I am in the "third trimester" of knitting Vignette.
Long-sleeved sweaters can be broken down in thirds or even sixths. The back uses about one third of your yarn, the front uses another third, and both sleeves together use the last third. So when you finish the back of a pieced sweater, you are roughly one-third done with the sweater.
That’s not 100% true, of course. Some sweaters have more work on the back or front or sleeves. Short sleeves are less yarn. Some sweaters just confound you.
But Vignette is a nice sweater that isn’t giving me too much trouble and falls rather nicely into the 1/3, 1/3, 1/3 model. I’ve used 5 and a half balls of yarn so far, and expect to use a total of 6.5 total. The yarn is Cascade superwash 220, which are 220 yards per ball (convenient labeling, there, Cascade!)
I have picked out the buttons. They are plain pearl-like flat buttons that fit nicely through the buttonholes. They are made by Fruit of the Loom sometime back in the days best described as "vintage." They were made in New York state, and probably date back to the 1960’s. My mother gave them to me a couple of years ago when my button box was stolen out of a car (there are no button-junkies in Las Vegas that I know of– the button box was inside a craft bag that looked more or less like a purse… because my craft bags are, in fact, purses I buy at the thrift store.)
Inheriting buttons and other sewing supplies from your parents and grandparents is actually a really special thing. Some time I’ll talk about that, but for now, let’s just say that, whether you make something with fiber or not, giving it to the next generation is a legacy that should not be understated.
This is sleeve #1:
I made a change to the pattern. In the interest of making the pattern simpler for newer knitters, this pattern uses a basic cast on and knit 1" of the hem using a smaller needle, switch to the regular needle, purl a turning row, and then proceed in pattern. During the sewing-up, you fold the hem under and stitch it closed.
That’s a perfectly respectable way to turn a hem, but it’s not the "most proper" way to do it, which would have required two additional techniques, and would have made Vignette a more difficult pattern. The pattern as written is lovely and will do nice things for anyone knitting it.
The "more proper" way to turn a hem is to cast on with a provisional cast-on (I used a crochet cast on, because I am very comfortable with crochet), knit 1" in stockinette, switch needles, purl 1 row, knit 1" (3 rows) in the pattern, and then, on the wrong side of the knitting, work one stitch from the working needle and one stitch from the provisional cast on stitches together all the way across. At that point, the hem is turned under and done– and there’s one less thing to do during the seaming up.
This is sleeve #2:
Note that the hem (which is currently curling in this photo) is already turned and knitted in. Go me!
At my current pace, with the upcoming things and events, I hope to be done by Thanksgiving, and definitely before the end of Thanksgiving weekend.
Which is good, because Vegas is getting chilly. It’s been 60 degrees this week!