June 2004 Archives

So I've swatched, washed, pulled and prodded my Silke Tweed swatches. And guess what? I like the yarn, but I do not like how it feels knitted up to gauge. It's almost gauze-like. This yarn seems way too thin for 23 stitches per 4 inches. I've mulled it over for a few days now and I've decided to return the yarn. I want to love this sweater, damn it, even if it doesn't want to love me.

What's my next idea? I'm on the lookout for a tweedy wool that will get 5.5-6 spi and has a good variety of colors. The difficult color seems to be the rusty orangey color that's in the entire middle section of the sweater. Cascade Lana D'oro is on closeout at Webs and seemed like a great choice, but no rust color. Any suggestions?

Other Knitting Projects

I've been picking up Lockwood for a bit of knitting almost every night. I'm on the 3rd and 4th skeins now. I'll spare you a pic.

I also started another small project as a pick me up after I accepted the Silke Tweed demise. I'll post about it in a few days after I know it's gonna work (and with my luck, who knows!)

Men's Aran

I'm looking for a good pattern for a nice aran for a guy. I'd prefer something that's more cabley than it is textured stitches. I saw a Patons booklet online that looks promising but I can't find any pics of the patterns inside the book. It's called Weekend Retreat. Anyone know where I can buy this booklet in person? Or know of a site that posts the pics? I've done the requisite google search with no luck.

I was doing some reading last night about 2 color knitting. I've been preparing for my Drops sweater and I want to make sure I do my homework.

I came across a new booklet -- Stranded Color Knitting. After reading about it on a few blogs I thought it was worth trying out. At $9.99 I don't think I have much to lose.

One thing caught my eye last night though. On a blog (I'm sorry, I can't remember which one) the writer mentions there's a difference between Fair Isle and 2 color knitting. I have to admit I don't know the difference. Can anyone enlighten me?

Fair Isle
2 Color
Interesting Knitting Blogs

In case you're curious, here are a few blogs I've been reading thru in preparing for my new sweater:

• blogdogblog
• Have Needle...Will Travel
• Knitting in Color

If anyone has a suggestion for additional blogs please let me know!

I think I finally shook the bad knitting vibes this weekend. I knitted on 3 or 4 different projects and really enjoyed it. I even finished sock #1 of the pink and purple koigu:

The astute observer will note that yes, there is a tiny hole where the pink heel corner meets the rest of the sock. I've already woven in all the ends (can you believe it?) so I'll have to weave in a new piece of yarn to close that up. I don't make socks that often so I still need more practice. Either way I love it!

I swear a big black cloud is following me around this week. I got my Silke Tweed in the mail yesterday. The colors are gorgeous! Tweedy and rich and beautiful. But I don't know if I like the feeling of the yarn. I expected it to feel more woolly, but in fact it feels very silky. It's a wonderful yarn, it's just not what I had anticipated. I'm going to live with it this weekend and ask a few friends' opinions. I'm considering returning it and taking a trip to the evil LYS to look at their Felted Tweed. I'll just look. I can buy it somewhere else, right?

NYC

I was up in Manhattan for work yesterday so I met a friend for dinner. After dinner I drove him home -- Brooklyn. It took me 2.5 hours to get from Brooklyn back to my house! They closed a bridge! Can you believe it? An entire bridge - closed. And the signs were infinitely helpful. The said "Bridge Closed. Take Alternate Route". No instructions on what that alternate route might be. I'm on Staten Island. I need to get off. Tell me how to get off this godforsaken floating garbage dump!

Hidden Message?

And suddenly it dawned on me. Do you also see the irony in that message? Take Alternate Route. Are the knitting gods closing bridges just to get the message thru my thick skull? And what exactly does it mean? Use the Silke Tweed? Don't use the Silke Tweed? Burn some Koigu as a sacred offering? Uh, yeah, like *that's* happening. Try a new project?

Oohhhh...Now we're onto something! I think I have just the thing in mind too....

Ever have one of those weeks where you feel like you've made no knitting progress? I'm having one of those.

I started that cabled pullover this weekend - twice. Once with Araucania Nature Wool. I love the yarn, but it just wasn't giving me the look I had envisioned. Then I bought Lion Brand Wool Ease. And like the way it feels, and the color is perfect. But every time I pick it up I get concerned about its durability. After reading the responses to my post about this, and doing some online searching, it seems that the quality isn't predictable. Some people have had great success, and others say it pills almost immediately. I abused my swatch a little and it did show some wear. It wasn't horrible, but you could tell where I was rubbing it. So I'm not going to use the Wool Ease. At least, not for this sweater.

