the shopping tunic

Ok, so here's a project that I really considered frogging when I was more than halfway through ... now it's grown on me and I've reconsidered ... and with a few changes I think it's actually wearable now.

This is the shopping tunic, by Wenlan Chia, something me and some friends fell in love with at first sight, so much that we decided to purchase the pattern book between us at once.



As for the changes .. well, there were a lot of them. I didn't have the appropriate yarn in my stash, but I really wanted to use something I already had so I decided to use this Brancal Manchester double stranded. Not enough to use the 15mm needles though, so I used the 10mm instead and had to make some calculations to get the pattern right. My first time doing this, and it didn't turn out too bad.



My biggest problem was the collar, I had to redo it 3 times at least ... I made it according to the pattern and it turned out huge ! Way too big, actually, it was slipping down my shoulders. Then I made a few more decreases and it still was huge. I got it right on my third try eventually. I also didn't make the pockets according to the pattern, a) because I didn't really like the pockets that much and b) because I couldn't make much sense of the instructions at first (later I searched on ravelry and found the explanation). In the end I had some yarn left so I made a kangaroo pocket which is more to my taste, and although it turned out a bit wonky it still adds a cute touch.

My biggest issue was the yarn itself. When I first tried on the tunic and although I was wearing a shirt underneath, it itched like crazy. Then I washed it, and it softened considerably. I'm always amazed what a good wash can do to a hand knit garment.



Anyway, now it's soft and because I used the yarn double stranded it's also quite warm.


Pattern: Shopping tunic, from Twinkle's Big City Knits by Wenlan Chia
Yarn: Brancal Manchester (used double stranded)
Needles: 10 mm
Size: L, to account for the different needle size


Now on to the next thing on my list. I'm making Storm, by one of my favorite designers Kim Hargreaves. It's from her Heartfelt book, which is full of beautiful and yet very wearable designs. I'm almost done with it, I just need to seam the sides and block it, but I'm unsure of what side should be on the outside. The pattern says that the reverse stockinette side below is the right side...



But then the stockinette side also looks so nice (and the eyelets so much nicer and more defined). So help me out here, what do you think ? I'll decide in a couple of days I think, because I really can't make up my mind right now.