Cotton Tape Along Knitting # 2

Here's what I am working on now for the Cotton Tape Along. This is the back of the sweater. I have the front and most of a sleeve done now but as usual my picture taking doesn't keep up with my knitting!



It is # 17 from Katia Children's book # 29. Here's what it will look like finished.



I am using Papillon in yellow. I think my daughter will look like a little spring duckling in that! :) The Papillon is harder to use than the Idea Jeans - mainly because it is a ladder type tape so you have to knit slower & try not to poke your needle through the middle. It also folds up and twists alot more so I have to stop and unwind it every 5 rows or so. A bit of a pain but since it's not a huge project it doesn't bug me much.

Here's a close up of the stitch pattern:



It is Quaker Stitch. With this yarn it makes a really nice soft and squishy fabric. It's literally springy! One word of caution though. Pay attention to what you are doing because you DON'T want to have to frog this yarn. It doesn't frog very well. Also, it is a major pain to fix the knit stitches because you knit into the knit stitch below and the upper part drops off to the side. It is really hard to see the dropped stitch and pick it back up again if you have to - so try not to have to! I ditched a half sleeve rather than have to go back and fix a row. I fixed a mistake row on the front and just didn't want to deal with that again. That's why I buy an extra skein anyway isn't it?

I finally bit the bullet and ordered blocking materials. My pile of unblocked and unseamed sweaters is getting a bit ridiculous. It's time for me to go to the next step!! My mom explained seaming to me so I think I understand how to do it now. Luckily the Katia patterns all have schematics so that will make blocking easier!