{"id":13481,"date":"2014-08-23T20:02:47","date_gmt":"2014-08-23T18:02:47","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.breigh.com\/wordpress\/?p=13481"},"modified":"2015-06-04T17:45:24","modified_gmt":"2015-06-04T15:45:24","slug":"my-first-lopi-experience-himinn-cardigan","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.canadutch.nl\/blog\/archives\/13481","title":{"rendered":"My First Lopi Experience – Himinn Cardigan"},"content":{"rendered":"

I have seen Lopi<\/a>\u00a0patterns and yarns around quite a lot and been curious about them, but have never worked with them myself. \u00a0I’d seen the yarn in different shops and thought it came in such great colors, but every time I touched it it put me off. \u00a0So hard and scratchy! \u00a0Having been used to softer yarns, the Lopi didn’t impress me at all. \u00a0I couldn’t get my head around why anyone would want to work with it, much less\u00a0wear<\/em> it! \u00a0Still, I also knew that there were some gorgeous Lopi patterns out there and that a lot of people seemed to love them on Ravelry. \u00a0So, what on earth was I missing? \u00a0I had no idea, but there had to be something.<\/p>\n

As luck would have it, a few weeks ago I was commissioned to make a Lopi project for a photo shoot (for a popular women’s magazine here in the Netherlands), so I finally got my chance to try this stuff out for myself… AND\u00a0I was getting paid to do it. WIN WIN!<\/p>\n

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

They wanted the Himinn shawl (page 16 in book #33<\/a>) in a cream color. \u00a0Ok, sounds like something I could do easily enough. \u00a0 When they first phoned and I heard “Less than two weeks” and “Lopi” in the same sentence a little panic set in. \u00a0If you’ve ever seen some of their other patterns<\/a> there is a lot of color work that would slow things down pretty dramatically. \u00a0This was all done in a single color in garter stitch, so I was pretty confident I could get it done in time to send it out.<\/p>\n

There was just one problem… this:<\/p>\n

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

In the book there are two different version of the cardigan in the book. \u00a0The red one is shorter, smaller and more fitted and the blue one is longer, overlapping and belted. \u00a0Now here’s where things get confusing! \u00a0The pattern gives you two different options for yarn:\u00a0\u00cdstex Pl\u00f6tulopi<\/a>\u00a0held double (seen in blue photo) or\u00a0\u00cdstex \u00c1lafoss Lopi<\/a>\u00a0single stranded (seen in red photo, this is the yarn I had). \u00a0When I first read that, I thought “AHA! So that’s the difference!”. \u00a0I assumed that the difference in the yarn accounted for the difference in the outcome of the size of the sweater… but no, then I realized they both have the same gauge!<\/p>\n

So, reading that, one can assume that both yarns, having the same gauge would knit up to basically the same finished product, no?<\/p>\n

Then I had a look at the sizing. \u00a0I had very little info go to on for the model that would be wearing it for the photo shoot. \u00a0Not the fault of my client, of course, they could only go by what the magazine told them… but it made an already confusing situation a bit more difficult. \u00a0First they said they “think she’s about a size 38″… then a few days later I got her bust measurement and arm measurement. \u00a0Where was I to go from there with this pattern?<\/p>\n

I knew they were very adamant that they wanted the sweater to come out looking like the red one. \u00a0So what I didn’t know was – is the girl in the red sweater a size large in a size large sweater, and the girl in the blue a size small in a large sweater? \u00a0Is the girl in the red sweater a size large in a small sweater and the girl in the blue is a size large in a large? \u00a0WHAT IS GOING ON WITH THESE TWO SWEATERS! \u00a0It was not easy to judge from the measurements given in the pattern, which included bust size, length of body to armpit and arm length to armpit. \u00a0Again, no idea how tall these models in the photos are.<\/p>\n

In the end I decided to make sure I had the right gauge, take my best guess at the size based on the measurements I was given, start knitting and see how it worked out!<\/p>\n

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

This is when Susan Lucci<\/a>\u00a0started making herself useful finally! \u00a0The cardi was knit from the bottom up in five separate pieces – two side pieces, back piece and two sleeves. \u00a0They were all knit flat and then attached at the armpit level before knitting the yoke. \u00a0When I had the first part of the front finished I ran into our spare room to try it on Susan Lucci. \u00a0 I knew that the model had a bust size just a smidge smaller than the smallest setting, so if it fit SL it would fit her (I hoped). \u00a0At this point I was skeptical. \u00a0A part of me wanted to tear the whole thing out and start over with the large size, but I had to remind myself that there was still the blocking to go. \u00a0It just\u00a0looked so darn small<\/em>!<\/p>\n

