Crocheted Doily with Sleeves
My Secret Pal sent the latest edition of Interweave Crochet. One of the patterns was an Annie Modesitt shruggy thing (scroll down) which is basically a large doily with sleeves. I love ingenious shapes.
My friend, Margareta and I decided to have a crochet-along and started sometime last week. Margareta has the same cavalier approach to patterns that I have - find some yarns that seem right and a hook that suits and crochet. Guage? Pah. So of course it seemed far too small when it came to set the sleeve holes. So what? It is only a big circle, just keep going until it seems right, put the sleeve holes in at around 10 o'clock and 2 0'clock and carry on until it fits. (Sorry Annie). We shall see.
I used 2 shades of SWT bamboo which seems to go on for ever. The sleeve holes look very unequal so maybe I miscounted and need to frog.
Margareta is using bits from her stash, mostly cottons.
There were quite a few things about this pattern we didn't like though. For one it is not an easy pattern to comprehend although the revisions on the Interweave website do help. The solid circle in the middle looks out of place, maybe it wont seem so prominent after blocking, but if I do this pattern again I will substitute something else. Margareta has tried embroidering over her centre. There were certain things about the pattern that seemed a bit inelegant (in the mathematical sense). For instance I don't see any need to backstitch to the centre of the last chain loop in the previous round. Why not just end the last chain loop with fewer chains and then a dc or tr or whatever is appropriate and then you are automatically left in the middle of the chain loop. Another gripe is doing 8sc (dc for non USA audience) into an 8 chain loop. I think it looks kind of scrappy, chains seem longer than sc so a chain loop (IMHO) should accomodate more sc than the number of chains to look neater. Last gripe (for now) is having to slip stitch between 2 sc (to be in the centre of a loop), again it seems much neater to have an odd number of sc and slip stitch into the middle one.
Gripes aside I love interesting shapes (as I said before) and can't wait to see how it hangs in reality (i.e. not on a model). That said if it works I might just find a nice doily pattern, work it big and add sleeves.
Anyone else done or doing this pattern?
posted by maylin at 11:44 AM
3 Comments:
I hope you keep us posted on the status of that, because the beginning parts are beautiful!
I put another package in the mail to you on the 14th; hopefully it won't take but about three weeks to get to you. Hopefully!
-Secret Pal "Selkie"
I love this pattern, too and tried to start it, but the yarn I had was too stiff. Maybe I'll try the bamboo.
It's very similar to the Sleeves in Your Pi pattern - which is based on Elizabeth Zimmermann's Pi shawl, and then doing the thumbtrick for the sleeves - it was big on the internets a couple of years ago. I have one out of my beginning handspun that I started and worked on every day for 2 months - the sleeves just need to be finished.... It does give a nice drape and shawl collar when it's done (just the shape of the garment itself) Have fun with it!
Abi
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