Finished - la Morgat

I understand now why knitters often drag their heels when finishing up a garment - its the weaving in of all those damn little ends. So very tedious. Anyway, I've finished my next Beginner Knitter Phase 2 Garment, the Morgat sweater by Army of Knitters. I'm both pleased with it and meh about it. I really like the knitting-in-the-round top down method, and it's a very good pattern for beginners but the final product is probably not something I would buy and therefore I'm not sure I will be wearing it much:




My first issue is my fault/choice - the yarn. I really struggled to get a cream Aran weight cotton, and had to settle for this beige Sirdar Simply Recycled, which is 50% recycled cotton, and 50% acrylic. The lady at my local yarn shop told me very nicely, when I shuddered delicately at the idea of knitting with acrylic, that I had to get over it and that good quality acrylic yarns are much nicer these days.... It was reasonably priced, so I went with it. The blue is called indigo, but it really is more a cornflower blue - quite nice but I really wanted navy. I did think that all that beige up around my face wasn't going to be that flattering, hence my red scarf - there is just no way I'll wear this without something colourful up there. Maybe I should have tried another colour-way but I really wanted to stick with the traditional Breton colours..... c'est la vie!


My second issue is the pattern itself. I made the second smallest size as many reviews on Ravelry complained about the massively wide neckline. It is very wide indeed, and is balanced precariously on my shoulders in these pics - to be wearable I'll need to add bra strap holders otherwise it will be off my shoulders faster than you can say 'Flashdance' and my friends - it will come as no surprise to you that that's just not the way I roll!

The sleeves are knitted in the round just in the standard circular needle method - they are really very wide and I think from memory I made a little mistake with the numbers of stitches and they are actually a little smaller than the pattern states anyway! It's very obvious from the pics on Ravelry that they are loose and wide - they almost look like bell sleeves because of the way they drape. I actually don't mind that but my beloved doesn't really like them.


The pattern uses a cool technique for the stripes - you wrap the yarn twice, and on the next row knit into one loop and drop the next to make a cool long zigzag sort of stripe:


I had to add more length than the pattern states otherwise there'd be very pale muffin top on show - never attractive. If you are also eagle eyed you'd see from the above pic that I stuffed up with my lower stripes and did an extra row of beige each time - meh!





There seems to be a bit of whinging in this post but really I'm not THAT displeased with it - I've learned to pick up stitches, understand now why sleeves have to be knitted either with DPN's or the magic loop method. I will make the effort to add bra strap holders, and we will see how much I wear it.

I also made a great discovery for other beginner knitters out there - Interweave have an e-book called Knit Fix - problem solving for knitters, which is an excellent resource on correcting one's stuff ups. It goes on sale on and off - I think I paid about $8 for it.

And so to my next project! I'm currently fulfilling a promise to my husband to knit him a kombi softie - he bought me the pattern last year when I was learning,  and I've been dragging my heels on it - I'm just way too selfish. Also I was only able to find nasty cheap acrylic in the colours I needed at the time and it's the most feral stuff. Gotta pull my finger out so I can get back to the selfish knitting again!


Comments

  1. Flashdance!! Hahahaha! I love that, I am so not a Flashdance kinda off the shoulder person either, but did in fact go dressed as the lead female to a fancy dress party once. Go figure! I like your sweater. I understand what you mean about acrylics and in some cases they have come a long way. My green tee is 40% acrylic and feels delicious. It's such a shame you are a bit "meh" like me over my tee. If you are worried about the beige near your face the red scarf works beautifully, and you do look very French chic.

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  2. Oh, it's so depressing when it doesn't work out just how you wanted it to! But this is definitely still wearable, (not a monkey arm in sight ;) ) and all your "meh" points would probably only ever be noticed by you anyway. I really like that stripe technique, and you were right about adding the extra length. I guess it just shows that you can absolutely trust your instincts on your projects - whatever the shop lady says :) Kombi softie? I'm intrigued....
    Flashdance....I love the way you write!

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    1. Haha, yes no monkey arms on this project! Hopefully will be done with the kombi softie soon - I'm about half way through! Thanks Danielle!

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  3. Oh what a shame it didn't turn out to be a project you love but it does look pretty spiffy from here.. especially with your red scarf. A knitted kombie!? Can't wait for that.

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    1. Thanks Kirsty! I'm about half way through the kombi! :)

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  4. I have to agree with Kirsty - it looks lovely from this end. Having said that, I always feel meh about wearing beige (or yellow or brown) next to my face but you seem to have fixed that with your nice scarf. Now, about the yarn. I have only kitted with acrylic once and the yarn was truly gross (it was 100% acrylic). Is your issue with this yarn the way it feels against your body, the way it felt when you knitted it, or both? Just curious.

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    1. Thanks Andrea! I should have been a bit clearer - the Simply recycled was actually quite nice to knit with - it was more the limited colour selection that I was whinging about! Now the stuff that I am using for the Kombi - yes I think truly gross would be a great way to describe it - like knitting with fibreglass! But it was cheap and the right colours.......can't wait til I can start my featherweight cardi with my merino- silk blend! :)

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  5. Well. I really don't think it's that bad at all. But I understand that, given the amount of time you invested to make the sweater, you are a bit disappoited though. But like you said, you've learned a lot. I think you should never start a knitting project with yarn you doubt very much from the beginning. Especially if it's a big project. It's a cry for disaster...
    Good luck with your next knitting project.. May the knitting force be with you! :)

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    1. Thanks Rachel! I think that's a very wise philosophy regarding yarn choice! I intend to follow it for every future project! You are right - it's too much of an investment in time and effort!

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  6. I think it turned out absolutely beautiful! and will probably be really versatile; I would wear it a bunch :)

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    1. Thanks Carolyn! That means a lot to me - you're knits are just so fab (let alone your sewing!). Thanks for coming by :)!

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  7. It looks good to me!
    What if you wore it over a Navy Blue shirt?

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  8. What a great idea! I didn't even think of that, probably because it's summer here! I'll just have to make one! Ha! Thanks for the idea! :)

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  9. It looks FANTASTIC!!! Give yourself some credit! It actually reminds me of a top that I wear over my bikini at the beach...you could totally rock that look.

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    1. Hi Ono! Thanks so much - my mum said the same thing last night when I showed it to her! Thanks for coming by! And btw your baby's Halloween costume is absolutely AWESOME! :)

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    2. Thanks! I only wish he would have stood still long enough to get a good picture, but what's the fun in that :)

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  10. That is awesome, I love it! I am so new to knitting, I can't wait until I can knit something that good!

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    1. Thanks FK - it wasn't hard at all! I've only been knitting about 18 months - this was a very easy pattern as a beginner! :)

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