Oh the plus side, I definitely had my answer in regards to which version of the sweater it was going to work out to be. \u00a0Not only was it small like the red version, I was starting to wonder if it was going to be too<\/em> small. \u00a0I ground my teeth and forged on, pushing down the dreadful feeling that I should start over. \u00a0Seriously, if second guessing myself were a skill, I’d be selling those goods\u00a0on Etsy and MAKING IT RAAAIN!<\/p>\n

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

I was feeling a bit more confident once I had the pieces together. \u00a0Not totally confident, as I still worried about it being too small, but it didn’t feel as incredibly small as it did when I was just looking at the one piece. \u00a0 I have to say, though, that the assembly at this point was when I started getting excited about the project. \u00a0Seeing it start to look like a sweater, rather than just this endless set of squares, was great. \u00a0The only down side at this point was having the entire sweater on my lap as I worked on it. \u00a0Let me tell you, it’s hot, it’s like\u00a0surface of the sun<\/em> kind of hot. \u00a0I can’t imagine this is something you’d want to wear indoors for long. \u00a0Maybe more like… outside while shoveling snow. \u00a0 I can see why people in colder climates knit with this kind of wool. \u00a0I don’t see you needing a winter jacket if you own a sweater made from this yarn.<\/p>\n

Another note on the yarn since I’m on the subject, and it’s something I think may irritate a lot of people, but I loved it… \u00a0The entire time I was knitting I was picking out little pieces of grass, straw and twigs. \u00a0I felt like it should bother me, that I should be annoyed by it, but I wasn’t at all. In fact, it had the opposite effect. \u00a0I felt so much more connected to the wool’s origins. \u00a0I mean these were pieces of ICELAND I was picking out of my yarn, that were carried to me straight from the sheep!<\/p>\n

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

How cool is that? \u00a0A Canadian girl, sitting on my sofa in the Netherlands, knitting a sweater for a Dutch magazine, picking out pieces of Iceland from my wool. \u00a0I am a woman of the world! \u00a0It’s the closest I’ve been to Iceland since the few hours I spent sitting in the Reykjavik airport on my way to Canada, and much more enjoyable!<\/p>\n

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

Also, and this part was a little less pleasant but still tickled me in a weird way. \u00a0Even though I used approximately a truckload and a half\u00a0of lavender scented\u00a0Eucalan\u00a0<\/a>during the blocking process? \u00a0There was no getting the wet sheep smell out of this yarn. \u00a0Between the rainy weather and this sweater laying wet on the blocking boards, the smell of wet sheep and dog made me feel like I was living on a farm, rather than in my little flat in the city. \u00a0It was kind of nice!<\/p>\n

Right, ok… let’s get back on track. I skipped straight from the halfway assembly to blocking.<\/p>\n

Knitting the yoke of the sweater was not that difficult, just cumbersome. \u00a0It was quite heavy and bulky so whenever you had to turn the work it was a bit of a chore. The actual shaping and knitting itself was fine and seemed to go by rather quickly. \u00a0The longest and most tedious of the project was the sleeves, I think. \u00a0 When I had the yoke completed I went back to Susan Lucci to see how we were doing. \u00a0I closed the sides and sleeves up with stitch markers and put it on and it looked like it was coming along nicely.<\/p>\n

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

It really was starting to look like the photo in the book and I must say I was pretty proud of myself at this point. \u00a0Most of all? I was thankful that the sizing and model worked out in regards to the two different versions of the sweater.<\/p>\n

I found that while the sleeves were the longest and most monotonous part of the project, the part I enjoyed the least was the assembly at the end, sewing up the seams. \u00a0I think this was my own fault, though. \u00a0I really hate how edges look when knitting in garter stitch, and really didn’t want it to look like that at the front opening. \u00a0So I slipped the first stitch in every row and purled the last. \u00a0This makes for a much nicer edge, in my opinion. \u00a0Unfortunately, that didn’t really help with\u00a0the assembly at the sides. \u00a0 The increasing and decreasing for the waist all takes place at the beginning and end of the rows, so at the sides it made for a more difficult edge to sew together than if I had just done the regular garter stitch edge. \u00a0It was great for the front and the edge of the collar, it just isn’t good for an edge that needs to be seamed. \u00a0 I think I did the seam of the first side about five times. \u00a0Sewing it up one way, ripping it out, trying another way, ripping it out. \u00a0In the end I’m not sure if I ripped out more seams or hair… and we all know I need all the hair I have<\/a>!<\/p>\n

The collar was pretty easy, thanks to my obsession with stitch markers.
\n<\/a><\/p>\n

