Amanda Knits

I actually finished the pieces to this lace wrap months ago (May, I believe). I just didn't finish putting those pieces together until today.

Whew. One month start to finish in sport weight yarn and a yarn eating st (double seed). I think this may be a personal record.

These photos were taken at 2 am, that's why they're not that great. We don't have a lot of lightening in our home because we get so much natural light during the day...it makes photographing things at 2 am difficult.

This coat was knit to sort of serve as a prototype for future coats, and I'm pretty pleased with how it turned out. No, not pretty pleased, very pleased.

Not Scowling

I'm not scowling. I was trying to smile, but then my boyfriend was having issues with the camera and I looked confused and...well.

Swing Coat Style

I modified this from a box coat to a swing coat.

Adjusting

I am very pleased with how this has turned out. I ended up seaming the shoulders early on, to check size.

I knit the sleeves from the top down because I wasn't sure I was going to have enough yarn. I seamed the armholes into place, and continued knitting. After I'd finished the sleeves, I realized they were WAY too tight. So I ripped out 40 rows and added eight sts to each sleeve. (I was very happy I'd worked them top down at that point!)

Then I had to knit the cuffs and collars. I soon realized that I was going to run out of yarn. There was really no way to get this yarn... So I ended up knitting the cuff pieces on size 6 needles (same as the body), but I knit the cuffs on size 8s. I also made the cuffs 1/4" shorter each than the pattern called for.

I had to ease the collar into place three times before I got it right.

I ended up with about 6 feet of yarn left over, which meant that the single crochet trim around all of the edges was not going to happen.

My boyfriend was an extremely patient manikin, since I used him to tack the collar into place!

I had decided early on that I was not going to do covered buttons. Covered buttons running down a chest of my size...no.

I did think I was going to do a single snap at the neck, but the collar already adds so much weight and heft there that it looks better (and feels more comfortable!) open. Plus, there is enough fabric to pull the coat closed around me. I was shocked at how much WEIGHT the cuffs and collars added to the coat. Wow.

I do wish the sleeves were a bit wider. I knit using the pattern and Knit to Fit as guides. But I suspect that women in the 50s were supposed to have very slim arms. I am a muscular person and super slim sleeves won't work on me. Heck, even the thinnest models are wearing looser sleeves. The silhouette has changed.

Considering that this was my first time taking a retro pattern and reworking it myself, I'm pretty pleased. Actually, I'm very pleased.

I bought the yarn on sale from Elann more than 4 years ago. Accounting for a small discount and shipping, total cost of the yarn was under $50. $50 for a fall coat! I'm sold!

(My friend Milinda gave me a lot of advice and guidance on this coat. MANY thanks to her!)

Fashion Shot