Unbubblegumming

So there I was, Gentle Readers, with an armload of beautiful “New Old Stock” Plymouth Galway yarn. And by armload, I mean “Gimme-All-Ya-Got”, via a very nice seller on E Bay. I always was a girl with an eye for a bargain, and this one would have been wrong to leave behind. As you know, not every project has to begin with thousand-dollar-yarn. In fact, there’s a certain freedom in grabbing a pile of the budget-friendly variety because there’s less at stake, financially to experiment with.

6 of the 12 skeins I scored for $30

But it wasn’t exactly my dream color. It was full-on Bubblegum pink. Meh.

Not to worry. It was nothing a few packets of Kool-Aid couldn’t fix. 48 packets, as it turned out, in a combination of Black Cherry and Blue Raspberry, at a ratio of 3 to 1.

After soaking a sweater’s worth of my skeins in warm water, I popped them into this semi-transparent bin with some water I microwaved until just boiling. The amount of water used with Koolaid doesn’t matter; you just need enough to cover the yarn. Then I put the lid on the bin and let the hot sun do its magic for a couple of hours.

I used to dye yarn this way with my kids when they were little, so the process brought back lots of fond memories. The intoxicating scent of powdered drink mix always brings on a fit of Mommy Nostalgia.

This dye technique couldn’t be easier: Benign neglect is all you need. I wandered off to eat popsicles in front of a fan, confident in the yarn’s ability to absorb the pigment and leave nothing but colorless water behind. You can tell all the dye has been taken up when the water is just a bit cloudy, with no dye remaining in it.

You can gently stir the yarn around a bit during the process if you want the color to be more even, or you can leave it alone like I did for more of a kettle-dyed effect.

Another fun effect can be achieved by putting either end of the wet skein into different colored dye containers. The skein will wick dye from either container toward the center for a multicolor wave.

You can also get ombre by suspending one end of a skein into the dye, then gradually lowering it into the bath more and more at intervals. Super fun, whether you do it with smallies, or on your own.

I let it dry, happy with the Rhubarb color it turned. Witchcraft, I tell ya.

And here’s a peek at it, once knit. Tangy!

I’m now inspired to make a new class for you; on something I’ve never done before: Your First Sweater. Maybe you’re a newer knitter who’s made a few accessories and is ready to try a sweater? Or perhaps an experienced stitcher who has been around the world and back in shawls but never tackled a garment? I’ll show you how to measure and fit a real live body, with shaping and openings and everything! I’ll be teaching this in November, so stay tuned for more details.

Meanwhile, please join me for 2 Strings = Not Scary next Friday HERE. No homework, no stress, just a fun introduction to stranded colorwork with me.

Or how about dipping a toe into Entrelac? Sign up HERE to make a fun little project that magically changes colors.

Ready to tackle the most feared act in knitting? There’s safety in numbers when you join me and other thrill-seeking knitters HERE for Eeek! Steeks!

And there are still a few spots available HERE in my first-ever Stars and Stripes workshop. I’ll actually be knitting along with you for this one, which will be a hoot! I can’t wait to show you my zany idea for a modern take on the classic Fana cardigan.

Welcome, Knitting Weather. It’s gonna get colorful in here.

The Big Reveal

Well that took a while! I mean waiting for the sun to come out at the same time as I had a willing photographer on hand. Finally it happened, and here are my Ta-Da! photos of the Permission Denied project.

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Many thanks to you all, Gentle Readers, for inspiring and accompanying me on this journey. I hope you all enjoyed and learned from it as much as I have.

Now what should we knit?

Sleeving

Now that the neckline and fronts are finished (you DID take a minute to feel smug about that, didn't you?), the only big step left is to mount the sleeves on your Permission Denied. Or, if you aren't done finishing the fronts and neckline, that's fine, too; you can save them for last and hit the sleeves now.

But of course, first things first: Ruby is fabulous. Just saying.

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So, sleeves. If everything is going according to plan, you should have armholes that look something like this; open slots at the sides of the body with closed shoulder seams:

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Find the center top of one of your sleeves, where it will meet up with the shoulder seam, and mark it. Stick the sleeve into the slot from the outside, with the little armpit flange (the mitered part of the sleeve top facing) down toward the armpit, and the center of the top up by the shoulder seam. Pin the center top of your sleeve to the shoulder seam with a safety pin or a separating stitch marker.

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Now thread up a tapestry needle with a single strand of yarn in any color (it should disappear if you do this right - mine's purple), about three times the length of your sleeve top circumference (mine was around two yards long). Leave a six-inch tail, and beginning at the armpit, stitch back and forth from the body to the sleeve. Your sewing should land in the first column of knitting adjacent to the securing stitches, and under both legs of every single knitted sleeve top stitch at the base of the facing rounds. Make long loose stitches, like the lacing on a corset. Every inch or so, you'll pull your sewing yarn snug, "lacing" the sleeve into the armhole and watching with delight as the working strand disappears.

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As you know from sewing knitted columns to knitted rows in the past, you'll need to compensate for their differing ratios. At this gauge, I typically skip every 4th or 5th row of the body, while hitting every single stitch of the sleeve top. Your mileage may vary, of course, so be patient and unafraid to back up and start over if you have to until you get it right. The second sleeve will be much easier (for once!).

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You'll know you've got it if everything is matching up as predicted when you get up to the shoulder seam/sleeve center juncture. Take self-congratulatory photos, if so. Then continue the rest of the way around the armhole until you meet your starting yarn tail. I like to tie the tails in an overhand knot, then pull them through to the inside and trim their ends to about 1". Now do your second sleeve while you still remember what the stitching ratio was.

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You should now have sleeves in armholes that look perfectly respectable from the outside, and a little bit nightmare-y on the inside. Resist the urge to panic and get out some pins, a sharp hand-sewing needle and thread. A bit of beeswax on your thread is a good idea - you don't need any unwanted knots making things difficult for you. Smooth and pin your beautiful knitted facing down over the cut edge of the armhole slot. This is the last time that messy cut edge will be heard from, so thank it for its service, and bid it adieu. Thread up your sewing needle with a single strand of thread and knot its end. Start at the armpit again, and sew invisibly with a felling stitch all the way around the facing. Catch only the surface of the floats on the body side of this seam, and one leg of your bind-off stitches on the facing side. Keep your sewing stitches firm enough to be invisible, but not so tight they pull the knitting in.

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Once you get all the way around, secure your sewing thread and cut it. This is the magic part of the sleeve top facing. It's almost impossible to figure out from just seeing a finished one. Now that you have done it, you know its secrets! Feel smarter? You are. Finish your second sleeve and congratulate yourself with a well-deserved treat of some sort. 

If you're moving on to finish your fronts and neckline, now's the time for that. If you already did that, the only thing left is closures, if you want them, and ribbons/trim if you are a maniac.

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I skipped the ribbons and trim this time (well, not buying them, but applying them) in a bizarre fit of restraint. I made some swell contrasting button loops and ran my buttons two by two.

And that's all she wrote, my friends. Next time I'll model the big reveal. Providing I can find somebody else to hold the camera for me, of course. Ruby has yet to volunteer, but the camera is bigger than she is.