FO: Smockies!!!

Finally I have photos that are worth posting (thanks to my lovely hand model!), so I can now present to you the finished smockies!!!



So, here's The 411:
Pattern: Smockies (rav link). This is a free pattern which was entered in a 'design-along' (the winner of which, I think, was these mittens - ha too cute!!)
Source: BenteB's Blog - Bente posts in her native Norwegian, with English translations too - check out the gorgeous scarves and shawls!!
Yarn: Patons Feathersoft 8ply - almost exactly one ball (you can see in the bottom shot how little I had left)
Needles: 2.5mm dpns
Modifications: Ok, I really used the pattern mostly as a guide, because i love the idea so much.

Here's how my smockies went:
Casting on 60 seemed like way to many, for my yarn and needles anyway, so I went with 48 (I thought I needed a multiple of 3, for some reason - weird that's what happened with the broomhead scarf too).
I 'split' the stitches 20/28 for the palm/back of the hand (loosely based on the proportions in Bente's pattern).

It's important to know which stitches are the back of the hand, because after the ribbing you increase to have extra stitches on the back of the hand only - to make up for the loss of elasticity you'll get with the smocking stitch pulling the ribs together (does that make sense?? It's so clever really).
I increased to 55 stitches (you really do need a multiple of 5 here) - spacing the 7 increases evenly through my 28 'back of hand stitches'.
I used the afterthought thumb, as per the pattern, but I think I'll use something different on my next pair, since I like to be able to try on as I go.

I smocked about every 5 rows or so (that link is worth checking out if you haven't smocked before - it never occurred to me to carry the yarn up through the vertical rib, although that might not work with a contrasting colour anyway...)

So, obviously my row counting needs a bit more work since after the smocking was finished it's clear that I have one Smockie longer than the other (well, Dolly doctor says it's natural for them to be asymmetrical, anyway!), and the ribbing at the top is a bit longer on one too!

These were so fun to knit, and (did I mention?) such a clever idea - from something so simple you get a really impressive result.
I'll definitely be making a couple more pairs - I've already started a yellow/purple pair.

When I'm not working on the next Smockies (or thinking about what colour combo to try for my next), I'm working up the courage to cast on something that looks a bit trickier...
I got my hands on Elizabeth Zimmermann's Baby Surprise Jacket this week.
Think brave knitterly thoughts for me!!

xo