The Sweatshop of Lovers Blog

Librarian HOTT

I promised a Style Your Knits was coming really soon and here I am to deliver!

Even more than just a regular Style Your Knits, though, this is a Style Your Knits: Brother’s Wedding Edition.

(And yes, it is perfectly acceptable to dress like a sexy librarian when your brother gives you a one week notice he is getting married.)

I’ve got to give myself some credit for rocking this look as hard as I am. These pictures were taken at about 2:30 EST. After I drove 4 hours (traffic getting out of Chicago was nuts and added over an hour to the normally manageable drive). After I trained up to O’Hare to rent the car. After I woke up at 7 CST to finish unpacking from Portland and packing for Michigan.

Not that I’m complaining. I’m just stating facts. It’s not every day your little brother gets married and I would have driven a lot farther, CTAed a lot longer, and woken up a lot earlier, to be there.

LOVE That Sweater!

I’m just saying that I pulled it together in the clutch. Just like Kirk Gibson during the 1984 World Series, commemorated on the wall behind me.

Sexy Lean

My mom’s house is a pretty great background for these pictures. She weaves all the baskets hanging from the ceiling and on the walls. The wood walls make everything look better. There are books on every wall and hand made things sticking out of every corner.

That pile of red on the table is my Mrs Darcy Cardigan.

And full disclosure: I haven’t taken Dollar and a Half off since I’ve finished it. This is officially the fifth day in a row I could have shaped a Style Your Knits around this sweater.

It. Is. Perfect.

Sweater: Dollar and a Half Cardigan

Top: Target, a million years old

Skirt: Old Navy

Tights: Meijer

Shoes: Ann Marino, and yes I wear them any time I have to dress up

Bag: Estate sale in Portland

Dollar and a Half Cardigan

It feels like this sweater has taken me forever, but I started it on January 30th, intending it to be my February Sweater. I put it aside for two weeks for the ravelympics or I would have been finished with it much sooner.

Couldn't Fit Any Better!

We’ve been through a lot, Dollar and a Half and I. The cable band side should not at all be striped, and the front shaping should have started much lower.

Stupid Cabled Stripes!

It kinda looks like it should be striped, right? When I look at the original sweater, the way it should be, it looks… wrong.

STRIPES!

I’m in love with the stripes! And could I look skinnier in this sweater? So much for horizontal stripes making you look fat.

Fabric Buttons and Stripes Galore

I messed this sweater up royally and it still turned out great. This is a great example of going with the flow! The cable looks great against the mistake-striped background.

I love how the reverse stockinette stitch isn’t bubbly because I used size 4s for those sections and size 6s for the lace sections.

And I love my buttons! I used the plaid fabric I found at the estate sale in Portland to cover my buttons and it couldn’t be better. I had plaid fabric in mind the entire time and it came together beautifully. The buttons are so small, 5/8 inch, that it wouldn’t have mattered what I covered them with, but I love the plaid pop.

I’m still standing by my statement that I will never use normal buttons ever again. I should take out stock in fabric covered buttons right now.

The yarn is perfect, too. Knit Picks CotLin knits up really well. It’s nice and light and the color is beautiful. I will use this yarn again really soon.

I Love You!

I can’t wait to show the girls tonight in Sweater Club! And get ready for a Style Your Knits starring Dollar and a Half REALLY soon.

Pattern: Dollar and a Half Cardigan, Interweave Knits Spring 2007

Yarn: Knit Picks CotLin in Planetarium

Needles: Size 6s and 4s, both circulars

Ravelry Page Here

DinoSweater!

Seriously? Seriously. I mean, seriously?

Duplicate Stitch Dinosaur Head/Tail

SERIOUSLY!

Dino Spikes!

If there are words for how cute this sweater turned out, I don’t have them.

I’m trying not to think about how big a pain in my ass it was to make all those spikes, seam them up, knit them all together, and then seam them to that sweater.

I’m also trying not to think about how much I hate doing duplicate stitch. The dinosaur head/tale part was super annoying.

Cute! But super annoying. I really hate when things have lots of colors.

There are a ton of pieces. I had to seam together. Like seven, not counting the spikes. It sucked.

Bear/Dinosaur/Bear/Dinosaur/Bear/DINOSAUR!

