Bergere de France pattern 289 - Blouson Zippe

Well most know I love these patterns, especially the MK logo AND the little bit that says (TYPE C = 7) which is especially for Passap. I loves them so much, I'm going to put in some links:

Old patterns: and you can see the lovely logo that looks like a bridge? followed by: Ce modèle peut être réalisé sur une machine à tricoter familiale, means you can chuck them on your standard machine and use
this list to see which machine is which letter machine and
this list for what the abbreviations mean. And just as a sweetener, here is a list of
French to English knitting terms. There you are then, everything you need to know and see why they are just the best thing on the net for all knitters, especially MKers.

And there is the tricotheque for the latest free pattens for the ladies.. Now I know what you are thinking - but, it's in French... Never fear all patterns more or less say the same thing, don't they? anyways as per the Pirates Code - they are more guidelines. And to make you feel really better, here's a bit from my Blouson Zippe...

Here are the instructions from the Right Front:

Emmanchure et épaule : Rab. à gauche comme au dos.

And what does it all mean?

Armhole and shoulder shaping - do what you did on the back.

And the left front? Yep - do what you did on the right one but in reverse... Seriously, go look for yourself! The row count is all there, for you to stop.. do your shaping .. easy as. I usually don't bother to translate if there's a graph and a schematic. Just the rows and numbers. I took a photo of the working notes - all the numbers of stitches and rows.

Now here's my dilemma: I've done the sleeves, back and right front, and now I think it would have been better to use the size lower on the back bed to pull in on the ribbing sections.. Oh deary me, what I've decided to do is the left front that way to see if it's better and if it is - redo the back and right front. I've left this for over a week now while I have a think.










I made my two Panda Cotton socks instead. I'm more inclined to do one project at a time, I'm not so good if I have too many things on the go at once... So... I'll edit in what I decide.

Scarf Day Afternoon

So ... what did I do yesterday afternoon you ask? All my Ravelympics2010 projects have been done. It's Sunday. There's nothing on TV, they've taken the 'Lympics off. No Cricket. Nothing but It's me or the Dog. So. I thought Hello Miss Pinky, you watching the naughty dog show? How about we yet again tackle that pile of scarf yarn and see how many you can churn out in a couple of hours. But we will stop when the Gremlins arrive, like the last time when I got two out before they interrupted us, OK? righto.. off we went for our Scarf Day Afternoon.

Chug, chug, 4pm came, stop for coffee and change chanels to find some Castle I'd recorded earlier. Coffee gone, scarves spitting out like Pinggu's machine. Still no gremlins. keep going .. find some more (will this stuff never end?) put it through, STILL only 4.50. Pack Miss Pinky up and start separating them, casting off both ends, just in time for me to watch Biggest Loser.. and here they are:

Yoko's Rose Jumper

I decided to make a jumper on Yoko and put a rose on it from the electronics.

Here is my pattern for the SK860. I did decided to do the ribbing on the Passap, but that's me.

Back:
Rib CO 116
20R: RC000
T5 -1 ev 10R to 104st
-> RC74
+ 1 ev 6R to 114st
-> RC 134, RC000
Armhole shaping
-8 next 2R
-1 ea end ev 2R x 7 82St
-> RC 78
Shape shoulder
-8 ea end x 6 46sts
24/38/24
Front:
Rib CO 116
20R: RC000
T5 -1 ev 10R to 104st
-> RC74
+ 1 ev 6R to 114st
-> RC 124: START MOTIF
-> RC 134, RC000
Armhole shaping
-8 next 2R
-1 ea end ev 2R x 7 82St
work to end of motif, do 2 rows
divi: 24/-6/22/-6/26
put 22 on holder and leave the other 30 on hold
-1st NE ev 4thR to 24st (RC58)
Shoulder shaping
-> RC 78
-8 armhole edge x 3 (6R) Cast or I prefer short rows and 3 needle bind off for the shoulder seam)
Sleeves:
Rib CO 48, 20R
RC000
T5 + 1 ev 6R to 94st
-> RC 156, RC000
Sleeve cap
-8 next 2R
-1 ea end ev 2R x 18 42St
-1 ea end x 15 12sts

Branching Out Machine Knit (BOMK) Bag

BOMK Bag
Ok here are my machine instructions for the Felted bag Branching out, which can be found on the Lion Brand site. You can find the chart and original instructions there.