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

No matter how much I knit, I just cannot let go of my need for a marker for ALL THINGS.<\/p>\n

Increase? \u00a0MARKER!<\/p>\n

Decrease? MARKER!<\/p>\n

Short row? MARKER!<\/p>\n

Sleeve? MARKER!<\/p>\n

Not only am I obsessed with using markers, but I have a weird need to use the same color for the same thing. \u00a0The shape doesn’t matter but if I tried to use a purple marker in amongst all these green ones, for the same purpose? \u00a0** Twitch ** \u00a0I just couldn’t do it.<\/p>\n

This isn’t just me, right? \u00a0 I feel like the markers are like the training wheels of knitting. \u00a0As though I should be able to\u00a0ride<\/em> without them at some point, but I simply don’t want to. I need them. I need them in every shape and color that exists.<\/p>\n

So back the sweater (again), I finished it with a bit of time to spare and it turned out great, if I do say so myself!<\/p>\n

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

Blocking was a bit of a chore since it soaked up water like you wouldn’t believe. \u00a0Not only was it hot, it was heavy! \u00a0I eventually gave up on trying to squeeze water out and ended up having to layer about six towels to roll it up in and walk on it to get the water out. Even then the towels were drenched!<\/p>\n

In the end it didn’t stretch out as much as I thought it would in blocking, so the size was pretty much the same as it was before. \u00a0For example, the length from the bottom to the armpit on the side, for the size I made, was 37cm and I JUST made it. \u00a0I mean I just made it with some tugging and stretching during the blocking process. \u00a0See the measuring tape at the bottom? \u00a0That was put there to mark the length so I could go back later and see if the sweater shrunk back up – and it did! \u00a0More than once I had to go in and smooth it out and gently stretch it to the required length again.<\/p>\n

Again, it left me wondering… if both yarns had the same gauge, and this was the medium size and I barely made the 37cm in length… the next size up was only 40cm in length. How on EARTH do you make the blue cardigan? \u00a0Either that model is a little person or there is some trick that isn’t mentioned in the pattern. Very, very confusing and didn’t leave me loving the pattern. Love the product, but I do think the pattern could have been a bit (ok, a lot) clearer in the description regarding the two different looks.<\/p>\n

It took a full three days to dry properly all over. \u00a0The area around the collar taking the longest time to dry. \u00a0I found that it went quicker after I moved it from the blocking boards to a wire rack where it could get air properly from the bottom as well.<\/p>\n

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

All that said? \u00a0I really loved this project. \u00a0I loved the frustrations as much as the easy parts because they were all such great learning experiences. \u00a0Dealing with sizes that aren’t my own, working with an unfamiliar pattern with challenges I’ve not encountered before, and working with yarn that I probably never would have considered buying myself. \u00a0It was great and it really changed my opinion of the Lopi yarn. \u00a0It may not be as soft as other yarns I used but soft squishy yarn aren’t the only ones that have something to offer. \u00a0Granted, this sweater WAS itchy\u00a0and\u00a0it’s not something I’d ever wear against my bare skin\u00a0but\u00a0it was warm and lovely to knit with. \u00a0 I have seen some truly beautiful Lopi patterns<\/a> and this project as made me quite keen to try\u00a0another, especially one of their really intricate color work patterns..<\/p>\n

It has been sent off to the client and they were really pleased with it. \u00a0Now we\u00a0just have to wait to find out how it worked for the photo shoot. \u00a0I’m hoping that it fits well and I can eventually come back with a photo from the magazine to show off! \u00a0Fingers crossed!<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

I have seen Lopi\u00a0patterns and yarns around quite a lot and been curious about them, but have never worked with them myself. \u00a0I’d seen the yarn in different shops and thought it came in such great colors, but every time I touched it it put me off. \u00a0So hard and scratchy! \u00a0Having been used to …<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":13483,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[10],"tags":[818,55,813,82,817,827],"class_list":["post-13481","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","","category-crafty-creations","tag-commission","tag-crafts","tag-featured","tag-knitting","tag-lopi","tag-susan-lucci"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.canadutch.nl\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/13481","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.canadutch.nl\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.canadutch.nl\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.canadutch.nl\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.canadutch.nl\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=13481"}],"version-history":[{"count":15,"href":"https:\/\/www.canadutch.nl\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/13481\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":13507,"href":"https:\/\/www.canadutch.nl\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/13481\/revisions\/13507"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.canadutch.nl\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/13483"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.canadutch.nl\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=13481"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.canadutch.nl\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=13481"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.canadutch.nl\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=13481"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}