The the fair isle. You all know that saga. I'm glad I figured it out when I did, but still, I'm back at ground zero on that project too.

My knitting karma has been so off this week that I found myself considering a sewing project this weekend. I found these great bags thru a link on Leigh's blog.

I like alot of them, but my favorite has to be the Ultimate Arts & Crafts Tote:

Plenty of room for multiple projects. Little side pockets for scissors, cable needles, or row counters. And a velcro front pouch to hold needles. I don't use many straights but I can envision using it with circs too. I may have to clear off the dining room table this weekend and make one! Lucky for me the local quilt shop carries her patterns and fabrics.

It might be just the thing I need to reenergize my knitting!

After I posted yesterday I went over to Elann to pick out the red shades to undo my new and "improved" color scheme I cooked up last week. And guess what? They were out of the reds I wanted! Last week they had 50+ of one of them! Argh....

I finally sucked it up and bought the real thing - Garnstudio Silke Tweed - from everyone's favorite yarn dealers -- Threadbear. I considered a few other possibilities but none were quite right.

I came close to some Rowan Felted Tweed as I love the yarn. But the colors online varied so much that I wasn't sure what I was really picking out. The only LYS that I know of that carries it is one I've sworn off because their business practices are horrible. Can you believe this place charges you a fee to be at their knit ins!!! And no, you don't get any special kind of gift or anything. It's simply to sit in the back of their store one night a week and knit. So yeah, I refuse to buy from them anymore.

Threadbear ships fast so I'm hoping I get it tomorrow at the latest. I'm really excited to see this yarn in person!

Until then, Lockwood is getting some deserved attention. Can't really complain about knitting with Noro :) Silk Garden is soooo soft!

Phew that was fast! My Elann order was delivered to me yesterday! I nervously opened the box, hoping I was going to like the colors all together in real life. I did! The colors on the site were very true.

The suspense of what the yarn would look like all knitted up together got the best of me and I had to swatch the FI portion last night. I did the main body repeat -- the one that goes across the chest. It's a 59 row repeat and it took me about 4 hours to do! I didn't get bored at all. I found myself looking forward to each new row, the way you'd read a book when it gets to one of the parts where something is being slowly revealed about a character or the plot. Finally around midnight the swatch was completed and steamed flat.

Here's what I learned:

• I can do real fair isle!
• Colors look so different depending on which colors they're paired with. Take the lighter blue for example. In the bottom portion it's paired with white and looks rather light. In the top portion when it's paired with mostly rust the color takes on a deeper tone.
• Margene is right! A little "poison" color does alot. I love the way the kelly green pops in the section with the navy blue.
• I like the weight and hand of the yarn. When I first felt it I thought it might be too artificial feeling. I suppose it's the treatment the wool gets so it can be a superwash. But once knitted up it really feels like wool
• My gauge is slightly looser on the rows that do not have any FI on them. FI experts -- does this mean I'm stranding a bit too tightly? Or is this common? I'm at 6spi on the plain rows and 6.5spi on the FI rows. Here's a pic of the back of my swatch:
• Most importantly though, I'm not crazy about the colorway as a whole. They're pretty together, and I do think they work. But once I knitted up the pattern I realized that the red was a big part of the appeal of the model sweater. I also think the design looks rather Native American, and the reds seem to go better with that.

So what am I going to do? Place a second order with Elann today to make the sweater in the original colors. I'm not at all sorry I gave this a try. I had to knit up a swatch anyway, and all this did was confirm that I like the design and I do really enjoy FI.

OK...off to order me some red yarn!

Oh wait, one more thing. I joined Eklectika's Gerbera along.

C'mon and join us! It starts Labor Day -- September 6th -- so you have plenty of time to prepare!

This is the first summer I've really tried my hand at knitting garments for warmer weather. I love the concept -- to be able to wear things you make year-round.

What I don't like, however, is what it feels like when knitting most warmer weather yarns. I know this is no great discovery. Many other bloggers have written about this before.

I'm considering abandoning summer knitting. My Linen Drape project gets special dispensation because I know how much I'm going to love it when I'm done. And Cheesylove doesn't count -- it gets off on the technicality of being 20% wool.

