, and kept the buttons. There is just one thing I am going to alter on this and it will be officially done, but that might not happen for a while. It has to ripen. I picked lighter weight yarn for the body, because I wanted a contrasting hand with the sash color, to simulate the padding added to kimono collars for warmth. That choice meant I couldn't knit or assemble the vest as instructed, but it was not a problem adjusting. It isn't visible in this photo but the color shading on the sash collar turned out looking like ikat, as I wanted. I knit this off of three balls of yarn. I started with one, but when I divided the piece for the front and back, the color placement in the skein started to throw a different pattern than the lower part, and I didn't liek the effect. I unraveled it all and started over, twisting the yarn at the faux side seems as though it were intarsia. The one thing I would do differently is to omit the purl stiches on the side seam. They don't add anything and are just fussy. I crocheted along those side seems on the inside, though to give the garment some body.

2 comments:

Unknown said...

Hi Kathy,

I missed you last night at the group meeting. I love the kimono sweater! How long did it take to make it? Also, why do they call it a kimono sweater? It doesn't look like a kimono...

Catherine said...

What a beautiful vest! You're one talented chick.