The Sweatshop of Love Blog

We’re in the home stretch! By this time next week we’ll be working on finishing our sweaters. So let’s play catch up this week so we can all wear our sweaters together in two weeks!

Make Up Your Mind

Knitting patterns are hard to write. There is a shit ton of math and you drive yourself crazy with numbers and sizing and so naturally mistakes happen. This week is going to be a little lesson in common sense knitting and fixing pattern issues on the fly.

Katie's Make Up Your Mind!

The first step we’ve got to take this week in our Make Up Your Mind tank is separating our front from our back with some arm hole shaping. I got a jump on this last night and came across a problem.

Lisa's Make Up Your Mind!

As written, I ended my Lace Rib on a Round 1, the actual YO lacy row, then I moved on to my bind offs. I BO 6[6, 6, 7, 7, 8, 8, 9, 10] sts, then k44[46, 51, 57, 60, 62, 71, 76], BO 6[6, 6, 7, 7, 8, 8, 9, 10] more stitches and k to end.

Then things got hairy. Knowing I had to just continue working my lace rib, I knew my next row had to be a lacy Yo row, a RS row, as stated in Julie’s notes, however now I’m working back and forth on just the front part of my top and having just worked a RS row, my next row (WS), as written, would be a dec purl row, since at the end of the BO row I’d have to turn my work and work a WS row. This would put a two rows of St st next to each other, breaking up my Lace Rib and putting a line of St st right across my boobs. Not cute!

So we’ve got a problem, and there are 2 ways to fix it. Since I was already finished with my BO rows and didn’t want to pull those out, I cut my yarn, slid my needle back across the front section of stitches, and reattached my yarn so I’m on the RS of the work ready to work a RS row.

The second way to fix it is to end your Lace Rib before you do your BOs on a Round 2, the K only round, and work your BOs on a Lace Rib, so the BO line would be written

BO 6[6, 6, 7, 7, 8, 8, 9, 10] sts, then work in pattern 44[46, 51, 57, 60, 62, 71, 76], BO 6[6, 6, 7, 7, 8, 8, 9, 10] more stitches and work in pattern to end – make sure you count your stitches because binding off lace is always tricky. This way you’d be able to turn, work your WS row (purling) as written, and continue as written for the rest of the front.

Problem solving knitting is just part of the game! It’s why you’ve got to pay attention and trust your knitting instincts. If something sounds off it just might be!

Moving forward – you can just leave the back of the tank, the section with 45[47, 52, 56, 58, 61, 63, 72, 77] sts, on your circular needle, unworked this week, or you can slide those stitches on a holder or scrap piece of yarn. We will be continuing on only the 73[76, 81, 85, 88, 93, 96, 105, 113] sts, for the front.

And finish that front! This is a confusing one because of the tiny mistake here so if you’ve got questions be sure to email me or post them on the forum and we’ll work them out.

This Week’s Make Up Your Mind Goal: Finish the front of the tank! Keep in mind that the wrong side of your tank is going to be your purling and shaping row, and your right side row is going to be your YO lace row. And be sure to read over Julie’s note about lace shaping in her notes section and keep an eye on your stitch count. It’s easy to think you’re decreasing when you aren’t with lace.

You will be shaping your neckline this week, too! It’s a mini version of your armhole shaping. So on your wrong side row you’ll purl 14[14, 14, 16, 16, 16, 18, 18, 20] and place these sts on st holder for right strap; BO next 43[44, 47, 47, 50, 53, 52, 57, 57] sts (these are your neckline), and purl to end. So you’ll have 14/16/18/20 sts on a holder on your right side and 14/16/18/20 stitches live on your needle for your left strap.

Finish both those straps and you’re golden!

The Loop Entrelac Tank

No big surprise here: We’re tackling the back this week! There is only one part of this tank missing!

This Week’s The Loop Entrelac Tank Goal: Get a healthy jump on the back section of the tank. You’re starting with the top of the back with a K1P1 rib to make sure you’ve got a snug fit for the ladies. We’re sticking with the seam as you go technique to make sure the rib stops once the you’re past the boob flaps. Switch over to St st and finish like you did for the tummy panel, increasing to the end.

You don’t have to finish the entire back this week. Next week we’ll be finishing the back and finishing the entire tank, so do what you can. We’re tackling our crocheted bottom edge next week, so if that’s foreign for you be sure to allow extra time for it.

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Keep me posted with your progress on the forums, by email and on twitter! I love seeing your pics and hearing what you’re up to. Good luck this week and I can’t wait to see what you come up with!

Happy knitting!

I know it will be hard to believe, but I managed to put down all the babies around here long enough to keep up with my knit along progress.

A Little Lace Rib!

