I have completed my first beaded front piece and am starting on the second one. It has been an interesting learning experience attempting to bead a continuous pattern like these branches. There are some definite pros and cons to the slip stitch technique. By slipping the stitch containing the bead in front of the others, the bead is kept prominent and it stands out in contrast to the knitted surface. This is important when beading on a textured background such as a thick fuzzy angora fabric. However, a slipped stitch allows for wiggle room for the bead to move to the right and left, unlike a purl stitch which would hold the bead more firmly in place. The unfortunate outcome of this is that, much like a googly eye, each bead wobbles back and forth which prevents the branch stems from sustaining a clean vertical line up along the edge. Of course, with my fingertips I can nudge the beads into place but I cannot imagine myself doing this while actually wearing the cardigan—I would go mad fiddling with it!
In order to eliminate this problem, I did try purl stitches instead to anchor the beads in a straighter line. Unfortunately, the purls draw the beads into the fabric making them close to invisible. In the end I decided that branches are organic shapes which permit of some irregularity so I am just going to accept the movement of the beads.
Sorry for the photo quality! It is so difficult to capture black knits!
I am hoping to finish my second front piece by this weekend and then I will start assembling it. There is a fiddly bit with the ribbed button bands that need to be knitted separately and then sewed on, so that will take some time. And then, once I add the collar I will have to decide whether I want to continue the beaded edging into that area. I left the beading off of the bottom 3/4 inch of the cardigan so that I would have some symmetry in case I decide not to bead the collar area.
In the meantime, I have been keeping myself inspired by looking at some other amazing beaded knitting patterns. “Mystic” by Kim Hargreaves is a favorite for me. It has a haunting, ethereal quality:
http://www.kimhargreaves.co.uk/acatalog/MYSTIC.html
And I love Kim Hargreaves “Agnes” with the peplum, which can be found in her book; Vintage Designs to Knit:
http://www.google.com/search?client=safari&rls=en&q=kim+hargreaves+vintage+designs+to+knit&ie=UTF-8&oe=UTF-8
I would just counsel anyone who is thinking of knitting one of those patterns to build several inches of positive ease into the sweaters. These patterns have the same all-over beading that I encountered in Kim Hargreaves Glisten pattern, which shrank and lengthened on me considerably because of the weight of the beads.
It did not compute until I assembled the vest how much the beads had distorted the fabric because every time I measured it flat, the measurements were perfect. But once the garment is allowed to hang, the weight of the beads were a force to be reckoned with. For this reason, I would advise the use of a dress form and/or basting the pieces together to try on as an additional step before assembling the garment.
Jennie Atkinson is an amazing virtuoso with beads, and I am interested in knitting several of her beaded patterns. She sprinkles beads more judiciously which I think may also prevent some of the distortion problems I encountered in Glisten. On my short list is her Hippolyta:
http://www.ravelry.com/patterns/library/hippolyta
Jennie Atkinson's flapper-inspired Beaded Top from the gorgeous book, A Handknit Romance is also an amazing choice:
http://www.ravelry.com/patterns/library/beaded-top-2
And if you want a smaller project, you can try the beaded wristlets or purse:
http://www.ravelry.com/patterns/library/beaded-bag-9
Someday I would also like to try the Beatrice beaded gloves from the Stitch’n Bitch Superstar Knitting book:
http://www.ravelry.com/patterns/library/beatrice-9
In the meantime, I will be “googling” on with my beaded cardigan and hoping the beads don't roll back and forth too much. I hope to have some finished pictures to post next week.