Monday, June 11, 2007

Flicca

or, summer in San Francisco
Flicca1

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FliccaBack

Pattern: Flicca by Anna Bell, available here
Yarn: 15 skeins of Rowan Yorkshire Tweed Chunky in 'Stout'
Needles: US 9
Modifications: I made plenty though not because I didn't like the original pattern or found mistakes. First off, I decided to knit the back and fronts in one piece so I could avoid seaming. The sleeves were knit in the round as well, then attached to the body by knitting the front, sleeve, back, sleeve and front all in one piece (this was definitely not a portable project). I opted to knit a raglan yoke and because I was afraid that the weight of the jacket would have me constantly tugging at it, I attached two buttons to the front bands which were knit a bit wider than the pattern states. In the end, there were just a few ends to weave in (hooray). Oh, and I used size 9 needles by mistake! I had swatched with the suggested 10.5 but when I cast on I grabbed the wrong needles and didn't notice my mistake until I had finished the first tier. In the end it was a lucky mistake because I wouldn't have gotten such a nice fit with the bigger gauge. The pictures may not show it but instead of using regular knit stitches, I used ktbl on the right side and ptbl on the wrong side to get more defined stitches.
I really love it! It's a beautiful design and a very well written pattern. I can't wait for Anna's book to come out!

*mods in detail:

Flicca mods:
Here is a more detailed description of my Flicca mods. I took no notes during knitting, and I've forgotten a few things over the last few months, but it should give you a good enough idea how to adjust the pattern for yourself. I'm not giving any stitch counts as I don't want to interfere with Anna's pattern sales, you'll still have to buy the pattern for details.

A big help in grasping the idea of knitting three tubes onto one needle was the
Vogue Knitting book. Check out page 190, the chapter on 'Circular design with Yoke'. It shows three tubes (two sleeves and one body). You'll have two tubes (the sleeves) and the third tube is open (because it's a cardi, not a sweater).
How I started:
Instead of knitting two separate fronts and a back, I knit everything in one piece, from the bottom up. I made sure to place markers between right front and back and back and left front. Knit to the desired height to cast off for the armholes.
Now knit both sleeves in the round (I first used circs, then dpn's, or magic loop is another possibilty), until ready to cast off for the armholes.

Depending on how many stitches the pattern tells you to cast off for the first arm hole decreases, put the sts form the right front and back and from the left front and back on scrap yarn. Do the same with the sleeve sts.

Pin the sleeves to the body, the holding sts facing each other.
Now start knitting:
Knit right front until you get to the pinned sleeve, knit the sts of the right sleeve onto the same needle (you're omitting sts on holder), then knit back sts, knit sts of left sleeve onto same needle, then sts of left front. Knit one row (WS).
Now you'll have to do a little math. You need to figure out how many sts you have to decrease until the neckedge (use your washed and blocked gauge swatch). In my case I knit a few rounds back and forth, then started the raglan decreases on every RS row until the yoke reached the right height. The decreases on the front edges were started at the same time. I followed the pattern for the collar and frontbands, but I added a few shortrows for a wider collar, making sure to add the same number of extra rows for the frontbands.
Good luck :-)

96 comments:

maritza said...

Wow, Steph, this is gorgeous! You did a phenomenal job! I love the photos, too.

Amelia said...

The photography is stunning as is the garment. Anna does design lovely things but your changes have clearly made this perfectly yours. And the colour is gorgeous too.

lori said...

Wowzers! What a beautiful knit. Just this morning I was thinking about how I'd love a long cardigan. I'm not too sure a wool long cardigan would suit my current climate - but I'll figure something out.

beautiful photos too!

Anonymous said...

What a beautiful job. Lovely, lovely.

Anonymous said...

Steph, it's gorgeous! And the photos are, of course, simply amazing!

ofpinsandneedles said...

Oh my. That is so beautiful Steph - it's made my heart beat a little faster!

I'm really looking forward to knitting Flicca myself, and your idea of attaching the sleeves to the body by knitting the front, sleeve, back, sleeve and front all in one piece seems genius to one so scared of sleeves! Might you possibly be prepared to explain that further so I could try it too?

