I can see all my hand knitting people cringing or quietly shuffling away… I’m working on knitting up gauge swatches, both just as practice in machine knitting, practice in making the swatches, and in preparation for actually making something! I’m excited about feeling comfortable enough with the Duo80 that taking on a real project doesn’t seem (too) daunting.
I’m not real keen on the charts that Passap has in the manual for doing gauge swatches – they seem like they’re only meant for helping you make sweaters. Instead, I used the method that I learned from one of Susan Guagliumi‘s machine knitting classes. However, I’ve never been able to actually remember what that method was or manage to keep my notes from her class accessible, so I was very much glad to find it in her blog, Swatching for Success!.
The pattern I’m aiming to do is “easy camisole” from Clearwater Knits. Since I have no idea how the tension/stitch size translates from the Japanese-style machine that the pattern was done for, nor am I using the same yarn, I’m running through and just doing a bunch of swatches. I’m using Valley Cotton 5/2 in “blue iris.” Tonight I completed one panel of gauge swatches for the stitch sizes 5, 5.25, 5.5, 5.75 (which are normally written using fractions, but I think this is easier to read). I still need to wash/dry the swatch panel and measure it, but that can wait until the morning.
Now, this being cotton, it just does not have the stretch that acrylic or wool does (I’ve been doing the Passap test pieces in acrylic). It was causing me all sorts trouble – well, really, just refusing to properly knit. I finally noticed that the cotton was sort of creeping/curling up, which was making it difficult for the lock to knit the stitches properly. Solution: weights. I don’t care that the Passap machines “don’t need” weights because of the strippers, but they’re also not supposed to need cast on combs – yet they exist!
We went on a couple of excursions over the weekend. This weekend (3 and 4 June) and next weekend (9 and 10 June) is the American Crafts Festival at Lincoln Center. A lot of really pretty jewelry and adorable baby clothes and a bunch of other stuff there, but we went to talk to Tess and Temple of Crowninshield Coats. They produce some absolutely stunning coats, as well as some tank tops, skirts, and a belt (and have a new, very adorable puppy that was with them… yes, I ended up covered dog fur). Tess produces high-quality and functional(!) items, all patterns she’s designed and implemented. I mean, the range of arm motion in the Genevieve is just excellent! My husband and I were curious about how they got started, what were their stumbling blocks, etc. It was a good talk and gave us some insights on how to get started as a small fashion label.
We also went to the Museum at FIT, to see the current special exhibit, but I’ll write more about that later.