Size Inclusivity circa 1989

Posted on August 23, 2020 by knitigatingcircumstances

Today, I was thumbing through some old issues of Vogue Knitting. I stumbled upon this issue from 1989:

Look carefully at the cover, where it says “Special sizes Part 1”. Intriguing, no? Further investigation reveals this:

Two patterns designed in special sizes. The text reads: “At long last: Fashionable details programmed into two on-the-go career tops designed and sized for the full-figured woman”. Here is the kicker. Every pattern in this edition (with the exception of these two) comes in 5 sizes: to fit 32, 34, 36, 38, 40″/81, 86, 91, 96, 101 cm bust. These two sweaters, designed for us full-figured gals, also comes in 5 sizes: to fit 38, 40, 42, 44, 46″/96, 101, 106, 112, 116 cm bust.

Let’s review what this tells us:

“Normal” women are sized only from 32-40″.
“Full-figured” women are sized only up to 46″.
Apparently, if you are a size 32-36, the full-figured sweaters won’t suit you, and if you are above a size 40, none of the “normal sweaters” are going to suit you.
If you are not a size 32-46, then you are not the target audience.

This was 1989, of course, and things have changed since then, right? Well, yes and no. Emma just requested a pullover designed by Kim Hargreaves (Tan, Ravelry link here). I had a look and it comes in 6 sizes – 32, 34, 36, 38, 40, and 43 (81, 86, 91, 96, 101, and 109 cm), which are labelled XS, S, M, L, XL, and XXL. So, in 1989 my current size would make me “special”, while in 2020 I am XXL. Head thunk.

On the other hand, lots of designers are now striving to be more size inclusive. Just today, I’ve been looking at a new Kate Davies pattern (Treit, Ravelry link here), sized from 33-60 inches, and an Andrea Mowry pattern (Pink Velvet, Ravelry link here), sized from 32-64 inches. And a quick look at a recent Vogue shows patterns with a much wider range of sizes, like Aegean (Ravelry link here) sized from 32-52 or Staple (Ravelry link here) sized from 36-60.

One of the reasons why we knit is that we can tailor things to fit. But in the old days, a full-figured girl would need to exercise a lot of math to make that happen. Today, we can all be equally mathematically challenged and still knit something that fits.

Indecision

Posted on August 16, 2020 by knitigatingcircumstances

Having finished Leah’s cardigan, I have spent the last week casting around, so to speak, for a new project to cast on. In the first instance, I succumbed to an impulse buy. Milli of Tribe sent around an email with a large array of kits that she had put together for Tanis Lavallee’s Rock It Tee [Ravelry link]. Here is the pattern photo:

After some discussions with Doug and some texting back and forth with Emma, I decided it would be a good project to work on in the heat (we’ve been experiencing a heat wave here), and I ordered a kit. The yarn arrived, very quickly, in a lovely package:

The kit contained two skeins of Shibui Knits Silk Cloud in Caffeine and two skeins of Paca La Alpaca silk and merino blend in the shade Ramble:

It is hard to knit when it is hot, but a swatch is pretty perfect since it is small enough not to feel hot or heavy or to pool on your lap while you knit. And this yarn produces a very delicate fabric, light and airy and rather delicious.

It’s difficult to take a proper photo, since the background strongly influences the way the colours look, and the lighting is difficult too. Here is a shot of it held up to the light, which shows the shades a bit better:

Having knit the swatch, however, I am having second thoughts. Perhaps I am feeling washed out at the moment, but I am thinking that I should have ordered yarn that was RED, or maybe PURPLE, or BLUE, but at the very least BRIGHT and EXCITING. I am worried that this combination will just wash me out further, and I feel the need for something cheerier. It is quite beautiful, so it is going into the stash to wait. Someday, this will seem perfect to me, but now – not so much.

This reminded me that I had purchased some very cheery linen and wool yarn recently from Ginger Twist Studio in Edinburgh (blogged about here). I bought it because the idea of a linen and wool blend intrigued me greatly. The yarn has three plies – one is a very fine light fingering weight wool in grass green, combined with two plies of laceweight linen in a greeny-yellow. You can see this in the photo below.

This swatch was very hard to photograph as it looked very green in some photos:

and very yellow in others:

I asked Doug to photograph the swatch, and he must have taken 30 photos of it against different backgrounds. How can you not love a man who never tires of taking endless photos of your knitting?

One last one:

This yarn makes a lovely fabric which blooms in the wash and seems as if it will have all of the advantages of linen while still having some of the drape, and springiness, and integrity of wool. I had originally purchased the yarn with the idea of making the Tulpe Top [Ravelry link], by Lisa Hannes:

I am no longer convinced it it the right project for this yarn. I think that the pattern might not really pop in this yarn; it feels a bit busy. I might need to make another swatch, with the Tulip pattern, to see how it works. In the meantime, I have ~~wasted~~ spent lots of hours searching through Ravelry looking for alternative patterns. Two that I have been considering are the Staple Linen Top [Ravelry link] by Joji Locatelli:

Or perhaps Yume [Ravelry link], by Isabell Kraemer:

So, the story here is that I have swatched for two sweaters, and ended up undecided about either. I think this may be due to the terrible lack of focus which I feel these days, presumably brought about by the pandemic, anxiety, and the never-ending bad news cycle (just mention of the T-word is enough to bring on the shakes).

