Finally some progress!

I'm excited because I finally made some progress on my Tivoli!!!



I had huge gaps at the armholes, though.



I picked up an extra stitch as directed, but that didn't seem to do anything for me. I'm not sure what I missed...any clues? More photos on
my blog.

Silly question ...

Anyone have any idea where the beginning of the round marker should be before you do the waist decreases? When I was trying my Tivoli on again I pulled out some of the stitches and the marker. I have a vague idea where it was (a bit towards the back on the right side) but I wasn't too sure I had it in the right place before. Any suggestions appreciated!

Well here is my Tivoli T so far. It ends just below the bottom of the picture-- I tried it on right after I finished the decreases. I am extremely pleased with how it is turning out, especially because my guage was pretty far off, so I decided to knit the very smallest size, which I would normally never be able to squeeze into! But, with this yarn it is coming out to just the right size! The yarn is a cotton blend that I purchased in Portugal this past march. There was no ball band with it, and I bought it in a typical Portuguese yarn shop where they sell yarn by the kilogram! Visit my blog for more pictures: http://mknitter.blogspot.com/ 

Halfway done?!

Here's a picture of my Tivoli, in Endless Summer Lara from Elann.com:



When I tried it on yesterday I was about mid-bust ...

When to stop knitting ...

So I'm just past the increases, to the point in the pattern where you "Knit even for 4 (4.5, 4.75, 5.25, 6.25, 7)" / 10 (11.5, 12, 13.5, 16, 18) cm, approx. 30 (34, 36, 39, 47, 52) rounds, or length required to nearly cover bust while stretching lightly." I tried to take a picture but failed. Anyway, how far should I keep knitting? I am just at the mid-breast area, so should I keep knitting until if I were wearing it alone it would be a crop top (just covering the bra) or less?

So far it's looking great! I wish my mirror were cleaner, I think that was what was foiling my attempt at a picture. I'm making it in Endless Summer Lara in Black.

To Clarify: Shine

Based on a comment on my last post, I realize that it sounds like I was displeased with Shine for Tivoli. That is very much not the case; I think it's a great yarn and a good match for this project. I just didn't fully take its drapiness into account when I resized, and also didn't use as much negative ease as Grumperina suggested.

I did take all that into account for Momvoli, and Shine is working out just fine. In fact, I have tentatively finished it (pending a fitting this weekend), and it looks great on me, at least!

Finally, Progress

So this is where I am with the Tivoli. I have posted more information about it on my blog. While the Softwist is a snaggy yarn which makes it somewhat of a pain to knit, I like that it is just stretchy enough to accentuate my shape. I am concerned that the torso will still be a tad large but, um, I wasn't paying attention when I cast stitches back on for the armholes and now I'm 6 stitches less than what the 32" size called for. Oh well, I'm just going to wing it! Now that I look at it, though, the armholes seem big. I'm already planning to finish them in single crochet so hopefully that will tighten them up a little.

Momvoli

Hi everybody. I'm about half-way through my second Tivoli, this time for my mom. I'm nearly done with the decrease section. The latest pictures I have were from Sunday, when I hit the crop-top phase. Here it is:


There are more pictures on my blog.


I'm using KnitPicks Shine in Orchid. I started this before the Picovoli version was published, so I based it on the old 31" version of the pattern, and resized it for my mom. Essentially, I used the 31" necline, and then just added another two repeats of the raglan increase until I got the bust size I wanted. I'm pleased with the fit so far, but since Shine drapes so much, the fit changes significantly as the weight of more yarn is added.

I learned that the hard way with my own Tivoli:

I fell between sizes and had to reengineer the old pattern. Grumperina gave me some good advice about ease, but I didn't make it quite as negative as she suggested. (She said to do at least 2" less than the body measurement, but I rounded up when doing my recalcs, and ended up with closer to 1".) When I do another for myself (why don't you try and stop me), I'll follow Grumpy's suggestions more closely.

That said, I do like it as it is. The looser fit and resulting drapey back are ladylike and graceful.


It's perfectly wearable, but the shoulders, being stretched across the stitches instead of up and down them, have been sagging with wear, which further contributes to the looseness. I have to reblock after each wearing, or it starts to look sloppy. I may give it a crocheted edging aroung the neckline to stabilize it.

Got gauge.

Hi all! I just joined the knit-along the other day...yesterday? Not long ago, at any rate. I spent this morning working on getting gauge with the yarn I want to use. It's Cascade pima cotton (80% cotton 20% wool). I want to use two different colors. One is a solid lime green. The other is a lime green/lilac/cream combo. I'm thinking of doing the picot parts with the combo yarn and the main part of the body with the solid color. I'd add a few stripes near the bottom of the shirt after I past the bust.