Thank you! And congratulations on such a beautiful, beautiful cardigan.

Anonymous said...

Your coat looks beautiful! It fits so well! What an amazing knit you've made!

Terhi said...

Oh. What a perfect, gorgeous cardigan! Your knits are always so beautiful, and you really have the talent to pick just the right patterns for you.

Anonymous said...

It's beautiful on you! Fabulous job!

rockbridge said...

oh wow - i am truly awed. that is one beautiful, beautiful knit. wow.

Kristy said...

Wow...it's beautiful!! Great job.

Anonymous said...

Nur 10 Kommentare, und alles wurde schon gesagt... Ich weiß echt nicht, wie du das machst... Alles ist eifach so perfekt: Farbe, Textur, Änderungen, Foto. Und vor allem es passt immer so schön zu dir. Ich freue mich immer wieder, wenn ich bei Bloglines sehe, dass es einen Eintrag von dir gibt :-)

Octopus Knits said...

I love your color/yarn choice. I'm very glad you used the smaller needles -- it fits you so well!

Carol said...

so gorgeous! (as always) love the beachside photography too.

Anonymous said...

I keep going to Anna's post and wishing I had the time to knit this. And now you are killing me with your gorgeous version. It is beyond fabulous!

jillian said...

That is an incredible piece of work! I liked the design as written, but I love your version!!

Anonymous said...

oh holy crap, that is gorgeous! it looks stunning on you, steph. fab work!

Elena said...

Oh, your Flicca is the most beautuful cardi I've seen in a truly long time! The tweed and the shape is abselute perfection!

Anonymous said...

so perfect!
you make me wish I was tall and skinny! :)

Anonymous said...

You may not post very often but when it happens it's usually stunning. Always worth the wait!

jen c said...

absolutely gorgeous! love it - it's definitely going on my "list of things to knit when i get over my fear of sleeves".
:)

Anonymous said...

I love the raglan sleeve version. Could you post your mods for this? I'd love to give it a try! Yours is absolutely beautiful!

Anonymous said...

Gorgeous! So stylish, and did I mention, gorgeous!?!

gabriella said...

oh steph - that's gorgeous!! i love the color, too - very classy. (and if this is the "summer" weather awaiting me in my very-soon-to-be new home, i can't wait to get there!) great job - enjoy it. ~gabriella

Protagitron said...

Lovely Flicca- the tweed is gorgeous, and suits you and the photos. In fact, the photos are pretty enough themselves that they look positively... Rowanesque.

Veronique said...

Oh, look at that tweedy goodness!

Lolly said...

Steph, this is amazingly beautiful. You created a beautiful piece! I will look at the pictures for a long time to spur on dreams of yummy brown tweed! :) Great photo shoot too!

Anonymous said...

gorgeous work! i love the coffee brown tweed!

opportunityknits said...

Steph, it's Fabulous! Everything worked out perfectly including the wrong needles. And of course you wear it with such style, those boots are just the perfect touch! Now I'm wishing we had cold weather here so I could dream of knitting something like this and actually wearing it :)

Connie said...

Wow, as always, wonderful wonderful work and photos. I swear, you and Brooklyn Tweed should just start charging designers whose patterns you knit up and post about -- both of you have posted projects that I suddenly feel an inexorable need to knit.

And I'm so jealous you're in SF! I grew up in the Bay Area, but now I'm in hot and humid NJ! I miss those cold SF summers...

Suzie said...

So gorgeous! I have my yarn and the pattern...just need to finish a couple of sweaters in progress first! I'm in SF too--so I know you'll be able to wear Flicca this summer!

Anonymous said...

That's so beautiful!! Lovely photos too.

Unknown said...

oh wow steph. i love love love your version of flicca! it is absolutely gorgeous.

well done and beautiful photos too!

Anna said...

Wow! Both the garment and the pictures are lovely!

Linda said...

Wow! You have knitted that beautifully. It looks lovely on and the photos show it at its best.Lovely! Annas book is going to be great!

