Half a loaf

Published on Thursday March 22nd, 2007

Rorschach_half.jpg

The Elizabeth Zimmermann Rorschach Jacket is half done. I’ve just finished the black stripe on the second half. We’re off to babysit my small cousins, and since I have completed all the freelance work and I sat for my final exam in Art History this morning, there’s nothing ahead of me after their baths and bedtime stories but knitting and HBO (or maybe Grey’s Anatomy, which I’ll admit I’m kind of hooked on, even though I think it’s gone downhill). This sweater is coming together quickly, although I’ve made some modifications to EZ’s suggestions. I’m making the medium-size length but the small-size width, and I had to reserve a lot more stitches for the sleeve than the directions indicated. EZ says to parcel the stitches out in thirds, with the middle third becoming the sleeve, but that would have given me an uncomfortably snug sleeve when I wanted this blousier effect. She also says to K2tog across the whole sleeve for the cuff, but I couldn’t get my arm in when I did that (and I have pretty skinny arms). I can’t imagine how it would have worked if I’d been knitting the sleeve with the smaller number of stitches the pattern suggests. But this is the way EZ wants us to knit: with sense. If the directions seem suspiciously ill-suited to your body shape, don’t follow blindly along. Change them until they please you. Half the benefit of making your own clothing is that you can customize it to your needs instead of living with not-quite-long-enough shirts and too-snug armpits and a-little-too-Flashdance necklines.

I’ve also been working on Glee, because I can’t go long without casting on for whatever Lisa happens to be knitting. It’s coming together nicely in a nifty indigo shade of Garnstudio Silke-Tweed that I found on sale, and I’m experimenting with a few short-rows on the bust. I hope they’ll prevent majorly revealing busty gappage in between the hook-and-eye closures. If anybody has tried this, I’d love to know what you did and how it worked out for you.

22 Comments to “Half a loaf”

  1. Punkin in Oregon Comment Says:

    Your Rorschach jacket is so classy. I like the way you have modified the design to suit your vision. I would like to try this jacket sometime.

  2. kaitlyn Comment Says:

    great photo! I like the new do… I’ve been thinking of going short for summer myself.

  3. Lisa Comment Says:

    Love the sleeves on the jacket! That’s going to be a stunner! Wish you could be here to have a Glee-along with me! Mine is coming along slowly, but I think it’ll be lovely.

  4. Karma Comment Says:

    What a timeless line that jacket has! I can imagine it on Jackie O or on a modern hipster. Can’t wait to read your full notes on the interesting construction.

  5. Daphne Comment Says:

    Could you be any cuter in a femme-fatale knitter kind of way? I don’t think so.

  6. loribird Comment Says:

    The jacket is looking great! (And your hair is still super cute as well!) Glad to see what that pattern looks like…

  7. stacey Comment Says:

    neat jacket! i love how EZ makes us think when we knit – not just blindly follow directions!

    short rows are a great idea – the gaping at the neck was one of the “eh” things about glee for me….

  8. MeBeth Comment Says:

    There’s nothing more annoying than a too snug sleeve – your modifications look great!

  9. Craptina Comment Says:

    I casted on for Glee too! Lisa and I met yesterday (or rather I visited her post-surgery self) and we worked away on our Glee’s. Gosh it’s a lot of stockinette…..Great photo by the way. Hope you have fun with your cousins!

  10. Janice in Camas Comment Says:

    what a great jacket — and so versatile, anywhere from professional to funky. can’t wait to see it done.

  11. Veronique Comment Says:

    Love the black and white crispness! And I’m glad you calmly modified the pattern to suit you, rather than, you know, yell and throw the pattern on the floor or something. Not that I would do that. 😛

  12. tiennie Comment Says:

    Great pic Sarah! Have a nice weekend!

  13. Christy / Not Hip Comment Says:

    You could totally start a new fashion statement with the half-jacket. It will be all the rage.
    Seriously, it is looking good.

  14. gleek Comment Says:

    lovely!

  15. Brenda Comment Says:

    Lovely half a jacket! I like how you modified the sleeves for yourself. I look awful in raglan sleeves (slopey shoulders, rather plump upper arms), and so many patterns call for them. I would love to find a way to make/modify raglan sleeves to better compliment my rather unassuming shoulders.

  16. carrie m Comment Says:

    even seeing just half of it, i can tell that’s going to be so graceful and lovely. (and i dig grey’s too, even though it’s total trash. what’s next, mcdreamy and george sleeping together? that’s about the only coupling left!)

  17. john Comment Says:

    Wow. That’s going to be one class act when you’re finished. I can’t wait to see it. Are you lying down in that picture??

  18. Jennifer Comment Says:

    I think you’ll get a lot of wear out of that jacket–it looks great. You’ll be wearing that for years and years to come. And I love how you managed to shoot it so that it looks as if you’ve finished it!

  19. john Comment Says:

    You know, I just had to comment again. I don’t know what it is about this picture that has me so enraptured. You look like a mannequin to me today. Waiting for someone to dig out the right pair of shoes to go with this outfit before up she goes in the window. Seriously, I CAN’T WAIT to see it finished.

  20. Janet Comment Says:

    oh my goodness, that looks positively lovely! another EZ winner, for sure 🙂 I can’t wait to see the finished product!!

  21. may Comment Says:

    wow…very cool!

  22. Elena Comment Says:

    Looking forward to seeing how this elegant jacket turns out. I hadn’t heard about this Rorschach Jacket until I saw yours. It’s really awesome so far!