Wednesday, November 21, 2007

Eileen in the round







I decided to knit Eileen in the round, rather than on straight needles. I knitted in the round until the armpits, then switched to straight needles for the front and back. It helped to break up the monotony of knitting only lace or only stockinette, as I had to knit both for each round. My plan was perfect, until I realized that I had been knitting the lace pattern in one direction only - so I had to learn to do it backward when I switched to the straight needles! A few attempts got ripped out before I finally got it right.

I used Rosarios 4 Bio Bamboo (100% bamboo) and I must say, I am extremely pleased with the result. It is so soft, and a bit drapey, though I think it turned out lovely! I used 4 mm needles to get anything near the gauge recommended for the pattern.

Bio Bamboo is wonderful stuff, but I think they were out to lunch when they printed the label. The yarn label's gauge is 27 sts and 32 rows = 4 inches with 5 mm needles, but I couldn't even get that gauge with2.75 mm needles (I got 25 sts and 30 rows). And I always knit to gauge. So I wouldn't trust the label, and recommend ALWAYS knitting a gauge swatch with this one.

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