Wednesday, July 20, 2011

Harebell Fichu: Finished!!

 The Fichu is finally finished and blocked!!

Harebell Fichu:
After blocking laying flat.
Harebell Fichu: The whole thing
Against the light.


When I started it I thought it was going to be an easy project. Well, I was wrong. It took me a while to get it but once I did... everything went just smooth and fine.

Details:

* Pattern: Harebell Fichu.

* Book: Victorian Lace Today.

* Yarn: Einband (Icelandic lace).

* Weight: 62g (So it was one ball and a little more)

* Needles: 3.5mm

Harebell Fichu: Flower pattern
Pattern detail: I would say that these are flowers, aren't they?


Things I learned:

* How to make a picot edge.

Harebell Fichu: Picot edge
Picot edge.

Harebell Fichu: Picot edge
Picot edge detail against the light.


* Attatching the lace section to the band making joins along live stitches that lay perpendicularly to the direction of knitting (wow this sounds weird!). Look at this diagram I draw to (maybe) understand the idea a little bit better. The joins look actually really good. They are very even and somehow invisible.


Harebell Fichu: Flower pattern and Joins
Section. It is possible to see the joins that are right below the band (where the inverted V is)


Difficulties:

* First of all, to understand the pattern and the construction of the Fichu (Diagram).

* In terms of knitting I HATED making the S1K4togPSSO (Slip one stitch was ok. Knit 4 stitches together was TERRIBLE! And passing the slipped stitched over was a piece of cake :p)

* Blocking: This is the first rounded lace project that I knit and blocking it was a real challenge. The challenge was to have it even and nicely rounded and well proportioned. It took me over an hour to get it done (and a lot of sweating and pain in the knees and back!). I started by pinning the inner circle trying to have as rounded as possible.Then I put one pin in each picot trying to stretch it evenly. After having the outer circumference all pinned I just removed the inner pins... they were no longer necessary.

I think that the time, sweat and pain definetely paid off!

Fichu: blocking
Blocking
Harebell Fichu: A contraluz
Against the light.

















Final thoughts: It was really nice to knit this piece even though all the difficulties (from which I learned a few new things :) The Fichu is very light and airy and the lace pattern is just beautiful. If you have the book... definetely give it a try!

18 comments:

  1. its unbelievable beautiful and you should frame it and hang it in the Louvre and I bet, all people would say.. what a piece of Art...
    ciao ciao Christa

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  2. Hey Christa! You are awefully generous with your words! Thank you so much for that!

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  3. Madre mía, es una preciosidaddddddddd.
    Muy muy muy muy muy muy bonito.

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  4. :) ohhh... es hermosooooo... :Djaja.. gracias por pasar a saludar mis gummys,, saluditosss.. Ale

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  5. Te ha quedado precioso y si sienta tan bien como a la modelo de la foto, mejor todavía. ¡¡¡Eres un artista!!!.

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  6. t is your damn beautiful, you did a great job

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  7. Hola, he tratado de dejar comentarios y no puedo, espero que este salga, tejes maravilloso por eso soy tu seguidor, recibe un abrazo muy fuerte desde Veracruz, Mexico, saludos, bye. atte. Jorge Chan

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  8. I have knitted for years, but nothing so beautiful and well done as your fichu.

    Also, It sounds stupid, but I don't know how to block. Once it is blocked, what do you do? Do you iron the garment lightly?

    You are an inspiration! Keep on knitting and posting about it.
    Meximissus.

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  9. Muchas gracias a todos/as por los comentarios :) Estoy muy contento con cómo resulto este fichu (y estoy con ganas de hacer otro pronto!).

    Thanks to everybody for the coments :) I am very happy with the result (and I am even thinking about making another one soon!)

    Jorge Chan: Muchas gracias por tus palabras :) ¿Tejes también? Saludos cordiales para ti. (¡México! Tengo muchas ganas de visitar México...)

    Meximissus: Thank you so much for your generous words. Once it is blocked (or streched) it is not necessary to iron or anything else. The garment just keeps the shape (especially if it was well streched). What you have to do is to leave what you knitted in warm water for about 20-30 minutes and then remove as much water as you can. Then you lay it flat (I usually use the bed) and pin it to the desired shape. It is like magic! The patterns blossom and the stitches become beautifully even. Try it some time. And if you have any doubts don't hesitate and just ask me :)

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  10. Thank you RodPrejónar,
    I can wait to try it. I must rush and finish some of my UFOs.
    All the best
    Meximissus

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  11. !!!!!Es impresionante como quedan las ondas en la caida del tejido!!!!!

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  12. Breathtaking! Lace in in its best. You have my infinite respect for the blocking in round. I think I wouldn´t have the patience. I would angrily tear it to pieces after twenty minutes. :-)

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  13. Asun: Muchas gracias!

    Ada: Thank you so much for your nice comment :) Blocking is sometimes challenging. The only thing that keeps me from tearing anything into pieces is the curiosity to know how it will look like when finished! hehe. All the effort is paid off then finally blocked :)

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  14. Finally have a moment to write a comment, though I don't know if you'll catch it since you've already moved on to your next post/project. Will say, anyway, that as usual, I am impressed - no, overwhelmed - with another work of art from your hands!! This shawl is truly gorgeous! Hanging in the window like that with the light behind it shows all the beautiful stitches so well. The close-up photos made me think of your bobbin lace and how amazingly alike they look. You truly are a very special friend when you are willing to spend all the time and effort that you did on this and then give it away!
    Have to end with this funny thought: Every time I've seen "Harebell Fichu" my mind thinks "hairball." Certainly not appropriate, but what can I say! :-)

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  15. Hey Judi! Of course that catch your comment! How wouldn't I!?
    Thank you so much for your kind and generous words. Don't you find that there is something kind of royal about this pattern? I really like it a lot, especially the picot border. It looks very special. And it is pink! I never thought I would ever knit something pink... I am not at all into pink but I have been looking at pink yarn a lot lately!
    Hairball Fichu! *LOL* That is a good one! Not a very appealing name though, hehe :þ

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