I will continue to use Cotton Fleece. I think it's a great yarn and makes very indoor-friendly garments that can transition the seasons. That 20% wool does amazing things for the yarn!

Yarn Question

Once I admitted my love for winter knitting I decided to start a heavy weight sweater that could work as an outer garment. I picked up some yarn on Saturday -- Araucania Nature Wool -- in a pretty navy blue. I worked about 4 inches on it but I just don't like the look of it. I think the pattern needs a tweedy look to it. Since I discovered this on Sunday I ran to Michael's and AC Moore to see if they might have something. I found the exact look I wanted in a medium gray heather in Lion Brand Wool Ease. I bought some and played around with it Sunday afternoon.

Here's my question. Does the yarn pill much? I'd like to use this sweater as my default cozy cushy pullover when I'm going out. I tend to wear polar fleece pullovers alot more than actual coats in the winter. But that means it will get alot of wear. The reason I ask is that I've found a few pills attached to the yarn as it comes out of the skein. But I'm not sure if they're just randoms tufts that attached themselves, or if it's tellilng me the yarn pills alot. The yarn is very soft and fluffy and I love how cheap it is! I've found that Lion Brand tends to be a very good value, but is this one of those situations where you get what you pay for?

Well, I did it. I ordered the yarn for this fair isle:

I've had it on my mind since I first blogged about it 2 months ago. Doing the FI on Cheesylove gave me the confidence boost I needed to know I could give this a try. I know Cheesylove was easier, but I think the principles are the same, right?

I couldn't leave well enough alone though. I decided to change the colorway. While I love reds and burnt oranges, I don't like wearing them as often with jeans. And I see this as a jeans and low boots kinda sweater. So after many hours of searching the web, considering various yarns, and playing with colors, I came up with the choice on the left:

The swatches are from Elann. It's their Gjestal Ren Ny Ull Superwash Sport yarn -- a 100% superwash wool from Norway.

Basically, the sweater will be the Indigo and and Nordic blues, with the other colors in the FI parts.

When I went to place the order they were out of the Kiwi Green though. It's the color that's third from the top. So instead I order a skein of the Kelly Green (middle swatch) and Goldenrod Yellow (right swatch). I still think the Kiwi is the best option. But worst case I can always buy a Kiwi shade locally.

What do you all think about the colors I picked? There's definitely a chance for disaster on this one as I've never done a FI so I could be very off in what my eye "thinks" would look good. Be honest! I can always return or exchange if need be. This sweater is a serious commitment for me so I'd like to hear your honest opinions.

Maude

I've decided to retire Maude. I'm now at a point in my weightloss where there's no way of salvaging Maude. While I hate to see the yarn be wasted like that, I'm not very upset. Being too small for something is just fine by me!

Teaching Knitting

A friend is opening a knitting store in August and she's asked me to teach some classes (yes, plural). She said she thinks I have a good grasp of techniques and she'd like them to be technique-focused. I have no idea what to teach! Some ideas that I've mulled around:

• Socks
• Combined or Continental Knitting
• Top Down Sweater
• Something cable-y

I really have no idea though, so I'm taking any and all suggestions.

For those of you who either have taught or work at a yarn store, what amount should I ask to be paid?

Knitting Meetup

It's tonight! I'm meeting Kim for dinner beforehand as well. I have a big document to get out by noon today, and I've been thinking the dinner and meetup is my reward!

Diet

I had dinner at Ruby Tuesday's last night. I'm not usually a huge fan of chains, but this one is different. Their entire menu lists the fat, calorie, net carb, and fiber content for EVERY entree! I was able to confidently order things off the menu and know I was keeping on plan. For those of you doing Atkins, there had to be 40 different things to choose from - entrees, wraps, salads, and sides. I ordered a seasoned Tilapia topped with shrimp and a cream sauce. For sides I got steamed broccoli and mashed cauliflower. And for dessert I had their 1 carb cheesecake. VERY GOOD! What I love the most is the fact that they let you choose what you want because their entire menu lists the nutritional info. Very liberating to be able to look at a whole menu and make choices without being afraid of hidden carbs. And if you're counting fat grams instead of carbs, the menu is for you too. That's the best part. Friday's does low carb. Applebee's does Weight Watchers. But Ruby Tuesday's is giving you the choice. I'll definitely be back.

I redid the front of Cheesylove this weekend. Technically, I redid it twice before I got it right. It's about 3 inches shorter from the armhole to the top than it was last week.

