A few weeks ago, I took a finishing class at a not-so-local yarn store. I am self taught for most finishing skills (seams, picking up stitches, weaving in ends). Since, I’m pretty good at following youtube videos and making things look tidy, I never knew what I didn’t know. It took a suggestion from knittingsarah, to send me to the internet to find a yarn store offering a finishing class. It turns out there was a lot that I was doing wrong(ish). It was really instructive to sit down with a real expert and correct all of my bad habits. After a few hours with some swatches, I was ready and willing to tackle some seaming.
I was drawn to the Cap Sleeve Lattice Top from the moment I saw it, but had originally planned to knit it in the round, and then graft the shoulders together using kitchener stitch. If you scroll down from the pattern post, you will find lots of discussion on this in the comment section. However, after the class, it seemed like a great, unintimidating place to practice my new skills. So I knit it flat and then folded it and used mattress stitch along the gray sections, just as the pattern calls for. I could not be happier with the results! It was a little time consuming, but I’m finally finishing garments up to my standards.
I’m smitten with both the pattern and the yarn (Cascade Ultra Pima) – they’re a perfect fit. If only the top was a perfect fit for me. I have a long torso, and thought I adjusted the length enough to accomodate, but it still hits a little above my hip. I cast on the medium (I’m about a size 6), and so this fits in a loose, effortless way that I think is appropriate for a casual summer top. If I make this again as an all season layering piece, I will use the same yarn, but definitely make it longer and smaller. What colours would you use for an all season layering lattice?