But if this bear looks this cute in this sweater, then imagine how cute a real baby will look in it!

Bad Bear/Dinosaur

Especially if the baby acts up and has to go sit in the corner as a punishment! Look at the back of that sweater! That is one hot back.

So, look at me sacrifice for the love of a baby! I think this means I’m a grown up!

Rav Project Page

Hoodie Devoted!

(You ever see a picture of yourself and not really believe that is you?)

Hoodie Devoted, my first Ravelympics project, is complete! Started Friday night, finished Thursday afternoon. How is that for devotion?

Hoodie in the Sun

I’m in love. The stitch pattern was fun and interesting and the bobbles weren’t annoying. That is all you can really ask of a pattern, right? Ravelympics Project #1 Finished!

I made some serious modifications. I didn’t check my gauge, because it’s a hood, who cares?, but it was HUGE a gusset time so I changed that all up. I also changed it from being a pullover hood to being more of a cape.

Finished Hood!

Mods:

Gusset: Beg with Row 5, work even in cable pattern for 6 more row. BO all sts.

Attach Gusset to Sides: Fit gusset in to top, seam sides of hood together around gusset and down center of hood.

Rib Yoke: Not so much! PU 120 sts around bottom of hood, do not join. Starting with a RS row, work in K2, P1 to end, ending with K2. Cont in pattern for 4 rows.

Dec Rows -  Work 2 sts, dec1 st, work in pattern to 4 sts from end, dec1 st, work 2 sts.

Work Dec Row every row till ribbed section measures 5 inches. Loosely BO all stitches.

The... BACK!

I had a hell of a time figuring out what was going on with the back of this hood. There are only two pictures in the book and one of them is specifically to show the lining. The pattern calls for a gusset to be worked down from the center of the hood, and the sides to be seamed to the gusset. My hood was already HUGE, so I modified the gusset and just seamed the sides together.

It was seriously the right call to use my Caron One Pounder I had left over from a slipper project. I was worried it would be stiff and scratchy, but no part of your skin touches the yarn. My lining is this beautiful silk material I found in a remnant bin and feels like you have a seriously warm cloud wrapped around your head.

Spend money on what counts! For this project it was definitely the lining.

Pre-Lining

Of course I had to go out and buy ANOTHER pound of brown yarn because I ran out right as I was finishing the ribbed section. So I’ve got about 98% of that pound left. Again. This will be in my stash forever.

Caitlin's Cardi

To say that I’m happy with the way this sweater turned out is an understatement! Just to catch everyone up, I stole a sweater from my friend Caitlin that she found at a thrift store in order to try to duplicate it because I loved it so much.

The Original Caitlin Cardi

I’ve spent a lot of time with this sweater. We are best friends now, really. I know a lot of her secrets. Which I am going to tell you because I’m a catty bitch like that:

1) I’m pretty sure this sweater was shrunk somewhere along the way because it really feels felted. The more I knit the stitch pattern I figured out it was worked in, what I’ve been calling the lazy man’s seed stitch, the more I noticed that mine looks super textured, where this poor old girl has been worked pretty hard.

2) This sweater is for sure a hand knit. In all my staring I found a few mistakes in the stitch pattern, but the seaming is perfect. I kept looking for seaming mistakes to confirm my hand knit suspicions, since anyone would be able to take one look at the inside of one of my sweaters and know instantly it’s hand made, but there are none.

3) She’s got a single crochet button bands and neck edging!

Cables, Crochet Button Bands

Cables, Crochet Button Bands

It’s a really smart and easy way to make button holes if you know how to crochet and if you can get that first row down. I had a hard time spacing the single crochets to make sure the front of the sweater didn’t pucker.

4) These sleeves are off the chain.

Puffed, Cabled Sleeves

Puffed, Cabled Sleeves

I started at the top of the shoulder with the cable band, did some fancy PU trickery, and knit the sleeves from there. Top. Down. Sleeves.

Puffy Sleeves!

I feel like Anne of Green Gables up in here! I accidentally typed Anne of Green Cables at first. **Filing that away for a future sweater name**

5) She’s got kinda boring pockets. That I modified to be way cuter!

Boring Pockets

HOTT Pockets!