  

I'm much happier with the way this looks now. The problem was actually how quickly the neckline decreased. I was doing a decrease every RS row. But, in order to be happy with its shape I ended up decreasing EVERY row. If my calculations are right this will allow it to just skim the edges of my bra straps - exactly where I want it to hit.

I like the way the V opens up on the neck too. I was afraid it would look like it was being stretched open but I don't think that's the case. I slipped the edge stitches on the neckline every WS row and I think that helped. The edges curve under and make a nice edge without the need for ribbing.

I still can't say enough about the Cotton Fleece. This yarn is a dream to work with. The label says it shouldn't be machine dried but I think next time I'll wash and dry a swatch to see how much shrinkage I get. This way I could add some length to the sweater. I think this would work OK. It has 20% wool so I'm slightly concerned the wool would do weird things when machine washed and dried. But I guess I'll find out when I swatch.

Last week, Eklectika suggested that Cheesylove would make a nice tank. And I agree. I've been tempted a few times to make this into a tank but I'm going to stick with the original plan. However, I can definitely see another version of this sweater made up as a tank in the future.

BTW, if you didn't follow the link to Eklectika's site please go do it now. She's been dealing with this nasty dye lot curse for a few months and needs some TLC. Go give her a big hug and send her happy knitting thoughts.

I picked up a few hanks of Koigu a couple weeks back and I just wasn't able to stop myself from casting on with it yesterday. I started another pair of socks on 2 circs. Very basic - 1 inch of ribbing and then straight stockingnette. I chose a short row heel. Here's where I am:

I got very lucky in how well the heel color matches the pink in the variegated. I picked that up on Thursday at Pins and Needles in Princeton. They have a great selection of Koigu and Kersti. Can you believe that's the only yarn I bought there that day?

I picked up Cheesylove yesterday and I just couldn't put her down. I swear fair isle is like crack for knitters. Once you start you need more and more. I finished the fair isle band and one side of the neckline:

In case you don't remember, I'm making modifications to the top of the sweater. My version has raglan sleeves, and they're going to be shorter. I still haven't decided if I want to do short sleeves or 3/4 length.

I'm very happy with the way the ribbed raglan decreases came out. I read through many patterns before deciding on how to do them. In the armhole, I kept a K2 P1 K2 edge. So, whenever I decreased I did so under the innermost K2. Meaning, decrease rows went like this: K2 P1 K1, SSK, knit to last 6 sts, K2tog K1 P1 K2. This preserved a K2 P1 K2 edge throughout the armhole. I plan to do the same decreases on the sleeves.

On the body, I made the center 2 sts a K2. So, when it came time to split for the V neck, I had 1 knit stitch on either side of the neck. I did the same basic decreases as for the armholes, but with only one K on the end. Since I do not need to seam the neckline like I do the armhole, I slipped the neckline stitch on every WS side for a nice rolled edge. The neck looks like it will lay nice and flat without any need for finishing.

Oh, I think I made the neck/armhole an inch or two too long. But I'm going to finish up the body (or at least one side) and do a sleeve before I rip out. Even if I have to rip it won't be much more to reknit - those last 10 rows go so quicklyl

One other thing I don't think I've mentioned before. I slightly modified how the body is set up at the bottom. The instructions say to start with a K2 P1 rib, with markers before the K2 to indicate the sides. Instead, I moved the markers in a single stitch so they were between 2 knit sts - K1 pm K1 P1 K2. This way, the decreases were always symmetrical. See:

I couldn't wait to cast on for the mohair scarf yesterday. I love the colors in the hank and I couldn't wait to see them stripe up. Isn't that the fun part with hand-dyeds?

Well, the scarf just isn't striping like I had envisioned:

Instead of striping the colors are kinda blending, and the green seems to be alot stronger than I had hoped. I really don't care for brighter greens so I tried mixing in some other yarns to temper it.

First, I wound the brighter mohair with it:

proof that more is sometimes less. and ugly.

Then I wound it up with some Manos navy from my stash:

eh

That's not doing it either.

So I'm not sure what to do with it just yet. I like the pinks, reds and oranges in it. Maybe a monchromatic hand-dyed in subtle pink/red/orange variations? Or maybe striping it with black - a few rows of black, a few rows of the mohair? What do you think? I still like the yarn, but I'm really not sure what to do with it.

What would you do?