Stacey said...

that is AMAZING!!!!! and what a perfect photo shoot location! All your mods make perfect sense - anything to cut down on the seaming!

Ingrid Hendy said...

I love your photo shoot. Having just spent some bitterly cold days in Monterey I would have loved that coat. Your version (maybe the location, maybe the boots) makes me want to make Flicca too. Imitation is the sincerest form of flattery

j a r e d said...

my new favorite sweater! Amazing Steph!

Anonymous said...

I hate to be redundant, but OMG is this gorgeous! Sadly, I am too short to pull this off, but it looks amazing on you!

Anonymous said...

It's absolutely gorgeous! I want one too! Hmm one of these days when I build up the courage and some better knitting skills.lol. You are such an inspiration. All I can say it "WOW"!

HPNY KNITS said...

simply awesome! abd I love your pix!

AJ said...

Stunning sweater. Definitely on my "to knit" list!

Anonymous said...

I love it!! It looks great =D

Romi said...

Wow! That looks amazing on you!

Anonymous said...

oh my - what beautiful work. I love the modifications you made. this is really stunning. love the styling on the photoshoot too.

iSeL said...

Absolutely stunning!

nuttnbunny said...

:: gasp ::

I just bought the pattern and can't wait to cast on. Have to complete a couple other obligations first.

I'm going to pour over your modifications and determine which I'll adopt. Thanks SO much!

nicole said...

Wow, I've got to say that's one of the nicest knits I've seen around. And it looks so amazing on you, especially in these gorgeous seaside photos. I'm blown away frankly, and now need a Flicca for myself. Congratulations!

Anonymous said...

steph....this.is.AMAZING! your photos are stunning & the sweater is just perfect. hope you'll wear it thursday so i can see it:)

Anonymous said...

Willst du noch einen begeisternden Kommentar? Ok :)
Ich steh' ja Strickmänteln per se sehr skeptisch gegenüber, aber deine Flicca und die schönen Fotos überzeugen mich sehr.
Liebe Grüße
Andrea

Janette said...

Wow - that is absolutely stunning! Great photo shoot too.

Anonymous said...

Really, really, beautiful! Your mods are great - for great reasons too! And ooooooh, bet it kept you nice and cozy on (what looks like) Ocean Beach :) Utterly fantastic piece of knitting. Terry

Knitting Ewe said...

"The the coldest winter that 'er I spent was a summer in San Francisco."
- Mark Twain

Unknown said...

Gorgoeous!! I love it Steph. I bought some yorkshire tweed for this pattern a month ago but haven't find the time to cast on..now I'm definitely inspired by your's :)

Anonymous said...

der mantel steht dir ganz ausgezeichnet, eine tolle arbeit. ich muss terhi zustimmen: bei all deinen strickereien hab ich auch gedacht, dass du dir immer stücke strickst, die genau zu dir passen. du strickst nicht viel, aber wenn du etas fertig hast, dann sind es immer wunderschöne stücke!!!
übrigens liebe ich es, deine "modifications" zu lesen, unglaublich...und immer kommt ein wirklich perfekt sitzendes teil bei dir heraus!
lieber gruss aus berlin
sabine

Craftydramaqueen said...

Fabulous! You look like a supermodel! well done. I love the Down Under socks too.

Anonymous said...

Holy moley, that's gorgeous! Were you a Rowan model in a previous life? ;-)

Anonymous said...

My name is Vera and I live in Belgium. I'm knitting Flicca too. I use felted tweed (rowan) and Baby Alpaca (RYC)together on US 9 needles. Your Flicca is so beautiful and I love the raglan sleeves ! Is it possible to give me some hints how to do the raglan shape for body and sleeves? I hope I don't bother you to much with this question ?! best wishes. Vera

yaiAnn said...

Fabulous sweater as always. And great pictures, too? Who's your photographer? ;)

Megan said...

beautiful work. (and great boots)

Kara said...

Darn your fabulous knits and pictures! Seriously, Flicca looks amazing on you. A perfect fit.

uhoava gnu said...

