I've always thought an octopus to be very lucky with all those arms! I find myself wishing so often that I had more hands so that I could knit more than one project at a time. Well, I'm knitting three sweaters at the moment.......and no I didn't grow any extra arms unfortunately! I just couldn't decide which one to knit first LOL I've knit them both before, had them both confiscated because they are so awesome and now I want them both back in my knit wardrobe again ASAP!! I'm Knitting Deschain, which I've recently blogged in "Black to Summer with New Seams" and Double-Take Tee by Mona Schmidt in two different yarns.
So I've decided to knit the front of Deschain, then the fronts of Double-Take and then start the backs and work it that way so that I don't have to decide which to knit first and I can have them all at the same time....kinda....maybe?? I realize this crazy train of thought doesn't get them knit any faster LOL
The Double-Take Tee is such a beautiful sweater. It's simple and drapey and everything I look for when adding something new to my knit wardrobe! AND it's a FREE Ravelry download! Here's the link to get your copy: Double-Take Tee
I'm using Cheval Blanc's Sunny in Lemon for the first one. It's more of a greenish yellow...grellow LOL I love it!! So far it’s turning out to be a perfect yarn choice for this tee. And this is my kind of color! I've declared my love for this yarn before; it really is a gorgeous summer yarn. Mercerized cotton is definitely where it’s at for the warmer months. If you want more information on Mercerized cotton check out my other blog where I also used Sunny:Sunny with a Chance of Jogless Stripes
So the Double-Take Tee is knit flat. One thing I always make sure when knitting any sweater flat is that it has a garter selvedge edge. This pattern doesn't so all you have to do is add 2 stitches, one for either end to knit on EVERY round. It's not going to interfere with your pattern; it's just to help with the seaming process. It will make the process just a little easier and therefore in my opinion neater as well. If you can see very easily without any guesswork involved where to put your darning needle when seaming your work, I feel like it will look more perfected than when we have to play with the stitches a little. And we all know how wonky a selvedge edge can look sometimes. Makes you think you'll never get the seams to look seamless. As you can see in the picture below seaming will be a breeze because of that selvedge edge.
I found that this pattern was a basic outline and leaves it up to the knitter to use some techniques of your choice. I loved that because I felt like I was doing a little of the creating part myself. I'm going to go through the pattern giving you the techniques that I found worked the best. I've tested out and ripped out until I found what worked and made me happy.
First off I added the two stitches for a garter selvedge edge as mentioned above. The first and last stitch of every row will be knit. The pattern gives a length to knit in stockinette but also gives the option to knit it longer (or shorter) if you like. I actually knit mine one inch shorter than required for the size I chose. Make sure to look at the finished measurements and you can decide what you want your desired length to be.
Once you've reached the desired length in the body of your sweater it'll be time to increase for the under arm area. Do the Make One Increases as they are written. When the pattern tells you to cast on at the beginning of a round it doesn't say how to cast on. There are a few ways to cast on at the beginning of your work and I can't stress enough how important this part was for me. Certain cast ons can be very flimsy and loose. That is not going to make for a tidy seam when finishing your work. It will more than likely look a hot mess! So the Cable Cast On is definitely the way to go here ladies! I'll demonstrate the Cable Cast On because it can sometimes be confused with the Knitted Cast On. That one didn't work very well either! I tried them all....not kidding!!
After you've cast on all the stitches the pattern tells you to, you will then start to knit the sleeve. The sleeve has a Triple Icord edge, which is very beautiful! However I did find it to be a little bulky as I wanted my sleeve to drape on my arm nicely vs. slightly puckering. So I did a Double Icord edge. Just a little less bulky but still gives that beautiful Icord edge.
Here is what I did in the section where it prompts you to start the sleeve edge:
Next Row (RS): Knit 2 stitches, knit to the last 2 stitches, keeping your yarn in the back, slip 1 stitch purlwise, yarn forward, purl the last stitch.
Next Row (WS): With yarn in back, slip 1 stitch purlwise, yarn forward, purl 1 stitch, knit to the last 2 stitches, keeping your yarn in the front, slip the last 2 stitches purlwise one at a time.
That gave me a lighter Icord edge and it's so easy to do! Keep the first 2 and last 2 stitches for the Icord edge as established and knit the armhole to the length required for your chosen size. I actually knit my sleeve an extra inch longer than the pattern recommended for my chosen size to give me that extra slouch.
For the neckline, if you added an extra 2 stitches to your initial cast on to make the garter selvedge edge, you will have to add one extra stitch at the neckline. Where it says: Work 68 (72, 78, 82, 86, 92) you will actually follow this: Work 69 (73, 79, 83, 87, 92), while still binding off 12 stitches in the middle as the pattern recommends.
Ok, the next VERY important detail that I found necessary to follow was to SLIP THE FIRST STITCH AS IF TO PURL when binding off stitches at the next edge whether you're working on the right front/back and binding off on the knit side or working the left front/back and binding off on the purl side. If not, you will have zig zags at the neckline and it will just make picking up stitches for the neckline that much harder. Slipping that first stitch makes a very nice smooth edge to work on as you can see in the picture below.
Lastly, when you are finishing up the decreasing portion of the neckline, where it instructs you to repeat the decrease row once more; repeat it twice more instead. That will get rid of that one extra stitch on both sides of your work from casting on the extra for the garter selvedge edge. Then you will have the right amount of stitches for your 2x2 ribbed neckline. Also, I opted out of purling the first row of my neckline. Trust me on these little tid bits! Your Double-Take Tee will turn out so beautiful!! I'm on my third one of these tees!
It's actually meant to knit the front a different color than the back hence the name, Double-Take, however I've always knit it in one color. I bet a cream color on one side and a navy color on the other would be so nice though.....maybe my fourth one LOL what can I say, when I like something I like it!
Ok, so for the second Double-Take Tee I chose a completely opposite type of cotton for those of you who would prefer an organic option. This one is knit with Cheval Blanc's Terra in 105 and it's AMAZING!!! It's an organic cotton which is grown and not treated with any chemicals. Unlike mercerized cotton which is treated with chemicals to give it its rope like shiny appearance. I love both. They are both equally lovely in different ways.
They are both an equally great option for summer and will both offer comfort in the warmer months. They both drape beautifully and that was very important for this project. I have to say that Terra is much softer to the touch, as it's untreated, but Sunny gives a better stitch definition. Not sure if I can chose which one I like better......I love them both!
Which one do you like better and what would be your deciding factors?
Happy knitting!!!