Phildar Swing Jacket

It's finally finished! Before I post, PLEASE forgive the mess that I sometimes refer to as my bedroom, and err please forgive my bathroom/self-portrait taking photos.


Project Details

Pattern: Phildar Swing Jacket from Phildar

Yarn: I used New Zealand Naturally in 10ply , in a light grey colour.

The actual yarn is fairly rough in both a finished form and while still on the hank. It came very smelly and very "fresh from the sheep", and I actually dreaded the smell every time I opened my little project bag for this little jacket. After blocking however, the smell has somewhat subdued and only re-ignites itself when it gets wet (as with many yarns).

I wouldn't normally pick this yarn for a sweater or any project for that matter, but I needed a little bit of structure, and the yarn's rough/raw-ness ended up perfect for this project.

I managed to get gauge with this yarn, and I used approximately 3.5 hanks in total (200 grams per hank) with about half a hank left over. The yarn was fairly cheap, and the overall cost of yarn ended up at approximately $58.

For the inside pockets, I used some stash yarn that happened to be a perfect match for the lilac trimming. It was acrylic Panda Magnum 5ply.


Needles
4.5mm - I used a circular needle for the back as it was quite a heavy project, but the majority was worked on straights. For the pockets, I ended up using 3.25 mm straights.

Comments
As I have alluded to recently, this project caused me quite a bit of heartache. At first, it was because my yarn just wasn't producing the right structure fabric so I had to restart the project using the Naturally 10 ply. Following that, I had a few sizing issues, but in the end it worked out fine.


I knitted the smallest size (34 in French sizing), and it turned out a nice fit. As it is a swing jacket, it's a little bit loosish around the waist, but I like the flippy-outedness of the finished object.

The pattern itself wasn't the easiest to work with. Although the french to english translation is quite spot on, I found myself knitting 10 rows before the pattern actually said "at the same time" to which I then had to frog back 10 rows and redo the section. If anyone is planning to knit it, I recommend reading at least two paragraphs ahead just to make sure you don't encounter the same issues.

Once I had knitted it up, the biggest challenge was to find buttons and trimming to go. Boy did that take awhile. I ended up using quilter's satin trim, and had to recut what I bought so that it was perfectly sized for my jacket.


With regards to the buttons, I had absolutely no luck finding the right buttons even after 1 month of trawling. So, I ended up making my own buttons. It was my first go at polymer clay so it was a dodgy result, but my significant other says it adds to the charm and cuteness of the overall jacket. The buttons are not functional but rather, there for decorative purposes. The jacket does up with snaps.


My end comment? I'm very pleased with it, and if I were to put in an extra 6 months or so, I would reknit this in a charcoal colour with silver trimming. All in all, a nice little jacket that I wore out today and quite loved.

6 months, 4 tries and lots of heartache later..

I am so pleased to say that I have finished my Phildar Swing Jacket!! Unfortunately, there isn't much natural light at the moment, so pictures will have to wait till maybe the weekend. But I must admit (without too much big headedness) that I think it looks adorable and I'm very pleased with the results. More on that later! Stay tuned!

Crafters become even more crafty

When I first laid eyes on the Phildar Swing Jacket, I fell in love. I have many little jackets like the Phildar one in my wardrobe - my cute little checked one, my little black one, and my little brown tweedy one. But I didn't yet have a pretty light grey/lilac one. And so I started to knit.. and knit.. and knit.

That was about 7 months ago that I started. And it's still not finished. This jacket, while lovely, has given me a whole lot of heartache. Not only was my first yarn choice too floppy (got gauge though!), my second try ended up all mis-sized.... and now, my third try.


Well, the knitting was actually quite fun. I loved the little stitch pattern and the slip/knit pattern kept me from the total boredom that is stockinette. So, about one month ago, i finished the knitting and prompty ran out to look for buttons and for bias binding.

One month later and many mismatched button purchases later, I've decided to be more crafty and make my own buttons from clay. I've done the basic shape, and now am waiting for them to dry and tomorrow I'll paint and varnish them. Here's hoping! (and don't look too closely, the buttons are a bit dodgily shaped!!)


I've also basically finished the broadstreet mittens for my SO. Unfortunately, the actual glove part is with him in Kalgoorlie, and the fliptop part is with me. Why? Because he wanted to keep his hands warm while driving to work so I let him keep the actual glove part which I finished when i was in Kalgoorlie.. but the fliptop is with me. So, a little sewing and they're done. *voila*


.. and yes, they ARE garfield pj's haha.

The cutest puppy in the world

I have been knitting - I promise.. But in between flying here and there and work, I haven't been able to take time to take photos of anything to show..

But... on non-knitting news, I just had to share some cuteness with you. Can someone please fly to Japan and steal me one of these?


Pleaseeeeeeeee pretty please?


He's adorable!!

Decisions Decisions

I have a 7 hour train ride tomorrow and for the last hour or so I have been faced with the dilemma of what to pack. I'm only going away for the weekend, and flying back on Sunday night, but I've packed two pairs of jeans, 2 cardigans, three tops, pjs, shoes and knickers. That seems rather sensible doesn't it.

But as with all knitters, how much knitting does one pack? Given my 7 hour train ride, I figured that I'd be able to get quite a bit of knitting done. So, I've packed the broadstreet mittens in my carry bag (only bringing one bag - i'm not that bad!!), and i've also packed some supplies for Patti.

I reckon I could get my second broadstreet mitten done by the time I reach my destination, but then I'll have time over the next two days to knit. Will three balls of felted tweed (almost 600m) suffice for the two days? Or is it too little?

I once brought one skein of bendigo rustic for my weekend, and having finished my one skein on the first day, was left with little knitting for the rest of my trip. The other time, I didnt have enough, and ended up at the LYS (very very limited range) and bought 10 skeins for a brand new project (don't want to do that again!!).

So... how does one decide how much knitting to bring? Will three balls of felted tweed for Patti be enough???