{"id":13025,"date":"2014-05-26T07:32:18","date_gmt":"2014-05-26T05:32:18","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.breigh.com\/wordpress\/?p=13025"},"modified":"2014-07-29T06:51:27","modified_gmt":"2014-07-29T04:51:27","slug":"interweave-crochet-convergence-top","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.canadutch.nl\/blog\/archives\/13025","title":{"rendered":"Interweave Crochet Convergence Top"},"content":{"rendered":"

It\u2019s been such a long time since I\u2019ve written on my blog.\u00a0 Doesn\u2019t it seem like all my recent posts start with a sentence like this? haha\u00a0 I really want to revive my blog as I miss it quite a bit, so be aware, I think it\u2019s going to be about a lot of crafty stuff in the future!<\/p>\n

There are a few things I want to change\u2026 like the theme \/ layout, I want to make my 101 List<\/a> more of a Bucket List because there are things on there that I don\u2019t really care about anymore and other things I want to do as well.\u00a0 I think over the last few years my priorities, interests and possibilities have changed, so some things on my blog need to change to reflect that. I just need to sit and take the time to do it. I\u2019m so out of touch with all things WordPress!<\/p>\n

\"convergencecollage\"<\/a><\/p>\n

So, moving on to what I wanted to write about.\u00a0 I\u2019m so excited about a recent project I completed.\u00a0 One thing I\u2019ve always wanted to do was learn to knit a sweater.\u00a0 It\u2019s actually on my 101 List to knit Xander a sweater, and I\u2019ll get there, but I wanted to make one for me first.\u00a0 Knitted sweaters intimidated me and since I find crochet a lot easier I decided to give the Convergence Top<\/a> by Linda Skuja<\/a> a try.\u00a0 I first saw it on Ravelry<\/a> and immediately went off in search of a copy of that issue of Interweave Crochet Magazine<\/a>.<\/p>\n

The pattern looked sort of complicated, but my main concern was the cost.\u00a0 It called for three balls of Noro Taiyo Sock which is approximately \u20ac20\u00a0a ball.\u00a0\u00a0 Yeah, I\u2019m sorry but I\u2019m not spending \u20ac60\u00a0to TRY to make a sweater.\u00a0 At that point I had no idea if I\u2019d even succeed so I wasn\u2019t going to put a lot of money into the attempt.<\/p>\n

I knew I needed a similar yarn, something lightweight with long stripes, but everything I looked at seemed to have a very short striping pattern that I knew wouldn\u2019t do this pattern\u00a0justice.\u00a0 So I decided to throw it out to the internet!\u00a0 I went to a few crafty Facebook groups and the Ravelry forums and waited to see if anyone had any suggestions.<\/p>\n

\"convergence1\"<\/a><\/p>\n

A lady in a crochet group suggested that I look into a bamboo yarn<\/a> made by a Turkish company called Alize<\/a>, which I could get quite cheap from Yarnstreet.com<\/a>.\u00a0 I knew the minute I saw it that it was perfect for this project and ordered it right away.\u00a0 The cost didn\u2019t hurt either, I mean \u20ac10\u00a0for the sweater rather than \u20ac60?\u00a0 I\u2019m in!<\/p>\n

Once I got started with this project it went very quickly.\u00a0 The pattern was very easy to follow and even though this was my first experience with short rows I had no problem with them because the designer was very clear in what I was to do.\u00a0 It also worked out perfectly, just by chance, that the blue color in the striping landed right on the short rows, giving the top the exact color I was looking for.<\/p>\n

The only problem?\u00a0 My obsessive nature had me spending quite a long time making sure the same striping happened on the back, where it didn\u2019t<\/em> just magically happen for me!<\/p>\n

\"convergence4\"<\/a><\/p>\n

It took a while but I got there in the end.\u00a0 Both sides were as exact as I could possibly get them and I was incredibly pleased with myself!<\/p>\n

Now, this project wasn\u2019t all smooth sailing, as I did have a few issues along the way.\u00a0 Although they didn\u2019t rear their ugly heads until I was about to stitch the two sides together and decided to do a trail run.\u00a0 I clipped both sides together with clippy stitch markers and tried it on, only to realize that it was too tight at the bottom.\u00a0 Crap!<\/p>\n

