Recently in Heidi Category

So, I finished the bodice on Heidi and decided to knit the neck edging so I could feel how it fit without the pins. I went with a frilly ruffle for the edge. Fun and girly, and also -- over 800 stitches to bind off! But I got through it and the ruffle came together really nicely in the linen. It's dense -- almost like crochet -- and stands up really well.

I was antsy to get the feeling of the top once it was all washed though, so I ran it through a full wash and dry cycle. Truthfully, I was concerned about shrinkage even though I had prewashed the yarn. I'd rather know now that I had to add more length than once I was all done.

Well, I had no worried about shrinkage folks. Here's what Heidi looks like after her latest wash and dry (on top of Somewhat Cowl for scale).

Uhm, yeah...a little big wouldn't you say? Can you believe it fit like this before it was washed?

The yarn feels awesome, but the gauge is totally wrong now. The top as knitted is not salvageable. So, I'm going to scrap what I've knit so far and find another yarn for Heidi.

I love the texture of the yarn though so I do think I'll do something with it in the future. For now though, the yarn and I will be taking a much-needed break. And if you're surprised I'm taking this so casually it's because I've had close to a week to accept it before writing this post. Believe me -- I was damn annoyed when I took it out of the dryer last week!

So, I need to find another yarn. The ones I've been considering are:

• Tahki Cotton Classic -- nice price point and damn -- GREAT color selection.
• Elann Esprit -- the elastic could prove to be a very good thing for this top.
• Elann Sonata -- nice color selection and good gauge.
• Knit Picks Shine Sport but I'm not sure about the modal for this design. I have a ball in my stash that I need to swatch.

I'm more excited about the first 2 (Cotton Classic or Esprit) but really, I'm not convinced about any of them yet. I think my ideal yarn would be a DK weight All Seasons Cotton. I'm sure they exist -- any suggestions?

After working on this for a week I've decided this design is indeed Heidi (Lisa in Chicago -- thanks for the suggestion!)

I've knit the yoke a couple times now. I've changed gauge twice, and decided to give more ease in the top. Here's where I am now.

I'm really happy so far. I've pinned the sleeves and front top to simulate the size once I knit the neckband. I think it's going to work.

I thought a lot about how to size the yoke, and where to put the band that separates it from the bodice. As you all know I'm busty. I went to the mall and tried on a variety of tops and confirmed what I already knew -- if you're busty, you won't want this yoke to go all the way down to the bottom of your bust (well, unless you want to bring new meaning to yarn ho). So the top hits me about 3/4's down my bust. I think this will be a good length for most people (as your bust decreases, it will outline and accentuate it even more.

Still, I plan to include instructions on how to lengthen/shorten the yoke area. It's a simple adjustment and gets to one of my primary goals for my patterns -- explaining where and how to change fit.

I'm also concerned about making my patterns too complicated and therefore cause someone to feel overwhelmed (can you tell I've been thinking about this a lot?). So I've been working on the layout and structure of the pattern. I want to strike the right balance.

OK, off to knit the neckband!