Friday, March 7, 2008

Sigh of Relief

My first attempt at a steek was successful, I am happy to say. What was previously a pullover-looking turtleneck knit entirely in the round is now a cardigan with two pretty vertical hems!



It still baffles me that this actually works, though I should really just get over it and accept the fantastical powers of wool. The sweater wool, Classic Elite Skye Tweed, is super-sticky, and because I've heard it felts so well, I used Cascade 220 for the crocheted reinforcements. Moments after I snipped the first stitch, I realized that the wools had started sticking together, the crochet holding the sweater stitches firmly in place. And now that I've given the whole thing a good soak, I know those steeked stitches aren't going anywhere.



The sweater itself looks like this:


And was based on a sweater I got for my birthday that looks like this:


I had been trying to figure out what to do with that Skye Tweed since I bought several balls of it on sale last June. I knew it would have to be in the round because I have such a hard time making nice purls with this stuff (maybe it has something to do with the fact that I'm a continental style knitter, but my purls suck and are especially terrible in inelastic yarns). When I decided I wanted a cardigan, I thought it would also be a good opportunity to try my hand at a steek, and if it didn't work out, well, the yarn was extremely cheap and I wasn't in love with it anyway.

Though all has worked out well, I still can't believe I took a pair of scissors to my precious knitting!

7 comments:

Anonymous said...

That looks awesome! Wow--I can't believe you actually cut it!

Looking forward to seeing this sweater--these pictures do not do the color of the yarn enough justice (if i remember it correctly).

See you tomorrow!

sheepish one said...

you're SO brave. and really, you've designed it EXACTLY like the gifted cardi. congrats!! i look forward to more photos.

peaknits said...

Wow - job well done! So brave! The mere thought of steeking makes me shudder:) But your project is looking fabulous!

Claudia Bugh said...

That is just beautiful knitting and finishing work. I love how you used the contrasting color for the crochet trim. Well done! I see you have a blocking board - I need to pick one of those up for myself.

Anonymous said...

Eeek! Steeking makes me nervous (even seeing you do it through the screen! =)) But it looks great, you did a wonderful job and those stitches are not going anywhere.

jenna said...

You're so brave! I've never actually heard of steeking going way wrong, but it would still scare me to death!

Ella said...

Brave brave brave brave - I'm so glad it worked out! Now I'm intrigued, and I want to look into how steeking works. I've never considered doing it... but it's a fascinating thought.

I love the colors in your sweater, by the way. Beautiful!