Monday, January 09, 2006

Classic Elite, Tweed 2, Fully Fashioned Ribbed Pullover

CLASSIC ELITE
TWEED 2
FULLY FASHIONED RIBBED PULLOVER
REVIEW: 3 STARS OF 5


I gave this pattern 3 stars because I do like the sweater a lot, however, this pattern has so many errors that it actually inspired me to start this blog. It probably deserves only 2. The first mistake they made was the obmission of the chart which they fixed by seding a correction to the distributors. Fortunately, I did get this correction included inside my pattern book when I got it.

Here are the mistakes that I found:
a-) Page 4, middle column, Instructions for front of sweater, line 6:
This are the instructions for the cable pattern to open into the neckband.
Pattern reads: sts to cn, hold in back, p1, k1; p2 from cn;
This instructions are wrong. I was unable to figure out the correct instruction exactly. But I am going to tell you guys what I did. Eventhough it is not perfect it looks fairly nice:
Correction suggested:
sts to cn, hold in front, p1, k1; K2 from cn; P1
Here is a picture of how it came out:














This is not a very good picture, but you can see inthere how the cable is supposed to open up into the neckband. I did my best to achieve this effect with the corrections I am providing, but if there is someone that got a better result doing something different, please go ahead and post it.
b-) Shoulder Shaping. Same page, same column.
The instructions for the back shoulder shaping produce a shape like a ladder on the sides. Something like this:
_____
___| |___
______| |______

However, for the front, since the frond band is in one side, you can only shape the other side. This produces a shape like this:

| |
| |__
| |__
| |__
| |

Therefore, the shape of the front shoulder and the back shoulder are different. I haven't sew them yet, but I am going to do my best to match the two. However, I do see this as a negative problem in the pattern.

c-) NECKBAND: The instructions for the neckband read: "Continue in patt est; work even until Bands meet at center back; BO all sts." In order to join the neckband in the back you will have to knit a 5 1/3" band at each side so you can reach the other end. However, the schematics for the sweater say this band only measures 3". There is no way you will reach the other side with 3". The other problem I find with this band is that it does not give any instructions on how to sew it in the back. Since you will have to make a turn in the join of the shoulder to cover the back of the neck. What should I do here? Probably sew the band to the back of the neck and use my imagination in that turn, maybe sweing the excess of fabric in the corner ? I don't know. But this is also another flaw of the pattern.

d-) SLEEVES. Page 4, Column 3. The words "Cast on" are omitted at the beggining of the sentence.