home straight

—

by

Kate Davies Designs
in

I know that some knitters hate finishing, but for me, it really is one of the great pleasures of producing a garment. How I enjoy trimming a steek. . .

. . . grafting a shoulder seam so that it matches in pattern . . .

. . . finding a nifty way to create a neat facing when you can’t use a tubular cast-on. . .


(viz: keep the stitches live, thread onto long length of waste yarn; pin out; use right end of waste yarn to sew down each live stitch in turn, removing left end as you go)

. . . admiring the satisfying result from the right side . . .

. . . . . but the finishing is not quite finished yet . . .

. . . first I have to pick up stitches along the turned edge of the facing to add an edging. . .

Yes, I’ll be going for a predictable i-cord finish as Schleck and his pals speed down the Champs-Élysées.

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Comments

43 responses to “home straight”

  1. Christine @ Grub, Sweat and Cheers Avatar
    Christine @ Grub, Sweat and Cheers

    Gorgeous colours – can’t wait to see it finished! The idea of steeking still puts me in a cold sweat.

    Reply
  2. Romy Avatar
    Romy

    you are a finishing queen! I have so much to learn….

    Reply
  3. Michelle Avatar
    Michelle

    You are AMAZING! I seriously am astounded by your work! I hope to knit as beautifully as you one day!

    Reply
  4. Janet Avatar
    Janet

    Beautiful work. Wish you could sit beside me and guide me through the steeking and finishing process.

    Reply
  5. Siga Avatar
    Siga

    Great colour combo!

    Reply
  6. Amy Avatar
    Amy

    How lovely! And what a great idea for the facing. Thanks for sharing with us.

    Reply
  7. pd Avatar
    pd

    I think I hate finishing because it’s so loaded. Do it badly and your garment is done for. I’m not good at it, I get frustrated and am not as careful as I should be…

    Reply
  8. Jen Avatar
    Jen

    Immaculate representation. I have yet to learn to steek, and need to learn how to do this live stitch method of which you demonstrate. Thank you for putting this information out there for us to see. Such a fine sweater ! You’re amazing Kate Davies.

    Reply
  9. Hannahbelle Avatar
    Hannahbelle

    I usually dread finishing but this post has kind of inspired me to give my finishing a bit more attention! The details are so important!

    Reply
  10. Jesse Avatar
    Jesse

    This is going to be lovely!

    Reply
  11. alchemilla Avatar
    alchemilla

    Hi Kate!
    Have you ever considered writing a book on knitting, including finishing techniques and perhaps some patterns to use as “guides”?
    In the meanwhile, in which books could we find some of your knowledge on knitting? Which is your Bible?
    Love to you, Tom and Bruce

    Reply
  12. Constance Avatar
    Constance

    beautiful finishing work! I think your photographs reawakened my hidden love for neatness..

    Reply
  13. linda macdonald Avatar
    linda macdonald

    It is wonderful. The shoulder is perfection!! lovely,,…

    Reply
  14. Lydia Avatar
    Lydia

    To the finishing line!!

    Reply
  15. Emma Avatar
    Emma

    I’m in complete agreement with you. There’s something very satisfying seeing a knitted object go from a mess of ends to a neat finished product.

    Can’t wait to see the finished project, the colours are beautiful.

    Reply
  16. Wendolene Avatar
    Wendolene

    Brilliant–and I’m sure finishing work is all the better for your love of it. Myself, I have such a hard time with finishing, and I’m not much good at it, but can’t tell which is the chicken and which the egg.

    Reply
  17. Sarah Avatar
    Sarah

    Gorgeous! Love the colours together.

    I’m knitting neep heid at the moment and loving it :)

    Reply
  18. Lolly Avatar
    Lolly

    Looking good!

    Reply
  19. kellychats Avatar
    kellychats

    Always impressed and inspired(though relatively new to your world) by you and your beautiful work. I thought of you this week as I learned Continental knitting in a class and have been struggling and improving with it each time I pick up my needles. I’ve also taken to looking up Edinburgh on my iPhone maps; seeing its position in the world, taking little cartographic journeys over there with the aid of this electronic toy. Perhaps someday I’ll visit over there. Bonne chance avec votre beau pull– Bravo!

    Reply
  20. frayedattheedge Avatar
    frayedattheedge

    Hi Kate …. I’ve now been knitting for 51 years (eek) but I’ll never knit the wonderful things you do ( but I have just started ‘Maia’ from Helen ). Love, Anne

    Reply
  21. stephcuddles Avatar
    stephcuddles

    love that jumper :) I find I like finishing as well, why do so many people hate this part?

