Friday, June 29, 2007

Evening Coachella?

Hello, Everybody! So I decided to make an night-time going out type of Coachella. I don't know if this will really work, but this is a quick knit so we'll find out soon enough. It's always a little risky to go for the hand knits at a cool lounge, but we will see.

I swatched 3 yarns for this. The first was Louisa Harding Glisten. It, like the called-for yarn, is a 100% nylon tape/ribbon type yarn. The color is black with periodic black shiny bits. I really wanted to use this yarn for this top, I had just the right amount in my stash. But after swatching, I see that it is rather stiff and would not have good drape, and to get gauge (or anything above the ball recommended gauge) gives me open mesh that is see-through and looks like a fish net.

Then I tried Berroco Bonsai, which is a 97% bamboo 3% nylon yarn. The nylon is shiny and adds sparkle. If I had had this yarn in black or white or gold, I would have chosen it, but I had it in a sage type color and it's not really what I want for going out at night. I think I will make it again in this color and yarn for a day look. This yarn is very drapey and very suited to this pattern, I think.

I finally decided on using some Alchemy Synchronicity that I had in my stash, which is a single ply 50% silk 50% merino yarn. It will be warmer than the others, but that's not too much of a problem since it's for going out at night. It has a nice drape. The color is Pewter. I got this yarn at 66% off (otherwise, who can afford it?) and was sawing it for something else, but I guess I can manage to do the other thing with another stash yarn.

Also, for the neck roll part I held together a strand of Drops Glitter yarn, which is very fine at 10 grams giving over 700 yards. It is a metallic yarn that adds a little sparkle. I'm going to copy the modifications I saw in someone else's Coachella and do arm edging as well, and I will hold the sparkly yarn for that edging, too.

I started last night. Will it be done in time? I'm at the point where I'm about to rejoin the front and back.