I used a single bed machine, garter bar and a two prong tool and a mid gauge machine.
I used Nundle 8ply wool, which would be similar enough to American 10ply, to substitute that.
I transferred the chart to the paper for my EC1 electronic reader. Any pattern you like could work
I used T6 on my SK860

Cast on 63 sts on ravel cord. Stitch requirements: 2/59/2 sts (2 stitches must be each side of your pattern).
Garter Bar: 20 rows garter stich.
put the 2rd stitch onto the 3rd both ends and keep these stitches in work.
knit straight for 30 rows
do chart - 26 rows
knit straight for 16 rows.
Put the 4th st on the 5th, each end (I put the 3rd onto the 4th, but I think one more across would be better)
The divide for the next row: 22/..19.. /22 put the 22s on hold, knit 2 rows on 19 sts only on waste yarn (for your handle, go bigger if you like)
Garter Bar: 14 rows, garter stitch.
you can cast off you you like, or take off onto circs, or waste. If casting off, drop 2nd stitch each end.

Next bit:
pick up 63 stitches from the ravel cord on the first bit and do this side of the bag the same BUT REMEMBER TO put your 2ND OVER TO THE 3RD, and keep it in WP.

Sides, do both sides the same:
pick up 10 sts, straight to 72rows (no need to put your 2nd st onto 3rd, as it drops down to the edge)
Dec 3rd or 4th sts to the inside, both side (8sts)
Garter Bar: 14 rows, garter stitch.

Drop the second stitch from the end on all four pieces.

The really nice side pieces were done straight out of Susan Guagliumi's Hand Manipulated Stitches for Machine Knitters. Here is her website. Ch. 6, 97 Vertical Ladder Seam














How I interpreted her instructions was to:
with a crochet hook, I picked up 5 stitches, on the bottom of stitch 3, bottom on the dropped stitch, for the middle one, there was a nice little V between the sides, then the same on the other piece, giving me 5 stitches.
**Then 5 rows, (actually it worked out to be 6 rows on the very first one only)
Carriage on R. on the left, pick up the first 4 dropped loops and put them behind the last two stitches (for a more detailed explanation, please see HMS4MKers book).
knit one row
Carriage on L. On the right, pick up the first 4 dropped loops and put them behind the last 2 sts.
repeat from ** all the way up to the top.

Then I cast off the entire top in the camel colour.

Ravelympics 2010

Ravelympics has it's first machine event. Very exciting for us who are participating. Lookie what I got: My captain's medal. How exciting!




On Yoko:
a Branching Out machine bag, I'm doing the fair isle exactly as written, but really thing that sewing the thing all the way through the middle is well.. dopey. I've blogged my BOMK.
















the Rose motif jumper, I've blogged the pattern.













On Miss Pinky:

332m - Ankle socks for me and I made another pair in Graphite.

1668m in a Baby blanket out of the garage find





















the vintage top from Passap book 10 1664

see the prev post, I've made proper notes













Here's some scarves I did on Sunday afternoon.

From the frog pond:
the CPH that went from disaster to disaster. undoing the lot, winding it on the swift, washing it and rewinding it so it can be revitalised into something I'll use.

Vintage Knitting: Passap Book 10 - 1664

Well, I wanted to make this vintage jumper from an old Passap Pattern book. It was published in 1969. It's out of print. The company that makes Passaps is out of business. They stopped making my passap in the late 70s. But on the off chance that someone decides to buy their back catalogue and publish them again.. complete with models smoking in two of the photos, I've included the schematic from the book, not that it CAN be made as written, it didn't even fit the model, as clearly seen in the photo..