    Reply
  22. felix Avatar
    felix

    How truly pleasing this looks! My current finishing mostly involves trying to work out the strange thing I have done in my sock so that I can correct it and proceed to a fine afterthought heel. This looks gorgeous though and I love your attention to quality and detail!

    Reply
  23. fridica Avatar
    fridica

    I always marvel at your love for finishing, and it pushes me to be a bit more perfectionist about mine. It’s still not making me enjoy it, though :)

    Reply
  24. Mary Avatar
    Mary

    Beautiful. I love matching seams, too.

    Reply
  25. April Avatar
    April

    Beautiful diamond pattern. I can’t wait to see the finished project.

    Reply
  26. Lynn Avatar
    Lynn

    Great photos of the process. But, I can’t think about wool right now. It was 97 F yesterday!

    Reply
  27. Katherine Avatar
    Katherine

    I’m not a fan of finishing but these photos show what a difference it makes when you get it right. Must go on a course sometime to get rid of my bad habits.

    Reply
  28. sue mcd Avatar
    sue mcd

    Beautiful work Kate. I do envy your skill. I’ve taken up knitting again after many years and its like starting from scratch but I’m slowly plodding on in the hope that I’ll actually
    be pleased with the finished result.

    Reply
  29. Lydia Avatar
    Lydia

    I can’t wait to see this sweater at the finish line! From your photos, it looks beautiful already.

    Reply
  30. whitney Avatar
    whitney

    I’m with you…I love finding the perfect ways to finish off a handknit piece! A little bit of attention to detail can go such a long way. I can’t wait to see more of the sweater in these photos!

    Reply
  31. Jessica N. Avatar
    Jessica N.

    The photos are like knitting burlesque…a bit of teasing reveal.
    Even without seeing the whole finished object, the wonderful work-woman-ship is evident. Just beautiful!

    Reply
  32. scamp Avatar
    scamp

    WOW. Beautiful.

    Reply
  33. carolyn Avatar
    carolyn

    another.fantastic.sweater. RIDICULOUS! (i mean that in a good way)

    Reply
  34. Ruth Avatar
    Ruth

    I’m with you on the joys of proper finishing. I love pulling a seam closed and watching it disappear, and sewing in a sleeve and having it lie flat and perfect. It’s alchemy, each and every time.

    Can’t wait to see your finished sweater!

    Reply
  35. carolinefryar Avatar
    carolinefryar

    Kate, I am just /hopping/ in anticipation of what this jersey will turn out to look like– can’t wait to see it! (And would prefer the modeled shots to be accompanied by some sort of excellent, fun, cycling-related news: ‘Tom & I are off to bike-tour around the UK for a month,’ or somesuch.)

    Reply
  36. fredericaknits Avatar
    fredericaknits

    That looks great. I quite like finishing, I like the satisfaction in having a nearly finished project. The only thing I don’t like is endless weaving in of ends!

    Reply
  37. Mandy Avatar
    Mandy

    I completely agree about finishing. The weird part is that just yesterday and today I’m doing all the finishing on Maggie’s vest, which is eerily similar to your sweater. No i-cord here, though. I’ll take some pictures for proof, later. There must have been a thread connecting us, these past few weeks. Seriously, it’s eerie.

    Reply
    1. Mandy Avatar
      Mandy

      see? http://flic.kr/p/8muwbF

      Reply
  38. sparklycat Avatar
    sparklycat

    I can’t wait to see a picture of the finished article on (you?)
    The shoulder seams had me ooohing and arrring! Beautiful attention to detail.

    Reply
  39. linda Avatar
    linda

    As a somewhat newbie, or perhaps “born again” knitter I am in awe of your finishing and have to find out about the techniques you describe – truly awesome! I hope that you are continuing to recover well – your blog has been an inspiration to me as I’ve recovered from my own spinal surgery. Thank you. Linda

    Reply
  40. Martha Avatar
    Martha

    It is all so beautifully finished…can’t wait to see it in its entirety…
    A knitting masterpiece for sure!! Thanks for sharing!!
    ☺

    Reply
  41. Puzoo Avatar
    Puzoo

    Looks amazing – can’t wait to see what happens at the finish line…

    Reply
  42. annri Avatar
    annri

    great pictures of the beautiful sweater! art in the finish…

    Reply

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