Monday, April 03, 2006

Dragon Hoodie Finished

I am Dragon! Hear me roar!

Pattern: Dragon Hoodie by Marnie MacLean, size medium
Yarn: Plymouth Encore Worsted, held double for red parts
Needles: US sizes 9 and 10.5, Crochet hook size J
Personal Challenge Met: I knit the whole thing continentally--just to prove that I could do it
Resolution Achieved: I accomplished goal #1. The others are going well, too!
Comments:
1) I'm still concerned about the size of this thing. I guess Niecephew can wear it if it is too small for Eva.

2)
The seams are very bulky even though I used only one strand of yarn to seam. I should have sewn only half of the edge stitches into the seam. I wish I had heard that hint BEFORE I finished seaming the sweater.

3)
Zipper installation was an adventure. It's not perfect--you can see the zipper when it is closed, but I think it's pretty good for a first attempt. The first time I tried sewing one side of the zipper, I sewed too far away from the teeth. I completely missed the zipper tape in one spot and had to rip out the whole thing.

4)
I shortened the zipper by folding the excess zipper down at a 90-degree angle, sewing the folded zipper together, tacking the folded bit to the sweater, and then snipping off the excess zipper. Not the greatest way to shorten the zipper, but I didn't have much choice. The zipper is plastic so I couldn't move the zipper stop. The zipper is so fat that I couldn't fold it over at a steeper angle.

5)
Unfortunately, a couple of zipper teeth poke through the front of the sweater. But I think it's better than poking into the baby's neck.

6)
The crocheted spikes have a definite right side and wrong side. But I think they both look fine. I wish I had taken the time to figure out how to crochet the spikes directly onto the sweater, but I was too lazy.

7)
The crocheted ears that I made up look pretty good.

8)
Scout still doesn't care to wear the sweater...

Why does she do this to me?

18 comments:

Mintyfresh said...

so very, very cute. I hope you get a picture of it in use, so we can all see it in action!

Jennifer said...

Oh, that's adorable!

janna said...

Very cute!

amylovie said...

It turned out great.

I'm so glad you made it to the store today. I hope you bring the Malabrigo back when it is finished. I can't wait to see how it knits up.

Amy

Anonymous said...

That picture of Scout is the BEST! If it looks that cute on the cat, just think how adorable it will be on the kiddos!

I'm impressed by your continental knitting. Are you going to stick with it, or are you satisfied just knowing you could do it if you wanted to?

Meredith said...

But Scout, you look so cute!

Looks great, Laura! And isn't continental knitting the best? ;)

Zonda said...

That is so cute! You did a really good job on it! Your cat is a riot!...like Mom...why do you do this to me ;)

Knittypants said...

That is really, really cute. The colors are so nice together.

Anonymous said...

I say - cat abuse! I like the way the spikes look from both sides, even if they're different. Great job on this one, one of the more unique baby sweaters I've seen in a while!

goodkarma said...

So sweet! I've got to make that some day. Maybe this summer for my little sprout. You did a great job on the zipper installation. :)

Jeanne said...

Very cute - love the picture of Scout!

Anonymous said...

I love it all: the hoodie, the Scout picture, and the picture captions. I hope your niece/nephew likes it!

Rain said...

That is so cute. I love the colours you used, it looks really bold.

Helen said...

zippers are eeevil.

but hey, you did a fabulous job. as for the crocheted spine...did you start with a chain, then create each spike as you went? because then all you would have had to do is create a chain right onto the fabric (slip stitches, really) and then go from there

Anonymous said...

I love the yellow and red together- great job! Your cat is so photogenic- I wish mine was too! ^^

Theresa said...

Snazzy hoodie! And ... Hi, Scout!! :-)

Annie said...

So adorable. Great photo of your cat, too!

Annie said...

I love it!! Am adding it to the list of things I must make this year (which is so long, it could potentially last my entire knitting career...!)