I added a Cable Band to the tops of the mini pockets, just for a little added jazz and a little more depth. I mean, still pretty functionless, but if you aren’t going to have function you might as well be as cute as possible!

2/8/10 EDIT: Only need size 42″ test knitter now!

I want to have this sweater pattern available ASAP because I’ve already been getting some lovely feedback about it. And some scary threats that if I don’t have this pattern out soon I’ll find a horse head in my bed. So I need two more text knitters! If you are interested in test knitting the 34″ or 42″ bust size options email me at allyson[at]thesweatshopoflove[dot]com for more information.

It is amazing how much can be accomplished in just one little year. Today is my one year blog anniversary! I honestly had no idea what I was getting myself into a year ago, but I am so happy I did. I’ve written more in this past year than I wrote in four years of writing school. I’ve knit more this past year than I ever have before. And I’ve taught more classes than I ever have before.

And, of course, the launch of the Knit Kits is a huge step forward for my little Sweatshop. And to thank you for being a part of this crazy year we are hosting a Madison Kit Giveaway!

Brynn Rockin Out

Win a Madison Cowl Kit or a Madison Hand Warmer Kit! To enter, leave a comment about which knit kit you want, which color, and how you are planning on wearing it. Tweet it with a @sweatshopoflove for bonus points!

You have until the Super Bowl (that is Sunday, February 7th) to enter! Our winners will be announced Monday, February 8th.

HOTT!

And you can take your style cues from our Madison Kit model, Brynn! She rocks the Madison Cowl and Hand Warmers so well it was like we made them for her.

Love It!

She had some lovely things to say about what she was modeling, too! “I am amazed at the vintage feel of the pattern; it makes this set especially unique.  I’ve never seen anything like it.  I also love how the gloves are like little coats for your hands!  I can still rummage through my purse, flick my hair out of my face and get things done without constantly pulling gloves on and off.  The cowl feels like a hug around the neck! It not only kept me warm doing my chilly morning shoot, but it didn’t feel confining.  Vintage fashion meets function – yes, please.”

Thanks, Brynn!

How sweet! And how cute is her outfit? I couldn’t NOT make this a Style Your Knits.

Navy Floral Strapless Dress: Vintage (Knee Deep in Pilsen)

Cropped Tuxedo Jacket: Twenty8Twelve

Pale Pink Wool Cardigan: I bought it in like 9^th grade!

Faux Croc Leggings: American Apparel

Belt: Vintage (Knee Deep in Pilsen)

Suede Booties: Aldo

ZigZag Bracelet: Vintage (Randolph Street Market)

And Tara took all these cute pics! She wanted to give a shout out, “To Atomix and it’s awesome patrons for being so cool with us shooting in and around the coffee shop. Everyone was really radical about it.”

Man Cowl

PT has been joking for a few weeks now that he wants a Man Cowl. I’ve been telling him for a few weeks that he really doesn’t want a Man Cowl. He isn’t really the Man Cowl type. What would he do with a Man Cowl? He would just look at it and not know what to do with it.

Man Cowl? For PT?

I made PT a Man Cowl about a month ago for his birthday.

It’s just a double moss stitch rectangle seamed together off center so it folds a little.

Ready to Fold

Will he wear it? I’m still not sure. He says he likes it and he was wearing it around the house after I gave it to him.

Does this translate into a knitting joke gone right? Only time, with the help of falling Chicago temps, will tell.

Remember my Summer Sweater I knit last summer? I rocked it out last night!

Summer Sweater Winter Style

And Here Less Angry!

I had an outfit planned for last night that was not this outfit. It involved a Sweater That Shall Not Be Named, and that is still an open wound so lets not talk about it! lalala

I had my heart set on a Style Your Knits post, so I had to make it happen.

While it is unseasonably warm in Chicago this weekend, it is nowhere near summer levels but I thought, why can’t this be an all year around sweater? I can make it happen.

And I did! How cute it is with the black belt and tights combo? Instant winterization.

Sweater #2

I threw a black sweater over it, too. Little did I know Relax Bar, the scene for PT’s birthday party last night, is kept to a near hell like temperature. See my shoe option two in the back ground? Flats would have been just too easy.

Summer Sweater

I love this top. It’s so fun and pretty and was fun to knit. And I got groped all night by adoring fans of this lovely sweater. Win win!

