Monday 3 February 2020

Interesting

Interesting.  That is how the weekend turned out. 

My job this weekend was to turn this mess into



this not a mess.  Not a mess at all.


I had been meaning to purchase a proper needle felting tool for a while now and a week or so ago, I ordered the Clover brand tool and a small felting brush designed to be used with it.  I wanted to  have one on hand when I am ready to do my next steeked project.  I should have had it when I was working on my Hun sweater.  It would have made the finishing so much quicker and less stressful.  This weekend, I used the felting tools to felt all these millions of ends so I could cut them short and tuck them neatly behind a little facing.  And so I did.


I knit the ribbing and then did a garter stitch turning row, and changed to a smaller needle and knit as many rows as I needed to to be able to attach the facing neatly to the edge where I picked up stitches.  Then I felted all of the long strands as close to the knitting as I could.


I trimmed down to about half an inch.  You can see how fuzzy this made the strands.


Very fuzzy.  Fuzzy enough that I am confident that they are not going anywhere.

After that it was just a matter of tacking down the facings and all of a sudden, before you know it, I am done.  I have worn this all weekend, even before it was completed.  I had one side done on Saturday evening but the power was out Sunday morning and had been off for an hour and a half by the time I got up.  The house was getting a mite bit chilly and it was sitting right there by me, so I pressed it into service. Power was restored and I completed it Sunday afternoon. 



More or less what it looks like now that it is done.

Back shot, though this is before I made it look so fine on the front and there is an odd looking fold.

This isn't really what it looks like when I wear it though it shows better than words can say, what attracted me to turning this project, that wasn't being worn at all, into this. 

 
By doing this, I get this marvelously wide collar sitting at the back of my neck and that is what I was looking for.

As a shawl, this piece was wide, too wide to do this and have it look as glorious as my inspirations do on Ravelry.   Had it been a bit narrower, the sleeve openings would have been in a more normal position.  When I wear it, it sits more like a very stable shawl.  It pulls a bit across my lower back as the arm openings slip up my arms when I am working.  I can't wait till one of my daughter in laws is here to see how it sits and fits on their much slenderer selves.  On a more average body, I suspect it would function more like a cape.

I'm not changing anything.  See glorious shawl collar above.  That part, having all that wonderful wool at the back of my neck is superb.



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