I got most of my eBay yarn purchase from Over the Rainbow yesterday. They're even more gorgeous in person! I'm so glad I went with a grab bag for one of the purchases. I liked the mix of yarns, but I didn't love every one of them in the pic. It seems to have gotten my creative juices flowing though, and trying to decide what to do with them has been fun.

Here's the yarn again:

The leftmost yarn - the darker boucle - is probably my fav. It's far richer in person. The rightmost boucle - the pastel/bright one - has been making me think a bit though. Originally I thought I'd knit it up into a scarf for my mom. But the lime is too strong and I don't think she'd like it. I, however, think of My Little Pony when I look at the colors. I thought about mixing in white but again, the pastel-ness of it would be accentuated and that's not what I'm looking for. So then I thought, what about black?

I could hold the black and boucle together, or stripe them - 4 rows black, 2 rows boucle - or, what else? I'm thinking it will become a scarf with maybe matching fingerless gloves with the boucle as just an accent around the wrists. What do you think?

Fingerless gloves

For the glove pattern, I'm considering Hooray For Me Gloves by Marnie MacLean. I like how she made the stubs different colors and I can see using handpainted yarn to get a similar effect. So, I think the 2 center fingering weight wool hanks will become gloves. I've been eyeing fingerless gloves for almost a year now. But something about DPNing those finger stubs that has kept me away from trying them out. That is, until I read Marnie's suggestion about double knitting them. I think that's a fabulous idea! They can all be on a single needle. I've never done double knitting but it seems straightforward enough. There's a good article on doubleknitting at knitty.

Summer knitting?

I just re-read my post and realized there's some irony in writing about scarves and gloves on a hazy, hot and humid day that's supposed to reach into the 90s.

I blame it on the yarn...

This was a weekend for dismissing all self-control. It all started when I got my Secret Pal bag Thursday night. I just love sock yarn. How can you not? It's probably the most fun you can have with yarn for adults. There really aren't any barriers for socks.

I emailed Mary to ask her what the yummy red hand dyed yarn was, and she told me it was from the eBay seller Over The Rainbow. The yarn was beautiful and soft and I couldn't help myself.

Indiscretion #1
eBay purchase 1 - I'm thinking about a lightweight scarf. Maybe some simple cables?
eBay purchase 2 - Socks or a scarf. Not sure yet.
eBay purchase 2 - The wool for socks, the mohair for some fun, more airy scarves.

By 11am on Friday I was riding the fiber high (you know that feeling, right?) and couldn't wait to get my weekend started. Luckily I had a client meeting that was on my way home so I got home early (which constitutes 5:15 for me. I long for the days when I could leave work at 4 and be home by 4:30).

I fondled my new sock yarn again and debated what to start. I played with the 2 circs to get the hang of it. Easy! I really like Cat's suggestion to swap the last stitch and the first stitch. Why haven't I been doing this? I feel like this is such a simple concept and I must have been living under a rock to have not come across this before.

By early Friday evening I was coming down from my high and crashed rather early. No real knitting to speak of.

Saturday, I went up to The Wooly Lamb in Pennington and picked up some more needles. I now own a pair of US#2 Addi Turbo. I also got Addi Natura for the Linen Drape.

Indiscretion #2

As soon as I got home I cast on for another sock. This time I used my Regia Cotton that I picked up at MDSW. It's very nice yarn - has a great sproingy quality. Armed with my newly learned 2 circ method I cast on and knit away.

I'm doing the Peak Experience sock from Fiber Trends. Of course, I couldn't leave well enough alone. The pattern uses a k2tog to make the dips in the pattern. But I hate k2tog. I hate it even more on US#1s. So I changed it to a SSK, put loop back on left needle, pass next stitch over the loop, pass the k2tog loop back onto the right needle (i have no idea if there's an abbreviation for that). Basically it's the opposite of sl1, k2tog, psso. It makes the same dip, but with the left hand loop on top of the right hand loop. And it goes infinitely faster.

Indiscretion #3

The diet went out the window this weekend. I had pasta, rice, and bread. I had Italian and Chinese. I had grits. And horror of all horrors - I even had a McDonald's hashbrown. mmmmmmmmmmmmmm!

What do I have to say for myself? Nothing. I had a fun weekend, and I'm back on the wagon again this morning. As Rachael said in my comments last week - sometimes cheating is just what the soul ordered. And it was :)

Wow, when Mary said there was another box on its way, she wasn't kidding. I'm amazed at the generosity of this last box.