That's so beautiful! I love the deep brown colour in it.

loopylulu said...

oh man that's pretty. you look like a jcrew-ish catalog model. congratulations on a good knit! I've always been interested in long jackets like this but I worried that all that weight of the wool would make it unbearably heavy to wear. how is it?

Anonymous said...

Love, love, love it!

Anonymous said...

Simply beautiful! I love the modifications. I would try to make this one but know that I would take forever to finish it, if ever. Congratulations!

doulicia said...

I'm still having a hard time believing these are your photos and not those from the pattern photo shoot. Both the quality of the knitting and the quality of the photography is stunning.

I love the jacket and the color you chose.

Unknown said...

Oh my, this is stunning, I really love the colour you have used, suits the pattern so well. I am off to try and score some YT Chunky right now.

Unknown said...

Hit post to quickly! I did mean to add, thank you for your comment on my finished apron and views, yep, it is certainly green around here, thanks to the rain that just keeps coming and coming! You are right though, it is a lovely place to live, mind you, your San Francisco beach looks pretty good to me too.

seedless grape said...

I keep coming back to your post to look at your beautiful pictures--you really did a fantastic job! I'm about to take the plunge and buy up some Yorkshire Tweed myself to start on Flicca because I'm drooling over your version. Can I ask what size you knitted? I'm a bit worried about buying enough yarn!

Anonymous said...

a dream.
thousend compliments from berlin
christine

Krawuggl said...

Wahnsinn, Steph, ist der Mantel toll! Ich bin dermaßen begeistert, daß ich ihn am liebsten auch sofort machen möchte - dabei war ich bis jetzt überhaupt kein Fan von gestrickten Mänteln. Mir gefällt aber auch zu gut deine ganze Kombination, mit den Stiefeln und dem dünnen Kleidchen sieht er nochmal so schön aus, ich mag so Gegensätze so gern. Meinen ganz herzlichen Glückwunsch, da ist dir wieder ein besonderes schönes Teil gelungen und er steht dir einmalig gut!
Viele liebe Grüße, Suzi

nikki nimble needles said...

WOW! Beautiful.

Kelly said...

Wow, Steph--nice job on a truly beautiful sweater! I have to admit, I gasped when I saw you used 15 (!) balls of YT. It's a good thing the sweater turned out so well. Oh and you really captured SF beach weather with your photoshoot :)

Somehow your blog dropped off my bloglines and I randomly decided to check your blog and saw I missed a bunch of posts - bummer I missed them, but it was nice getting to read a couple at a time. In any case, just wanted to say that I'm glad your back in full force (even though I'm late saying so)

nonaKnits said...

I know it's been said many times before, but it's worth saying again -- amazing and beautiful!

Jill said...

Wow! So beautiful! And what a photo shoot!

I would love if you could work it out with the designer to post your modifications somehow. Hers is beautiful but your modifications and photography take it to the next level.

Definitely going on my "to knit" list.

Anonymous said...

Oh that is so beautiful...and just perfect for *lovely* SF summer. I found you by jumping over from Cristina's blog, and am very glad that I did as yours is fabulous!

Anonymous said...

your flicca looks beautiful - I am just finishing mine up and am wondering if you blocked yours. the pattern doesn't mention blocking, but i think i may have to to get the ribs to separate a bit and not cling together so much.

again, beautiful sweater!

Maryann said...

This is absolutely gorgeous! I bought some Yorkshire Tweed Chunky earlier for a Rowan jacket (Kooch)... But after seeing your wonderful knit, plus all your seamless goodness, I'm seriously tempted to make one too ;o)

Elizabeth said...

Wow, how have I not commented on this yet?? I'll echo everyone else now: it's incredibly beautiful, you look gorgeous in the photos, which are, as usual, lovely. Just amazing work.

nicole said...

Pardon my second comment here, but you left me a lovely comment on my blog and because I can't reply directly (stupid blogger) and couldn't find an email on your site, I thought I'd respond here.

