Jody Meese sent pictures of two wonderful projects in Artfibers yarns, a LINGO (linen) hat and a GINKO (bamboo) top.  Rox (in italics) interviewed Jody by email:

Rox:  Your sun hat, where did you find the pattern?

Jody:  It’s a Kristi Porter design from her new book “Knitting in the Sun”.  She says she was inspired by the knitted millinery designs of Annie Modesitt.  The good news is that this pattern available for free;  Amazon is offering it as a promotion for the book.  The link is here.

What needle size did you use?

16″ circular size 6, size 6 dpns, and size G crochet hook.

Was it difficult?

Not at all, once I got the hang of the shifting repeated pattern;  it was mostly done in the car on a trip to Wyoming!  The eight stitch markers (one contrasting) make it a breeze.  There is one minor mistake in the pattern toward the end, but by the time you get there, it’s obvious.

The wire is encased in a single row of single crochet around the brim edge as a last step.  Though the pattern says to work from the right side, next time I would try it from the wrong side, as it seems to want to curl upward.  I did press it, though, (after the photos I think) and it seemed to help.  I also skipped adding the elastic the pattern calls for at the base of the crown.  It seemed to make a more graceful shape and stay on just fine without it.

The pattern calls for 18-gauge millinery wire, which is not easy to come by.  I was too impatient to wait for an online order, so I used some black-coated copper wire of similar gauge I found in the floral department at Jo-Ann’s.  The pattern says to use anything rust-proof.  I have since received an order of white rayon-covered millinery wire from www.judithm.com.  It’s not expensive but comes in 20-yard coils.  (Since the pattern calls for 50″, that’s a lot of hats—let me know if you need some!)  Can’t wait to try it;  I have a feeling it will work even better.

Are you happy with the results and how Lingo worked for the project?

Yes!  I made a special trip to your shop to buy the Lingo, since linen seemed the perfect fiber for a summer hat.

Your Ginko bamboo sweater: how did you like the process of using the Custom Pattern method for this project?

It was so amazing to just describe the sweater I had in mind, for which no perfect pattern seemed to exist, and to walk away from Artfibers with just what I wanted.  I am in awe of how quick and easy it was for Rox to crank out the custom pattern, and how perfectly this sweater fits.  I plan to use the pattern as a basis for more sweaters while incorporating texture elements from other patterns.  Since I don’t know a lot about resizing patterns to fit, I’m hoping that will improve my chances of making another well-fitting garment.

Did you use the recommended needle size and stitch gauge for Ginko or change that?

I used #5 and #3 circulars as the pattern called for, which gave me gauge.

Absolutely!  And I appreciated Rox’s coaching on sewing on the sleeves so invisibly…

Did the design, fit and fabric come out the way you expected?

Better!

We think both projects look great — but we may be biased!  Any comments from others?

I had fun making an “entrance” to my knitting group last week, wearing both creations.  Some of those women had been with me when the group visited Artfibers for a yarntasting and I purchased the yarn for the sweater, so they recognized it immediately.  Everyone thought the hat was very “me”.

Thanks Jody for your support and enthusiasm!  Hope to see you soon. — Rox

Tags: bamboo, custom pattern, linen

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