She sent a bag with TONS of goodies. She called it a sock starting kit. But "kit" does not do this gift justice. Just look at the bag.

Just looking at the bag makes me happy. Click to see the contents.

All I can say is WOW! Here's what's inside:

• Socks Socks Socks Book
• Socks Soar on 2 Circulars
• 2 Addi Turbo 24" US#1 Needles
• 1 set of US#1 Bamboo DPNs
• 1 set of US#0 Bamboo DPNs
• Skein of Opal Sock Yarn - blue variegated
• 2 balls of Cascade Fixation in a pretty periwinkle/tan/cream combo
• Knitters ruler - very handy for checking gauge!
• Cute stickers
• And finally, some really gorgeous hand-dyed wool in deep reds/rust/grey/green

I think I listed everything. Can I tell you how perfect this is for me? I've been looking for Socks Socks Socks for a while now, but Philadelphia area LYS's never seem to have it. The book is fabulous! Lacey socks, textured socks, fair isle socks, colorwork, corrugated ribbing. I could go on and on. And I've been curious to try the 2 circ method but didn't have the book. Even the needle sizes were all new - I had US#2 and #3 DPNs, but nothing smaller.

Thank you SO MUCH Mary! You made my week!

Diet

I've been totally bummed because yet again, I only lost a half pound this week. In fact, at dinner last night with Christy I decided to cheat because I was just so fed up. And guess what? Today I'm down 1.5 pounds since last week. Go figure! So now I'm down a total of 19 :)

I cast on for Tango - the official name of my Linen Drape project - this weekend. The smaller gauge and splitty nature of Linen Drape is making for slower progress. I've been picking it up here and there between other knitting.

It's in the round now, after about 2 inches of back and forth to allow for a split in the center front.

And here's a closeup. The stitches will really benefit from a good dunk, and because the top edge should be zigzag (instead of straight the way the needles holds it) it still looks a bit wonky. But, no different than my initial swatch did before I cast off and blocked it.

I can't help but think how much I want to just wet block what's there already to soften up the yarn. It feels like string when knitting, but feels more like a soft, comfy, well-worn pair of jeans after getting wet.

I picked up the poncho again this weekend and zoomed thru the rest of the back. It is a really fun little stitch pattern. And I love the weight it has from the Berocco Cotton Twist. But even on big honkin 10mm needles it still splits occasionally!

Here's a full shot. It's hard to photograph well.

And a closeup. This is truer to color:

It's very drapey so I ended up making the neck about 7 inches wide. I think it will stretch out. And if it doesn't I'll just leave off a couple extra inches when sewing up the front and back.

I've been getting alot of hits from google searching for Colinette Poncho. I suspect many of them are looking for the multi-yarn Colinette poncho that alot of people have been making this season. However, if you're looking for the pattern I used I do plan to post it here when I'm done. I may make some changes to the neckline of the front so I'm not quite ready to post it yet. If you are interested in the pattern please leave me a comment and I can send out an email when it's done.

In other poncho news, have you seen SequinK's Ponchofication of Charlotte? It's really cool. I would never wear a shawl but a Charlotte Poncho. Hmmm....only 5 hanks of Koigu, right?

Who doesn't love a 3 day weekend? We got some house work done. Mostly landscaping and painting. Oh, the fun of walking around on the roof so I could scrape sun dried paint off the siding! But the front of the house is almost done and every time I pull in the driveway I feel a sense of accomplishment. Or at least progress.

Knitting

I got the back of smooch done.

I love the way the armhole decreases and edges were done. At the end of each row you pick up the loop between the last stitch and the next to last stitch (like a M1 but you don't twist it). The you slip the last stich in whichever way the row is knit (on a knit row, you slip it knitwise; on a purl row, purlwise). Then at the start of the next row you p2tog/k2togtbl those 2 stitches together. It makes a very firm edge that curls under slightly.

I cast on for the front and I've just begun the eyelets. I wanted to get that picot edge out of the way quickly because I knew I'd procrastinate it otherwise.

Sizing - I think Smooch will fit or possibly even be a bit snug - which is great. Maude has already become too big and because of that I don't think I'll ever do the next edge. I can't frog it because I steaked the edges so the yarn will come out in little bits. I'm not that sad though. If I had to choose between the top fitting or my shrinking, I'll choose myself shrinking any day :)