I headed out to the back deck of my mom’s house and took pics on her picnic table for a little change of scenery and some natural light. This is the truest color of my beautiful Knit Picks Comfy Fingering in Hollyberry that I’ve gotten! And here I’ve got my 4″ (2 extra inches) of my lace rib before we separate for the armholes.

LOTSA Make Up Your Mind!

Have I mentioned how much I love this pattern? Make Up Your Mind is fun and absolutely beautiful and I really can’t wait to wear it. Will this KAL pick up the pace already?!

The Loop Tummy Panel!

My The Loop Entrelac Tank tummy panel is all finished up, too! The Knit Picks Cotton Sport in Bermuda Heather has been staying pretty true to color in every picture I’ve taken of it, but it gets more and more beautiful with every inch I knit. Which is why I’m getting more and more nervous that this top isn’t going to fit! There will be some serious blocking/dieting in my future if this top turns out too small.

I’ve got a weekend full of baby holding, cherry picking, pie baking, and hopefully some knitting in my future! Have a great weekend y’all!

This is the last week we’re working in the round for Make Up Your Mind, and we’re finishing up the front of the body on The Loop Entrelac Tank. We’ve only got 2 weeks left, y’all! The end is near!

Make Up Your Mind

Jesse's Make Up Your Mind!

We love modifications around here, and this week is another modification week with our Make Up Your Mind tank. I said in Week 1 that we’d be adding 4” to the overall length of this top. We added 2” the first week and we’re adding 2 more inches this week. Aren’t you glad I didn’t throw 2 more inches of Hindu Pillar stitch?! I would have had a mutiny on my hands!

Gillian's Make Up Your Mind!

By this time you can try on your tank and get an idea of how long it is for your body and your liking. Throw half your sweater stitches on another circular needle and put it on. You might only need 1 extra inch of Lace Rib. Me? I’m going for the full 2” extra, so 4 full inches of Lace Rib before separating for the armholes. But it’s your choice!

ahandfulloftime's Make Up Your Mind!

This Week’s Make Up Your Mind Goal: We’re working Julie’s Lace Rib stitch up to the armhole shaping, but aren’t tackling that until next week. As written, you will be working Lace Rib for 2”, but I suggest adding another 2” here. Depending on how you want your top to look, work Lace Rib for somewhere between 2 and 4”.

With the 2” we added at the beginning of the sweater, and 2 more inches added here, that would mean your work should measure 16[16, 16, 18, 18, 18, 20, 20, 20] inches from your cast on edge.

I’m pushing back the separating of the front and back sections to next week so we can all get on the same page. I’ll go through the process step by step, so no need to fear! Get a feel for the Lace Rib this week and we’ll cross that bridge next week.

The Loop Entrelac Tank

Gillian's The Loop Entrelac Tank!

You’re through the fun part of the tummy panel. All those YO increases are fun, right?! This week it’s more Tummy Panel on The Loop Entrelac Tank. You’re just working your increases until your panel reaches the desired inch mark, increasing every 6th row. Simple, right?!

This Week’s The Loop Entrelac Tank Goal: Finish the Tummy Panel. Isn’t it funny how this top keeps getting easier and easier?!

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Keep me posted with your progress on the forums, by email and on twitter! I love seeing your pics and hearing what you’re up to. Good luck this week and I can’t wait to see what you come up with!

Happy knitting!

This is the first week it’s actually looking like I’m working on sweaters. There is enough body coverage now to check fit and get a feel for how these knits are going to look on. It’s always motivating when you can see a sweater forming, and god knows we all needed extra motivation this week. Hindu Pillar stitch? Holy balls.

Hindu Pillar? More like SUCK PILLAR! Am I right?!

It’s beautiful, yes. And I know I’ve had pain in my hands from knitting in the past, so maybe they are just overly sensitive, but this stitch hurt. Julie, our lovely Make Up Your Mind designer, commented this week that she didn’t think the Hindu Pillar stitch was annoying at all. Yes, it’s slower, but the real problem I had with it is that it was HARD to purl 3 sts together, then work into those three stitches again.

Make Up Your Mind Tank Progress So Far

Worth it, though? Absolutely. I’m in love. I’m more in love that I thought I’d be, even. It’s truly stunning. Julie’s pics are beautiful, but they don’t do it justice. The more I knit it the more beautiful it gets and the more I want to wear it. 3 more weeks can’t come soon enough!

Tummy Panel!

My The Loop Entrelac Tank is shaping up, too! This week’s goal was to knit half of the tummy panel, and I’ve got it. I love starting with a small number of stitches and working my way up. It makes me feel like I’m making real progress.