(AND a very happy birthday to Mr. PT!)

Top: Summer Sweater, knit by me

Sweater: Kohls

Belt: Stolen from PT

Skirt: Made by me from an old pair of pants

Tights: Target

Shoes: Ann Marino, again

I’d like to preface this post by saying that, while acknowledging that I’ve got a lot on my emotional plate right now, I had to crop my crying face out of most of these pictures, and that is a bit of an overreaction.

Minimalist Cardigan Fail. And I cried. I’m staring at it right now, actually, wanting to cry. It’s like knitting masochism.

Curly Front, Pre-Block

These pre-blocking pictures kill me. Had I known that this would be the last time I’d be wearing and loving my sweater I wouldn’t have just thrown it over the long sleeved t-shirt I wore yesterday.

Nice Normal Sleeves!

I also would have cleaned my mirror before taking these pictures.

I was just finishing up the sleeves in my last Knit a Sweater a Month Challenge post. Sure, I was getting sick of the double moss stitch, but I was still rocking it out and loving it so much!

Remember how in love with this sweater I was when I started?! I still felt that love, even if it was a little boring.

So I finished knitting up the sleeves, seemed it all together, and I thought it was looking good! The size was right on. The only problem was that the front panels were super curly, but I saw that while I was knitting it. I knew a quick block would take care of it, no problem.

Stupid Huge Sweater

As soon as I had it in the bath the light bulb went off:

Fingering weight yarn+larger than gauge needles+lacy stitch=STRETCH

Really, Really Big

I mean, look at those sleeves. Look at the length! It’s supposed to be a cropped sweater with 3/4 length sleeves. I just look like a midget. With wide shoulders.

Stupid Wide Shoulders

But that got me thinking. What if I re-seam the shoulders to make them hit higher? That would pull the sleeves up and at least make it look like I knew how to dress myself.

Pinned? Maybe?

It puckered in the front but kind of cutely!

Back View... hmm

It puckered in the back in a not so cutely.

Not Re-Seamed

Re-Seamed

And, while seaming the shoulders up did make it look a little better, I snuggled it, dried my tears, and decided to give it to my mom for her birthday.

So, happy early birthday, mom. With a tear, because I really wanted this sweater! But I know you will love it. Because it is psychotically beautiful, and your favorite color, and will look fantastic on you.

I’m glad it is getting a good home. Now I’ve got to get more Woodland Sage Knit Picks Gloss because I need this yarn to be in my life. In sweater form.

Sigh. Double sigh.

Feet? Check.

HOTT? Check.

I got a sweet idea while I was getting ready to go out Friday night! I know some knitters have trouble styling their knits, I sure did when I first started knitting. So why not show examples of how I wear my knits to help show how easy they are to work into perfectly normal outfits?!

Enter: Style Your Knits!

(I should have thought of this when I was rocking my bow headband on New Years Eve, but better late than never)

OOhhh Belt!

So here we’ve got my cabled party belt that I finished last week worn over an Alternative Apparel tshirt PT won off a blog contest and didn’t like and under a black cardigan.

Full Disclosure: I was worried about the belt slipping off since there was no real way to secure it, since it’s not a belt buckle but a purse handle, so I used some bobby pins to make sure it didn’t go anywhere. This was a great decision! There is no way it would have stayed on all night otherwise.

Also, it was really hard to sit in. When I sat down it would slide up unattractively because the buckle was so big.

Worth it? DUH look how cute I look.

Feet: HOTT

And here we’ve got some purple toe up socks I knit over the summer with purple peep toe heels I bought a million years ago at Target. They are Isaac Mizrahi for Target, that is how long ago I bought them. I went a little crazy because all the snow is melting and it was like 25 degrees Friday night! I love how my long jeans look with these shoes.

There you have it! I styled those hand knits and I can safely say that no one in the world was wearing the same outfit I was wearing on Friday. I love that about making my own clothes.

Shirt: Alternative Apparel deep V

Sweater: Kohls

Belt: Hand knit by me, Vogue Knitting pattern

Jeans: New York & Company low-rise bootcut

Shoes: Isaac Mizrahi for Target

Socks: Hand knit by me, my own toe-up sock pattern