All Stars
My Fana is inching toward the finish line. Yesterday I worked the neckline and center front steeks. Wanna see?
If you've read your Elizabeth Zimmermann, you'll recognize this as a "Kangaroo Pouch" construction (Elizabeth didn't invent it, though, Norway and/or Scotland did). I worked a cylinder of knitting up as far as the base of the square neckline (the lower edge of the big star border). Then I put the neckline stitches on waste yarn holders, and cast on a new steek in the following row.
Here's a closer look at my neckline steek.
It's easier to understand the kangaroo pouch when you see it folded along the center front and center back. See the square neckline?
Here's another front view. Like my sexy red crochet steek? I always use contrast yarn for crochet steeks. Don't know why. Just like it better that way.
After this photo, I cut the steeks open and sent it for a well-earned, relaxing bath in the kitchen sink. When the yarn got wet, it actually smelled like sheep and hay. Pure bliss.
After its luxury spa treatment, I made it straighten up and fly right. One pin every inch, every edge. I'm always amazed at this point how much knitting is in a sweater. It's just so much acreage when it's all stretched out flat.
I'd call this roughly the halfway point. Next I'll make sleeves, then armholes, then do the finishing.
I made a mistake with my uppermost border. It actually should have been another set of stripes, rather than more checks. I'm not sure why I failed to check that detail before I knitted it. Looking at photos, I can't find a single Fana with checks up there; it's always stripes. But you know what? I like the checks, and it's already cut, so there. And it's a non-traditional Fana anyway, because I couldn't control myself and put those red stripes in. Save me a seat in Knitting Jail.