Runway Knits - pedestrian version

Qn: When is row gauge important?

Ans: When the pattern is written row by row.

This, folks, is an answer that I discovered for myself while knitting the A-line Jacket from Berta Karapetyan's Runway Knits. Which, by the way, I've finished - hurrah!

Berta's pattern-writing style is clear and user-friendly, and the numbered-row-by-numbered-row instructions can be very helpful. However, because I subbed yarns and couldn't get the recommended row gauge (11 rows to 4" instead of 13 rows can work out to a big difference in length), I've had to figure out how to make the changes efficiently, and without confusing myself at every turn. In the end, I pretty much followed the instructions for the next size down where lengths and sleeve shapings were concerned, and it's turned out ok. Here's the report:

Pattern: A-line Jacket from Runway Knits; finished measurement 38".

Yarn: Manos del Uruguay 100% Wool (Variegated), 9 x 100g hanks, in colourway 6460. Yarn is held double throughout, except for pocket linings.

Needles: 10mm for the jacket and 5.5mm for the pocket linings.

Notions: 5 x 1.75" wooden buttons; 5 x small buttons for backing.

Mods: Subbing the yarn itself required some pattern tweaking. Increased no of buttons to 5, to account for the fact that they are way smaller than what the pattern required. Added vertical side pockets. Shortened collar length - original collar looked higher, but then the model had the neck of a swan!

New tricks looked up/learnt: I winged the pockets. I didn't use the standard set-in techniques because I wanted the linings to be separate from, and thinner than the main body of the jacket. So I left a 5" vertical slit on each side while knitting the main body, then knit 2 full pocket linings on a single strand of Manos, mattress-stitched them to the slits and then tacked only the corners of the linings to the reverse side of the jacket. It seems to work fine - the pockets don't really bulk up the jacket or disrupt the drape.

Overall experience: A fast, satisfying and useful knit. This is exactly the sort of warm knitted jacket that I crave during damp, cold, central heating-less Shanghai winters.

I'm very happy with the yarn sub, even though the effect looks quite different from Karabella Puffy, the called-for superbulky boucle yarn. I love that with bulky/superbulky knits, you can get away with plain bottom edges in stockinette stitch - once blocked, they won't curl!

An added bonus about knitting Manos held double and on such large needles is that it breaks up the colour variegation and reduces the likelihood of pooling (since this is not a self-striping yarn, blobbing is probably a more accurate term).

The pattern is easy enough to follow, and the only place that I got lost was the collar, as the instructions didn't seem to make sense. So I winged it, with no apparent ill results. You can see a closeup here.

Well, there we have it - a pedestrian, everyday version of a Runway Knit. And I lurve it!

Comments

[Barbie O. in Montreal]

Looks FAB!! Despite having a gazillion projects on the go or waiting in line, I am very tempted to imitate your delicious substitution--we can always use big cozy sweaters like this in Montreal!! (Quebec, Canada--very chilly winters). Thanks for the inspiration! Cheers, Barbie O.

[Sue]

You did a great job considering how much you had to change with the pattern. It looks very warm and cozy too.

[lyn]

Wow, that's one fabulous looking jacket! It looks so cosy too!

[Anna]

Absolutely stunning! I love the buttons and the yarn colors. And it looks great on you!

[Maryann]

Very pretty jacket! And what a great stashbuster project, thanks for sharing all the details with us. ;o)

[Lesley]

It came out really well. Have you done anything else from the book? I've knitted up the "cozy moss shrug" in the yarn called for (on sale) and have an issue with putting it together.