Now this is my attempts at modernising the design, making mine with more ease.

The original Schematic is for a narrow hipped, ample front, short arms and body and just to cap it all off, the armhole drop is perfect, lots of room for my big shoulders as you can see in the photo, but back on point, as to whom this garment was intended? Perhaps a female impersonator with padded bra? I would have said preteen with padded bra, had it not been for the massive shoulder allowance! nevermind. I can use that!

I had a bit of an epiphany, it's for the putting over the top of those massive shoulder pads that came in the 80s, a decade before they are "in", here we can put our SydneyOperaHouse sized shoulder pads, and have a perfect fit. Or be me and have big bones to go around...

I want to keep the elements of the design, the shoulder seam extending down the back, waist shaping and in the front there is a bust dart over 6 rows for me to put in.

Here's how I made mine, but if you are going to attempt it, I suggest getting out the tape measure and do some serious adjustments of your own:

3 x 200G Bendigo Woollen Mills 4ply Cotton in Damask Rose.

Miss Pinky is doing the honours:
St st: T5: 28st/45R = 10cm
Tubular: T4.75
2:2 (ind rib) T2.75

The design starts with tubular caston needles are divided for 2:2 ind rib, needles are brought up into WP again for more tubular rows, then transferred to back bed for stocking stitch. Decreases are done using 3 prong tool for fully fashioned finish. I'm keeping the basic elements of the design, with additional width added to the hips, body sleeves.

Back
CO 152
T4.75, O 7R = this must be 14RC in total
T4, divi up for 11.11 rib 20R
T4.75 bring . needles back into WP, O 7R = 14RC in total
transfer all stitches to back bed for stst. RC000. NOW do side decreases.

T5: Dec 1 st each end ev 4th row, to RC76 (118st)
-> to RC90. RCOOO
+1 each end ev 10R (start at R5) x 5 to 138st (RC50)*** (work front to here)
-> RC100. RC000

-9st next 2 rows
-1 ea end ev 2nd R 6X RC12 108st. RC000
-1 ea end ev 4th R 23X RC56/92st.
-> 58RC, RC000
-1 ea end ev 2ndR 12X, RC48/44sts
44sts remain

Front
Work as for back to *** here.
-> RC98
Work bust darts over next 6RC,
get the pushers out -10st short rows each end over the next 6 rows, (BX)
knit up to the 106RC (but only 2 will have been worked on the edge)RC000

-3 ea end 3 x (9sts each end gone)
At armhole edge: +1st ev 5th R 12x
AT SAME TIME
at Neck edge: straight to RC 16
-11,
-9
then -1st N/E ev 5R (hopefully it will be the same 5 row count as the armhole - could it be too much to ask for I wonder?)

Sleeves
CO 58
T4.75, O 7R = this must be 14RC in total
T2.75, divi up for 11.11 rib 20R
T4.75 bring . needles back into WP, O 7R = 14RC in total
transfer all stitches to back bed for stst. RC000.

T5: + 1 st each end ev 6th row, 27 times to RC162 (112st)
-> to RC200. RCOOO

-9st next 2 rows
-1 ea end ev 2nd R 20X RC50/56st.
-1 ea end ev R 10X, RC60/16sts
16sts remain

Neckband
CO 106 tub (each bed)
work rib
take off on waste yarn.

2:2 ewrap Cast On

Working around the gate pegs was a difficult thing for me.

So here's what I did:


I covered the pegs with black
poster hangers.


This enabled me to wind all along the needles
without catching the pegs.







The plastic doesn't have to cover the pegs
after you have wrapped them
that makes it easier to move it along
and keep the pegs covered.









And here it is ready to do the stocking stitch.
2 stitches from the ribber to one on the front bed.
Even though it loops off the comb, it stretches out beautifully.