In the meantime, I have been doing a bit here and there on my Match & Move shawl. I have incorporated the new colour (the deep purple) and I think it works very well:

Unfortunately, with less than 20 rows to go to finish the shawl, I noticed a mistake:

I only had to rip out 6 rows, but it does mean that this project is still on the needles instead of relaxing in the spa right now. I hope that you are all well, and finding some moments of peace and joy to tide you through.

Vodka Lemonade

Posted on August 9, 2020 by knitigatingcircumstances

I have finished the Vodka Lemonade cardigan! This is a gift for Leah, and tomorrow it will be put in the post. I took a few photos with me wearing it, but I hope to put up a post with modelled photos from Leah at some point.

The pattern is by Thea Colman, and despite the fact that dozens of her patterns have been in my favorites for years, this is the first one I’ve knit. It definitely won’t be the last. The pattern has some lovely details and all of the finishing is incorporated into the knitting – once you cast off the bottom hem, you are done! No picking up stitches and adding edging; the edges are all beautifully finished as you go along.

Leah spends a lot of her time in dresses, and this cardigan struck me as the perfect length and weight to wear over a dress. I’m a little worried about the yellow – it is not a colour I normally knit with, but it seemed to mix and match with many of the dresses she wears. Plus, in 2020 I think we all need a bit of sunshine however we can get it.

When I looked at the many Vodka Lemonade projects on Ravelry, one of the things I noticed was that lots of them looked too long to me. I wondered why knitters were adding length to what should be a slightly cropped cardi. I think that, if you are aiming for a cropped look like the one in the pattern photo, you should take care with the knitting and make sure that you start the lace pattern early enough. My finished cardigan measured 12″ from the armhole to the bottom hem, which is one inch less than called for in the pattern. I had intended to do three repeats of the lace, instead of two, and took Thea’s advice to leave an inch for each repeat. However, if you are hitting gauge the lace takes 1.5 inches per repeat, so you need to start the lace earlier. (Thus, I knitted two lace repeats instead of the three I intended.)

I knit this with John Arbon yarn, also a first for me. The yarn, Knit by Numbers, is a 100% merino wool DK weight yarn which comes in a wide range of colours. I completely love the yarn, a lovely, soft, DK-weight and am very impressed with how it plumped up and softened with a wash. Leah is sensitive to wool, she can wear it but finds most wool yarn itchy. I am very impressed with how non-itchy this yarn is, and have high hopes that it won’t pill as much as some other soft wools.

We are having a heat wave here so I am glad to have this off the needles. I am currently knitting swatches, which are small and therefore don’t mean having a pile of hot wool on your lap while you knit. And Doug is keeping me supplied with freshly squeezed lemonade, while I sit in the shade and knit. It’s not a bad way to spend a Sunday.

Knitters, check your dye lots!

Posted on August 1, 2020 by knitigatingcircumstances

I had planned to write a Pattern Radar post this week, but I realise that those posts rely heavily on using Ravelry links. Given the situation with Ravelry at the moment, I’ve decided to postpone the post for awhile. (For those who are wondering what this is about, there are serious accessibility issues for some users on Ravelry following an upgrade; I find it very sad and hope they resolve the problem soon.)

Pattern Radar posts take a very long time to write (you can find them by clicking on the Pattern Radar tag on the right margin). Ditching my plans to write one this weekend means lots of extra time for knitting! I am working exclusively on the Vodka Lemonade cardigan now, as it is a gift for Leah and I want to be able to pop it in the post this week. I am getting close:

This design is by Thea Colman, and is the first of her designs I’ve knit. I thought it would be super fast since it is in DK weight yarn, but for some reason it seems to be taking forever. I only need a few more days to get it done, but my mind is wandering to other projects, and I’m finding it hard to be monogamous. The yarn is from John Arbon Textiles, also a first, and it seems lovely and soft. However, I have a major beef. I ordered 5 skeins of the yarn for this project, and one of them was not from the same dye lot as the others.

I am furious at myself for not checking the ball bands, and pretty mad at the yarn store for sending me odd dye lots. Its hard for me to get a photo today to show this because of the light, but to me the odd skein is very apparent – I started it about 5 inches down from the collar and it finishes just at the sleeve separation.

I am trying to overcome my perfectionist tendencies and to remember that a hand-knitted sweater is supposed to have character. We all believe that, right? (There is another, very small, mistake in this sweater which stands out like a strobe light to me, but I figure if I don’t mention it, maybe it’s not there.)

I thought you might like this photo which Emma sent me of a tree near her apartment: