“Finishing” the Little Basic Cardi
Throughout the spring and summer, I steadily knit the Little Basic Cardi Fingering Weight. Even though most of it is what I would consider a mindless knit, I had to rip and re-knit portions of it a few times as I was travelling and surrounded by distractions. Knitting may be a slow craft but taking the time to double-check at any inflexion point in the pattern saves time. Ripping instead of pushing on is worth it if your finished garment becomes a piece you will keep reaching for.
Module 3 of the course, Finishing, was released at the end of June with the following lessons: Bias bind off, Bind offs, Blocking, Pockets, Seaming, Picking up stitches, and Buttonholes & Weaving in ends. I am grateful to have such thorough videos to walk me through the seaming and finishing of my sweater. At first, I felt a bit unsure as I don’t have much experience in seaming. However, going slowly and redoing any parts I wasn’t too happy about resulted in a sweater that I am proud to wear.
PS: The sixteen lessons of Fundamentals to Finishing Knits course with Holli Yeoh are now available in the School of SweetGeorgia.
Taking Time
The end of the summer arrived, and I realized that even as I had all the sweater pieces knit and blocked—and the deadline for completing my sweater neared—finishing and seaming was not the time to skim and rush. Seaming together just half the sweater took me a good part of a Saturday! The truth is, I can’t dictate how fast things go when I am brushing up on my seaming skills. Instead of becoming frustrated, I dove into the process with a clear-eyed awareness of my learning speed. I embraced patience and enjoyed every step I worked on my yellow sweater, holding all the summer memories of travelling with my kids during this endearing time of our lives.
Planning my Next Project
For my next seamed project, I plan to follow two new concepts when working on a personal project:
- I will work on it first thing in the morning. I find I tend to leave my personal knitting to the end of the day when my tired brain might instigate the ripping potential on my project.
- I will work on my project at a consistent pace every single day, with a doable 20-minute goal. If there is one thing I have learnt about knitting, it’s that consistently showing up makes progress.
All the little bits of knitting time add up and after one or two seasons of life lived, I have a garment ready to be worn.
If you want to learn more about Holli, be sure to check out a short interview we did with her:
You can also explore “Holli’s picks” at SweetGeorgia here. If you want to finish your knits to the next level, please join us in the forums to chat with Holli and fellow SOS members. I would love to read from you!
