Knitting bleg: Help me choose my next project
It's getting rapidly colder up here in New England, and with corresponding rapidity I'm learning where the cold spots are in my apartment (the front door leaks heat like a leaky thing) and in my office. My plan for dealing with the cold involves weatherstripping, long underwear, a space heater for the office, and, of course, sweaters. I'm close to finishing my first sweater project of the season, the Cavern Cardigan, carefully chosen as an extra layer of alpaca/merino warmth for when I'm sitting at my desk:
And I'm already thinking about the next keep-me-from-freezing project. Specifically, I'm thinking about vests. I like having an extra layer that doesn't trap my arms in too many sleeves. But sweater vests have an unfortunate reputation for dorkiness. I had a particularly uncool sweater vest in high school (acrylic yarn in a garish shade of fire-engine red, square neckline, boxy), so I'm a little gun-shy. All of which is to say that I'm in search of a stylish-looking vest pattern, preferably one that's kind of androgynous, but fitted enough not to look baggy. (I'm aiming for "dashing," not "grandpa.")
I've found a few patterns that I think would work:
- a simple four-button vest with a little buckle in the back to adjust the fit (more images are in the PDF of the pattern);
- a V-neck vest with stripes (I'd pick different colors, but the shape is nice);
- something cabled;
- a simple design to show off an interesting yarn.
(This honeycomb pattern is a bit girlier than I'm in the mood for, but I like it as well.)
So, readers, if you feel like helping me pick out my next project, which of them do you like?
Oooooh! exciting.
I eliminated the cabled one because it’s chunky-weight wool which I reckon would be too heavy. I reckon the points on the four-button one would curl up.
Which leaves us with the stripey (lovely, fitted, like the overlapping v neck) and the honeycomb which I like because of the shape of the scoop neck. On balance I’d go for the scoop neck without the honeycomb patterning. The really good thing about it is narrowness of the fronts above the armhole. I made something similar recently (Lazaro) and it’s too wide across the shoulders for my taste. I look like I’m wearing epaulettes.
I hope you’re going to keep us up to speed with the progress 🙂
You’re back in the blogosphere! Hooray!
Hmm. I suspect you’re right about the points of that one vest turning up. Blasted stockinette. I’m wavering between the scoop-neck and the v-neck; the armhole fronts are one consideration, and the depth of the armhole is another (I hate clothes that bind under my armpits).
And yes, there will be pictures, on Ravelry and probably here as well!
heehee. you could knit a frontdoor cozy.
A frontdoor cozy like the gas station cozy? What a great idea! I need some myself for several sets of windows in the house. Or would those perhaps be called curtains?
Wow, that gas station cozy is amazing. I love this trend toward knitting as graffiti.
I’ve actually been thinking about hanging some kind of heavy insulating fabric on the inside of the front door. Or curtaining off the area immediately around it to block the drafts. But if I actually knit the curtains, they wouldn’t be done until the middle of next winter!
Ah! I’m almost done with the honeycomb vest. I altered it a bit, and am hoping that my improvised neck/armholes work out ok, but I have hopes… I’d love to see whatever you end up with! I’m all for vests recently, and have been trolling ravelry to see what other people are coming up with.