Knitted Moments Ta-Dah.......

Now.......

....I'm a self confessed 'Pants' knitter. I can do the very basics ONLY in knitting.
I find it annoying, slow growing......and I realise that I pull the most ridiculous faces as I work. I cannot be distracted, as heaven forbid, I might drop a stitch, or add a stitch. Things which I have yet to figure out how to successfully redeem.
It's actually the speed I find frustrating more than anything. Crochet just appears in seconds. You muck up a stitch or two, and it's so easily rectified. No gaping holes or odd things appearing.
The trouble is......crochet is not really a craft to make clothes.....as a rule. Well, that's my personal opinion. Sure, there are a few great ones out there. I've made a couple of things, and I have a list of about 3 or 4 more to make, but knitting.......well......this is where knitting comes into its own.
I treated myself to a magazine at the beginning of the month. I rarely buy magazines now. Anyway, there was a fashion section......all about layering.

Now, I LOVE layering......so it appealed to me. One garment caught my eye. A sleeveless cardigan, drapey, wrap thingy.

I fell in love. The trouble was, it was a bit pricey for my budget to buy......and it was knitted. That was that......

........or so I thought.
I kept going back and looking at it, and thinking 'I wonder if I could achieve something similar in crochet?'
The more I looked at it, the more I thought that perhaps it could be done. The basic layout of the garment was quite simple.

I got the details of the garment and thought I'd look up the website, and see if there were anymore pics of it online to give me a better idea of the back view etc. Well, when arriving at the website, I realised that this was a handmade to order item.............or............you could buy the pattern and make it yourself.
Ooooooooohh. This made things VERY interesting.

Suddenly, I was thinking, maybe I could buy the pattern and give it a go. The designer stated that it was a straightforward pattern so I thought 'why not?'. Even a village idiot knitter like me, might be able to pull it off. So, I purchased the pattern.

I decided to buy cheap yarn and make a mock up. That way, if I really was utterly pants, then I wouldn't have wasted a fair bit of money. Also, I could practice my stitches, learn anything that needs to be learnt, and realise what I need to do to make it better.

So.....ya wanna see my mock up?.........

Please view it through squinted eyes!
It really is a simple pattern for those established at knitting. You could knock one up in a couple of evenings.
It's called the Bella Wrap by designer Belinda Harris-Reid

The yarn I used was Stylecraft Life Super chunky in shade cream.
I DID NOT like using it and I'm not sure I'd recommend it at all.
Firstly, in the ball it looked more ivory, but knitted up it looked more yellowy/buttermilky......a REALLY DEEP cream. It actually looks more ivory there in the pictures, but believe me, next to ivory, it's really yellowy. Not the best colour for my celtic complexion. When the sun shone on it, you could see that nasty acrylic sheen. There was no denying it was really warm and snug though, and just to be used to do a 'dummy run'; I could not complain. I used just over 4 100g balls. I must admit that it's been worn loads this past week on the chilly days.

I've only ever knitted two things before......a scarf and a hot water bottle cover. Using big, circular knitting needles was an eye opener!
My tension is laughable at best. The only thing I did fairly decently was the cabling. For a complete novice knitter, the armholes posed problems. After several phone calls to my mum and a you tube video, all was worked out successfully. I'm figuring that I'm after floppy and drapey, so it shouldn't be too bad if my tension is a little wobbly!
After finishing, I blocked it and voila.

I like it. I like it a lot. Who am I trying to kid.........I LOVE LOVE LOVE it. Belinda, I could kiss you for producing something so yummy in a pattern.

I love how you can wear it several ways. I really really do. I perhaps just wish I was a bit better at this whole knitting malarky. I was pretty excited to have actually finished a garment in knitting. I never thought I'd see the day!
Aside from my uneven stitches, the yucky colour and gross yarn, I'm mega excited I managed it. I achieved what I set out to achieve. I totally love it. I want it in several colours. Talk about G.R.E.E.D.Y! I'm thinking boot warmers, wrist warmers to compliment the layering effect. My mind is working overdrive.
Urgh....I don't want mundane work and house chores to come between me and a proper beauty to be made. I'm chuckling. As beautiful as I can make it with my big old knitty clown fingers.
My Mum was over for coffee and was desperate to see this thing I had been on the phone to her endlessly asking 'how to' questions about. Suffice to say, when she left my house, her first stop was a yarn shop. She is desperate to make one now.
I think I'd like my 'proper' one to be a tad drapier, which, even for a novice like me, could be easily done I think.
So, I'm happy. It wasn't a total disaster. I think I will enjoy making others......and I shall enjoy wearing them even more......

....so watch this space!

xxx

p.s It was featured in Country Living Magazine March Edition if you were wondering....
Edited: I know some of you have had difficulty in being able to purchase the pattern on Belinda's site. It is now working and available as an instant digital PDF download.