I’m starting to get nervous that it’s going to be too small! I went down a size – from the 36 to the 32, because I wanted a tighter fit, but I think it’s going to be TOO tight. Some aggressive blocking will be necessary regardless. Or a serious diet.

Some Kick Ass Seaming, If I Do Say So Myself

Not to toot my own horn here, but this bit of designing is pretty good. From the naked eye you couldn’t pick out a seam here, so it just looks like some crazy short row YO shaping. I love it. Reading my own pattern instructions here I kept thinking: Damn girl, you might just be a designer. That’s a pretty good feeling.

Knit up a sweaty storm this weekend! Throw your knitting in your picnic baskets and have a great 4th.

We’re knitting these sweaters in different directions – the Make Up Your Mind tank starts from the bottom and works its way up. The Loop Entrelac Tank, on the other hand, starts at the straps and works its way down. This week both sweaters are meeting in the middle! We are at the same spot in both sweaters. Kinda fun, right?!

This is a tricky week for both sweaters, so we’re going to take it nice and slow. Be sure to email me or chat on the forums if you are having problems or if something isn’t clear. We can do this!

Make Up Your Mind

ahandfuloftime's Make Up Your Mind!

And last but not least, we’re tackling the fourth band this week in the Make Up Your Mind tank, and the Hindu Pillar stitch is the trickiest panel we’ve tackled so far. Quite a few of you have been looking ahead in the pattern and already bulking at these instructions, so let’s just take it punctuation mark to punctuation mark, easy peasy, and get it right.

Stacie's Make Up Your Mind!

This Week’s Make Up Your Mind Goal: Work the fourth band. This involves the 3 st cluster, described in the Pattern Notes section on the front page of the pattern. Let’s take it even slower:

Jessica's Make Up Your Mind!

3-st cluster: Julie’s instructions on the pattern are in bold, my notes follow.

P3tog but do not drop sts from left needle – So just like you would normally, swing your yarn to the front, put your right needle into the next three stitches purlwise, wrap your yarn around normally, and purl together those three stitches, but make sure you stop before you slide those stitches off the left needle.

k same 3 sts together but do not drop from left needle –  Swing your yarn around between your needles to the back of your work, just like you’d do if you were switching your yarn from the front to the back between purl and knit stitches. Go back into those three stitches as if you hadn’t before and knit them together without dropping them from your left needle. You know have 2 sts on your right needle and that cluster of three stitches on your left needle.

p same 3 sts together again and drop from left needle – Swing your yarn again between your needles to the front of your work, just like you’d go back to purling after knitting. Go back into those three stitches as if you hadn’t before and purl them together. You now have three stitches on your right needle and those same three stitches on your left needle. When you drop those three stitches from your left needle, your stitch count won’t change because you’ve worked three stitches into three stitches.

Max Holding Sarah's Make Up Your Mind!

I was working on this yesterday and this stitch is hard on my hands. My best advice would be to keep your stitches in round 1 really loose, so it’s easy to move your right needle in and out of the stitches, then tighten them up in round 2 when you are just knitting.

Rachel's Make Up Your Mind!

Take these instructions step by step, punctuation mark to punctuation mark, and make it happen! It won’t look like much until you finish round 2, but it’s actually a really beautiful stitch! One I hope I never come across again.

At this point we’re still 2” longer than what the sweater suggests, so work your Hindu Pillar stitch until your sweater is work measures 12[12, 12, 14, 14, 14, 16, 16, 16] inches from your cast on edge, and work your garter stitch rows.

Next week we’re separating our front and back sections! Get ready!

The Loop Entrelac Tank

Max Modeling Sarah's The Loop Entrelac Tank!

Tummy panel! It doesn’t get much cuter than that. We’re getting a start on the front of The Loop Entrelac Tank this week and finishing it for Week 6. It’s built right onto the pieces that we’ve already completed, as is the rest of the pieces we make from now on, so take instructions like, ‘seam as you go’ to heart! This is how you’ll get your sizing. There are no more stitch counts in the entire sweater pattern! Good and kinda scary, right?

Stefanie's Entrelac Tank!

This Week’s The Loop Entrelac Tank Goal: Knit about half of your tummy panel. This should be all of your increases and a couple inches into the front body of your top.

Seam the bottoms of your entrelac straps together, as pictured, and pick up your stitches for the tummy panel from there. Increase a bunch of rows as instructed, and seam up one side to your boob flap. Keep doing this until the increase section of your tummy panel matches the length of your boob flap. Switch to working your increases every 6th row for a few inches more. No pressure! We’ll finish this panel next week.

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So there’s lots of new things this week, but we’re tackling them together so it’s ok! I’ve been on the forums like a hawk so keep posting questions and pics there! Email me and tweet me, too!

Good luck and happy knitting!