May 19, 2005

Project details: "Popcorn Jacket", otherwise known as "Veste" pattern 8 from Phildar Tendances Automne 04/05. I knit the 34/36 size, and used less than 5 skeins of Oxygene in Noir, 3 skeins of Oxygene in Blanc and 6 skeins of Phil Pompom in Pie. And let me say this: It is one WILD and FUNKY jacket. Six years ago I wouldn't have even thought of wearing something like this, but you know what? The beauty of being able to knit my own stuff while living in France, the place where people basically wear whatever tickles their fancy, has liberated me and my wardrobe. Bring on the tufts and fringe!

I've been working on finishing this jacket all week during my free time, and had woven in the very last end right before pulling it on and taking the shot you see above. I have not been able to debut it yet, but I'm taking this jacket with me to PARIS so I can wear it over there during a chilly evening. But before I go, I must do some whack dancing 'cause it's a rule around here:




Things I did when I knit this jacket: Hmm...long-tail cast-on for hem and cuffs. Shoulders were not short-rowed this time, because there was a color change and short-rowing would have looked wonky. (I know, I tried...you always gotta try even if you think it won't work!) So I did regular bind-offs for shoulder shaping, but slipped the first stitch of each bind-off row. Shoulders were joined using backstitch. Sleeve and side seams were joined using mattress stitch. Prior to seaming I steam-blocked all pieces with WRONG SIDE facing down. [Slideshow of how I block here.] After I attached all the fringe* I decided that the neck looked a little unfinished (I saw this jacket knitted up as a sample in the store, and there was no fringe or edging around the neck) so I picked up stitches around the neck using Oxygene in black, and simply bound-off the first row. I then attached hook and eye fasteners to the front edges of the jacket. [NOTE: I've already washed the jacket as a means to give it a final blocking session, and the tufts in the Phil Pompom held up wonderfully as did the fasteners. No snags, no disasters. Man, I love me a well-behavin' jacket, don't you?]

*Before I head off to Paris with this jacket, I need to dedicate a little paragraph to the fringe. At first I considered not putting ANY fringe at all, but working a border around the jacket instead. I did that, and it looked bare. So then I decided to put only black fringe instead of black and white fringe, and that looked really weird. It was then that I realized that pattern designers really do know what the heck they're doing, and that black and white fringe was used for a reason. And you know what? I found the reason. I finally tried the black and white fringe and it's what looked best on the jacket. I cut the fringe at the length called for in the pattern and the only way to wear it is all wild and flying about. Trying to make the fringe look neat (yep, I tried that, too) looks a little strange on this jacket. Wild is the way to go when you've got a jacket with popcorn-looking tufts all over it, believe me.

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