For any of you that have finished this already, can you forsee any problems with me adding those stripes and doing the edgings in a different color? I've read through the pattern a couple of times and think it will work. But, I'm not a terribly experienced knitter. I've only done one other thing completely in the round (except for socks).

I've also never done a provisional cast-on before. I checked out some online tutorials and it looks pretty straight forward. But, I'm not going to do it until my husband comes home and he can watch the kids. I want this knitting to have my full attention.

finished!

You can see more on my blog.

Love it! Wore it to work today, even.

Started Tivoli ...

I was disappointed to see the old Tivoli patterns were gone (I think I have a printout, though) since I am making Tivoli and not Picovoli. Oh well. Has anyone else been confused by this part of the directions:

"Continue making increase rounds according to finished bust size:
28" / 71cm (32" / 81cm): work increase round every other round, 10 (12) more times, ending with an even round; 208 (240) sts – 60 (68) sts for front and back, 44 (52) sts for sleeves. 36" / 91cm (40" / 101.5cm, 44" / 112cm, 48" / 122cm): *work 1 round even, work 2 inc rounds; rep from * 8 (10, 11, 13) times. 36" / 91cm and 44" / 112cm sizes only: work 1 round even, then 1 additional increase round. All sizes: work 1 round even; 284 (308, 336, 364) sts on needle – 78 (84, 90, 98) sts for front and back, 64 (70, 78, 84) sts for sleeves."

I would be making the 36" size.

It may just be poor formatting, but I have been just winging it. I got gauge with Endless Summer Lara from Elann.com but I'm questionable that it will actually work out. Wish me good luck!

Just Getting Started

I've only knit the first 20 rounds so there's nothing to look at yet, but yes I have been knitting! The yarn I picked out, Berroco Softwist, is lightly twisted so I'm having some issues with it snagging. Similar to the problem I had when I used Berroco Cotton Twist on a capelet. But it's pretty so I'm trying to be patient with the snags.

I'm debating about knitting longer sleeves with this, maybe 3/4 length. Is anyone else thinking about doing different sleeves?

Oops...

I have been knitting the Tivoli in the smallest size. I finished the armholes and was working on the bust section. But I've been looking at it and thinking that it looks really small. I just tried it on, and lo and behold -- this thing is way too tiny. I know it's supposed to be stretch, but ummm...I don't think this size is going to work for me. I did knit a gauge swatch and I achieved gauge, but I knit a flat swatch so perhaps my gauge is different in the round? *sigh* Off I go to rip and start over...perhaps I'll have progress pictures in a week or so! I hope your Tivoli/Picovoli is going better! Happy knitting!

all that's left is blocking!

Oh, and sewing in the ends. (I did a fine job of hiding them away for the photo, didn't I? Almost had you all fooled.)

But I finished the knitting! So there's half the battle. I had a brief hiccup earlier this week, when I finished the knitting but it fell too short. So I frogged out the increases, added an inch of length (to 3 inches), and then went on with the pattern. I think it's benefited greatly from this alteration, and when I look in the mirror, the shaping really does match the shape of my body now.

So it was a great exercise in really looking at how a fitted garment can best fit to my body. Thanks, Kathy! I'll post again once it's really finished, with some real shots of it in use (that is, taken by someone other than me).

Does a Swatch Count as Progress?

That's basically all I've done so far regarding Tivoli. I re-swatched over the weekend using 3 different needle sizes and blocked it to make sure I got gauge with this one. Does anyone else have concerns about size? The pattern recommends knitting the size that's 2 inches smaller than your actual bust size but mine is not listed (I'm a 32, need a 30). I measured a sweater that's a pretty close fit and decided to knit the 32-incher. However, I'm still concerned it will be a little big because, well, that would just be my luck.

Anyways. So I'll be using...

yarn - Berroco Softwist in Mushroom
needles - size 6 bamboo

Looking forward to knitting with ya'll.

first progress shots!

I cast on my Tivoli (technically not Picovoli, as I'm not doing the picot edge) on Friday and knit quite a bit this weekend on the train to and from New York (I live in Philly).


I'm using KnitPicks Shine, and unlike someone on Knitty--who is using size 2s to hit gauge with the same yarn!--I'm on size 5s and I'm still not quite at gauge (should go up a needle size, but that would make the weave too open).

I just finished the waist decreases and am about to knit straight. I should try it on, I know. You can see more details as I go on my blog.

I made a button!

Here it is:

Feel free to upload it to your server and put it on your blog.

I used the GRSites Button Maker.

Welcome!

Hello!

Welcome to the Tivoli / Picovoli knit-along! Grumperina’s fabulous standardized pattern is in the August issue of Magknits, and we are ready to begin our knit-along! On the right you can find links to the pattern as well as additional notes on Grumperina’s website. If you would like to join, please send me an email at caitlynknits AT yahoo DOT com. Happy knitting!