The problem was the starting chain.\u00a0 The sweater is crocheted from the bottom up and calls for the first row to be a chain, and then you continue on with double crochet.\u00a0 This is where I went wrong.\u00a0\u00a0 Once the sweater was complete I realized that the entire sweater was beautifully stretchy but the bottom had absolutely no give at all.\u00a0 Being as \u2018hippy\u2019 and pear shaped as I am, this was not an ideal situation. I felt like if I were to sit down I would stretch the bottom row to the point of snapping, and that really worried me.\u00a0 It was finished, how on earth was I going to go back and fix it now?<\/p>\n

Back to the internet I went, explaining my situation and begging for someone to please tell me how on earth to fix it!\u00a0 This was when I learned a very very valuable lesson.\u00a0 Why I should avoid starting chains like the plague and instead use foundation single or double crochet.\u00a0 In the end, after a few test swatches, I put a lifeline in the first dc row and carefully tore out the foundation chain.\u00a0 I then replaced it with a row of single crochet, creating a foundation single crochet<\/a> which had much more give than the chain.\u00a0 It made all the difference in the world when it came time to try on the sweater again!<\/p>\n

Another thing I did differently was using the no chain double crochet method rather than the chain 3 at the beginning of each row.\u00a0 I always hate how those darn chains look and had heard about this method a few times in the past, so I gave it a try.\u00a0 It was great!\u00a0 I don\u2019t think I\u2019ll ever do a chain at the start of a row again.<\/p>\n

You can find a tutorial here:https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/watch?v=fhbRoNX2nQw<\/a><\/p>\n

After wearing the sweater I noticed a few more things.\u00a0\u00a0 Firstly, the bamboo yarn has a crazy amount of give to it.\u00a0 When I blocked the sweater I stretched it out quite harshly to meet the size in the pattern.\u00a0 After wearing it, it loosened even more, especially around the hips which you can see in the right hand photo at the top.\u00a0 I\u2019m not sure there is anyway around that baggy bottom, stretched out look for me when it comes to sweaters as I\u2019m just completely pear shaped and it just takes one sit and it stretches out.\u00a0 I\u2019ve made two different sweaters now, this one and a knitted one that I will share later, and it has happened with both.\u00a0 So I\u2019m resigning myself to the fact that it\u2019s just another thing I have to live with thanks to my big booty!<\/p>\n

On the flip side, I\u2019m also very small in the shoulders, which makes the neck on this feel a bit big for me.\u00a0\u00a0 I\u2019ve seen that a few people had the same issue and went back and added a row or two of single crochet to bring the neck in a bit, and\u00a0I\u2019m considering doing that, but will wear it a few times more before deciding.\u00a0 If I wear it in the dead heat of summer I may find that I appreciate the wider neck.<\/p>\n

All in all I absolutely love this sweater.\u00a0 The yarn was perfect and\u00a0is so\u00a0lightweight that I honestly feel almost naked when I wear it, which I think is going to be great in the heat.\u00a0 Also, who knew bamboo was so<\/em> soft?\u00a0 I\u2019ve felt soft yarns before but this is just beyond.\u00a0 I could not stop fondling it when it arrived in the mail.\u00a0 It\u2019s hard to believe that the yarn was so cheap!\u00a0 I ended up ordering it in another color for the same project, as well as some of their cotton and wool yarns for future projects.<\/p>\n

My favorite thing about this project?!\u00a0 A while after it was complete I got an email from one of the designers of the magazine, asking if I\u2019d send them a photo and blurb for their \u201cIn the Loop\u201d section!\u00a0 I couldn\u2019t believe it!\u00a0 I knew the sweater worked out amazingly well with the striping in this yarn and it did look very cool, but being in magazines?\u00a0 Isn\u2019t that something that just happens to the super-crafters?\u00a0\u00a0 I was so excited I quickly sent off a photo and a bit of a write-up of my experience making the sweater.\u00a0 I figured I should send it in quickly before they realize I\u2019m a complete novice at all of this and change their minds!<\/p>\n

After stalking their website for a few months, there it was, the 2014 summer issue with me in it!!<\/p>\n

\"magazine\"<\/a><\/p>\n

So let\u2019s see.\u00a0 What did I get out of this project?<\/p>\n