sweater

MADE | Sheer Pullover Sweater

February 22, 2017 By Chie

After knitting my first sweater, I was hooked to knitting. I like having a portable project when I watch movies at home (right now watching Outlander). I found knitwear designer, michiyo’s book at a local library and immediately liked every piece in her book. From many patterns, I picked “see through pull over” in this book. As you can see, it is very straight forward. The first few rows of bodice and sleeves are rib, and the rest are all knitted in knit in round. It has a sheer effect as the pullover goes close to the shoulders since it is knitted in thicker needles. I think the sheer effect would show more if I wear a contrasting color underneath.
I started this project in mid November, so it took about three months to complete. I found the Japanese knitting patterns so much easier to follow as they have many graphics. I used 80 grams of Hamanaka Mohair. I bought them in this app called Mercari where you can buy and sell pretty much anything. Sometimes you can find fun stuff in craft supply section. The patterns for the white pants are Ginger jeans from Closet Case Files.
I knitted two sleeves at the same time, using the method I learned from this Japanese book(輪針でニット　びっくり！楽しい「輪針」の使い方). At first it was awkward to knit and I was afraid that it would leave big holes, but at the end it was not very noticeable. It was great to be able to finish two sleeve pieces at the same time. michiyoさんの「じっくり編んで永く愛せるニットのふだん着」から、シースループルオーバーを作りました。
michiyoさんのパターン、好きです。
他にも作りたいものがいっぱいの本でした。
「部活」として編み物のmeet upもやってるみたいなのでいつか参加したいと思っています。

糸はハマナカモヘアのサーモンピンク（色番４）。
1玉20ｇで、4玉で出来上がりました。
軽くて、柔らかくてふわふわの糸で、春の初めのまだ寒い時期にぴったり。

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Brooklyn Tweed Hudson Turtleneck

January 23, 2017 By Chie

I’m a complete novice when it comes to knitting, but I could not resist starting a project after looking at so many fun instagram photos of beautifully knitted projects (@kniting_inspiration, @brooklyntweed, @woolandthegang). I started this Brooklyn Tweed Hudson twisted rib turtleneck in the mid Summer to take to my Summer trips in Karuizawa and Atami. I finished it in December so it took five months. I have some experience knitting with circular needles (hat) but this was my first time knitting a sweater. This turtleneck is constructed by knitting the bodice and sleeves separately and then connecting them at the shoulder finishing at the neckline. Making the bodice and sleeves were pretty straightforward; however, joining them all together and at the same time decreasing the stitches was not. I just could not understand the pattern at that point and repeated the process 3 times. By the fourth attempt, I was so exhausted that I gave up on following the patterns all together. That is why the neckline is shaped in a weird asymmetrical way.
Thankfully the yarns I used were navy blue which is very close to black, so it is hard to notice the mistakes. Or at least I’m hoping so. I got the yarn in Yuzawaya Shinjuku at the end of last Winter when they were doing massive store closing sale. This yarn is a mix of wool and cashmere. It’s pretty warm when wearing with my polkadot archer button up.This knitted clutch was made by my friend. She gave me the knitted piece and asked me to just put it together myself since she knew I sewed. I added a zipper at top and lined it with printed corduroy. Also added a piece of plastic at the bottom so the clutch won’t sag when I put a lot of stuff in.
I’ve already started my second sweater project. This time I’m using a Japanese pattern from michiyo. Japanese knitting books provide graphics (figures?) for the patterns, so I’m hoping the neck shaping will go easier this time. I’m making it with pink mohair. More to come! 初めてのセーターを作りました。
型紙はBrooklyn TweedのHudson。
日本の編み図と違って、図がなく、全てが文章で書かれているのでかなり戸惑いました。
下から胴と袖を別々に編んで、肩からラグランスリーブとして繋げていくタイプ。
胴、袖2つのパーツは割と問題なく編めましたが3つを繋げて目を減らしていくところが本当にわからず、なんかネックラインの仕上がりがおかしいです😢
3回やり直してもまだわからなかったので、取りあえず編み進めて終わらせました。
濃い紺色の毛糸なので網目の間違いが分かりずらくて良かった。
8月から編み始め、12月にやっと出来上がりました。

クラッチは友達が編んでくれたものに裏地を入れて自分で仕上げしました。
太い毛糸で編むから1時間ぐらいで編み終わるって言ってプレゼントしてくれて、感動☆
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Before & After | Cardigan to Cropped Sweater

February 20, 2015 By Chie

I love the cropped top trend and I hope it will continue for a few more seasons. I wore this pink floral one in the Summer and got a good amount of wear out of it; however, I didn’t really get the rationale behind the cropped sweater since you wear sweater in the winter to keep yourself warm but if your belly is exposed, it defeats the purpose. I know that in my head, but when something is trendy, I just can’t seem to let it pass (evidence here for the neon trend).

I’m in a bit of a upcycling phase where I’m taking old clothes and give it new life as you can see it from my last post. I bought this gray sweater cardigan a few years ago from 390 mart. It’s one of my favorite shops in Tokyo! It is a mixture of vintage clothing and kitsy random zakka items like scented candles, make-up pouches and key chains. As far as I know, there are only two, in Machida city and Harajuku.

This DIY was super simple. I took off the buttons (and saved them for a future project) and sewed the front part together. The cardigan has a hood, but I sewed up as much as I can, leaving enough space for my head to go through. It resulted in kind of like a turtle neck, and it keeps my neck warm.

The cardigan was short enough so I did not do anything to make it look “cropped”.

Tokyo winter is not as cold as Philly, where I used to live but it still gets pretty cold in winter. I go everywhere by bike, so I usually have to dress appropriately to bike outside. I wore this over a maxi dress I made so head to toe was covered.