You were asking about summer tweed. Well I think it's really beautiful, and the roughness goes away once it's washed. I would say thought that it does tend to have that funny "silk smell" and looks like it will pill a bit. Even still, I love my sweater and would knit with summer tweed again.

F.Y.I. I totally had your stunning photos of Flicca in mind when trying to art direct my husband taking pictures of my Swank. But I guess I'm too much of a goof to look as elegant as you did (and the ocean background adds an atmosphere that my back yard cannot match)

Di said...

the photos are fab and the coat is even better! What a knitting project! I shudder when I contemplate knitting a baby cardigan let alone a full size, swinging adult coat! I love it!

Leigh said...

Hi there! I'm a fellow San Francisco knitter, and I just came across your blog, so I thought I'd stop by and say hello.
Beautiful knit by the way! Looks so warm and cozy, I might have to knit one up myself!
<3 Leigh

Susanne said...

Wow, that looks very good. A beautiful garment and it fits perfectly to you.
I've been on your blog for teh first time and I like it very much. Love your socks (snicket and cable). I'll download the patterns. Thank you for sharing them.
Won't be my last visit - I've added your blog to my link-list.

Happy knitting and greetings from Germany
Susanne

Anonymous said...

I have eyed this pattern several times and wanted to knit it. It's on my wishful knitting list. (how will I find the time or money for yarn). It's just lovely. You did a really nice job:)

Ang

Danae Prado C. said...

wow...thats really beautifull...love your knitting.

Anonymous said...

Hello Steph,
this Cardigan is so beautiful.
I have in my stock exactly 15 skins of this wool, also same color. I would love to knit it the same way like you. When I buy the pattern, would you be so kind and tell me your modifications? What size did you make? I am quite tall, so I might need more wool.
It would be great if you could help me.
greetings from Germany
Ulrike

Anonymous said...

I just adore your lovely Flicca!
Doing my own and imitating the raglan yoke. I wonder did you need to add any increases on the body or sleeves before putting them onto the same needle? My sleeves and underarm seem to get a bit tight this way. Decreasing every 4th row with the raglan seam.

with best,
vive

Dove Knits said...

What a stunning coat! And a well-coordinated outfit to go with it!

picperfic said...

simply stunning! I want to make one this very minute!

Melissa! said...

Simply divine!

Jennifer DeDonato said...

WOW just amazing! LOVE it.

Autumnafternoon... said...

I absolutely fell in love with your version of Flicca. I really want to make this for my sister. I am ordering the pattern. But I have a quick question. Can you tell me what the sizes are? Are they XS, S, M, L, XL, XXL? My sister wears an 18 and I want to make sure and buy enough yarn now(Patons Chunky on sale at Michaels 2 for $7). Any info. you can provide would be appreciated. I wanted to e-mail Anna Bell, but I see from her blog that she's recently had her baby...

craftoholic said...

HI Autumnafternoon,
you've left no way for me to contact you! These are the sizes for Flicca (they are on her blog):
To fit bust: 32-34: [36-38: 40-42: 42-44: 44-46] inches
Finished size: 36.5 [40: 44: 47.5: 53: 58] inches

I made the second size.
Steph

Autumnafternoon... said...

Hi Steph! Got your message. Blogger allows one to request follow up comments be sent to one's e-mail address. Thank you so much for the size clarification. I will contact my sister and ask her bust size. Unfortunately, I missed the Michaels sale...the yarn is now back to $4.99 a skein. Still very reasonable. But I'm on a quest for the best yarn for my buck. Thanks again. If my Flicca comes out half as nice as yours I'll be thrilled.

Sigrun said...

Love it!

Philigry said...

stph,
I wanted to ask you a few things regarding this pattern...
I have only been knitting for a few months now and I am dyiong to knit this. I read the skills needed and I am able to do them all but I am not sure what knitting in short rows means. I know it may sound silly....does it literally mean to just knit a short row?
Also, I like how yours has a tighter knit. I think I want to use the 9's as well, but was wondering if you still made it in your regular size, or if you went up a size?
If you get a chance to get back to me, that would be great!
Thanks!
smithbrothersbowdoinham@yahoo.com