Posted in Completed Projects

Bad Penny FO and pattern notes

Last night I completed my first knitted garment – Bad Penny.

I used Cascade Sierra Quatro (color 88) and Sierra (color 12). They’re both 80% pima cotton, 20% wool. Working with this yarn was great. I really liked it and would definitely work with it again. I think it’s perfect for next to skin garments because it’s quite soft. It’s a little on the heavy side, though. I love the way it feels on (though this could also be because this is my first garment, so…).

I would recommend this pattern to someone who hasn’t knit a garment before. It’s quite easy (knits, purls, yarn overs, k2tog’s and p2tog’s). The only thing that tripped me up was how to really do the bottom pattern and when to use the k2tog or p2tog to make it look nicer (the pattern says k2tog for all of it, but if you do that it just doesn’t look pleasing to the eye, IMO). Also, for the XXL size (which is what I made) it says:

On last round, inc 2[3, 8, 0, 1, 2] and dec 0[0, 0, 4, 0, 0] sts evenly around.

My issue is the inc 1 evenly around. If you do this, you’ll have an odd number of sts while doing 1 x 1 ribbing. I didn’t bother to do it and it worked out fine. I had to do the last row of yo’s for the chart pattern slightly differently, but it’s not at all noticeable. It was just a matter of being one stitch shorter because of not doing the increase. I think the bottom pattern could be not done at all for someone with a little less experience who still wants to make a garment.

I also worked the sleeves in the round because I found it impossible to knit flat. Because of the raglan style of this shirt, it’s quite difficult to do anything other than knit the sleeve edging any other way. That’s my opinion, for whatever it’s worth.

When I picked up the sts along the collar, I had a difficult time. I know I’m really just not good a picking up stitches “properly” so it seemed to stick up a bit before I blocked the collar. After blocking it, though, it now stays flat instead of trying to fold outward.

Okay, enough of that… look at my FO!

Here it is with the collar blocking:

Me modeling it:

TA DA! Look I can wear it now!!

Author:

I’m a thirty-something who lives in Cincinnati, OH. Crafting, for me, started young - I can’t even recall a time I wasn’t crafty in some way. My first foray into yarn was doing plastic canvas embroidery and making Barbie doll furniture. Not long after that I learned to crochet from a book my grandmother gave me after asking to learn what she was doing (she crochets, afghans mostly these days). After that, I took up counted cross stitch and then came sewing when I took two fashion design classes in high school. My mom had a sewing machine from my great grandmother and I taught myself to sew from patterns on it. I still use this same sewing machine today! I started knitting in 2004 when a co-worker was pregnant with her first child and I wanted to make something for her. I bought a “learn to knit kit” from Lion Brand for a baby hat and booties set. I did make the baby hat and booties (with very few problems) and ended up gifting them to the co-worker. I wanted to make a blanket, but I wasn’t quite able to get that done in time since it took a lot longer then I’d imagined! It wasn’t until the end of 2004/early 2005 that knitting really took a hold of me. Now I love knitting and almost always have a project with me, even if it’s just something small when I’m out and about. I like a wide range of projects depending on my mood. Sometimes I like a good challenge knit and other times I enjoy a lot of stockinette or garter stitch. I love Ravelry for keeping track of my projects and for finding new things to knit - I feel like I’m always spending time on there! It’s also a great place for getting to know other knitters, crocheters, and various fiber enthusiasts. In the fall of 2008, I purchased a spinning wheel from someone on Craigslist. It’s a Babe Fiber Starter, single treadle wheel and after a bit of trouble getting used to it, I’ve managed to spin up some fiber. In January of 2012, I found someone local that was selling their Lendrum DT and it came to live with me! The Babe now lives with Jen (aka piddleloop) and she’s learning to spin. I’m still trying to find time to spin along with knitting, crocheting (occasionally), and whatever else is going on, but I work it in here and there. I’m sure there’s something I might have left out here, so if there’s anything else you want to know about me, just ask :o)

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