MK Project:Blissful Jacket Interweave Knits Fall 2005

Project Details
Pattern: Blissful Jacket Interweave Knits Fall 2005
Designer: Debbie Bliss
Yarn: Specified Debbie Bliss Aran Tweed, contrast is Debbie Bliss Merino Aran
MachineKnit: KH260 Brother Chunky 9mm machine
Design Specs/Mods:
The jacket was knit on the chunky/bulky knitting machine.
Provisional cast and the garter stitch hem was hand knitted at the end.
The jacket had full fashioned internal dart shaping on the back body piece only.Process required wholesale transfer of stitches every few rows with the risk of dropping stitches( not too bad on the chunky knitting machine).A chunky garter bar would have been very useful but very expensive and difficult to find.I tried the standard gauge garter bar but didnt work.
The garter button bands was part of the front pieces, I didnt want to have to seam handknitted garter strips at the end , so I cast on with the ribber in place.I was then able to transfer the small number of stitches every row from front to back bed and vice versa.
Sounds tedious but beats hand knitting by saving a few weeks.

The lapel and collar was the only part of design that was a bit naff.The edges look unfinshed and unruly.What would I do the next time?Not sure but probably borrow a tip or two from Phildar.



Contrast yarn threaded through once garment finished.The back has dart shaping and the instructions wasn't helpful, so I just winged it.

The jacket took a couple of evenings to knit on KM , then almost four weeks to seam and embellish.
Great looking garment,the yarn is too scratchy and rustic for me and is best used as outer wear not next to skin.

Conclusions
Will I make again?Possibly but without the embellishments.The shoulder needs refining and the front would also benefit from inernal dart shaping.
For use of stash yarn and ease of construction/knitting it was well worth my time.
However Phildar has much nice Chanelesque jackets.