Don’t get me wrong, I know every relationship has its ups and downs. Still, I am beginning to wish I’d never started this fling with Shibui’s Interval.
My readers know I only have eyes for Rowan yarn-based designs most of the time. But a girl has to keep her options open, especially when her friends are all whispering about the new hottie in town. I was introduced to Shibui at my local yarn store. The pattern Interval caught my eye and, infatuated, I jumped right in.
http://www.ravelry.com/patterns/library/interval-2
That was a mistake. You know, how after a relationship, you wish the guy had come with a warning label? “If only I had known X, everything would have been different!” That is why I write reviews on my blog. I don’t know if I’ve quite reached the “it’s not you, it’s me,” stage with this pattern, but at least before anyone else flirts with Interval, I hope they will learn from my mistakes.
Let us start with the difficulty rating. It should be Advanced. Shibui knits does not seem to rate their patterns according to level of difficulty, but that information would have been helpful. Frankly, any pattern that requires video demonstrations on specialized techniques to execute the neck shaping should be rated difficult. I wish the pattern had included a video tutorial on how to maintain the inset pattern around the V motif so that it were symmetrical.
I redid mine three times and it still is not quite there, and I noticed many of the projects on Ravelry seem a bit asymmetrical as well. The pattern instructions in this area seemed vague.
Then there is the curled hem. Personally, I feel that distorts the design, which is a stockinette vertical line that forms an inverted T because of the flat stockinette panel at the bottom. Except that it is not flat. Why should it be? Most stockinette hems do curl without stitching or some other technique to hold them straight. I should have predicted this, except that in the pattern photo, the hem is perfectly flat, so you see the T motif clearly.
Although I steam pressed my hem, the minute I moved the iron away from one section, it curled immediately. All the finished projects on Ravelry but one that I checked today also have curled hems so I feel this is a problem endemic to the pattern, not the yarn I used. Since the top is so short, the curling edge becomes a main focal point at the midsection, which is not flattering.
The other reason that I feel Interval is an advanced pattern is that it requires you to seam sleeves in reverse straight stitch onto a reverse straight stitch body using mattress stitch. My result was an ugly scar line that is visible in front and back at the shoulder.
This result really bothers my eyes. I tried to de-emphasize this scarring effect by repeated pressing around the shoulder using little pillows for shaping, a press cloth, and a steam iron. I had kept my eye on the join as I was mattress stitching the sleeve to the body, and frequently went back and redid a few inches worth of stitching in an attempt to make it less noticeable. As you can see, I failed. I am not sure of what magic was employed to make the sleeve/shoulder seaming so unobtrusive in this pattern photo, but clearly I need to get my hands on this potion immediately!
Finally, there is the issue of the neck edge. In spite of all the group therapy sessions the pattern and I attended involving video demonstrations referenced in the pattern, I was unable, surprise surprise, to create a perfectly smooth neck edge out of cast off stitches (!) I resolved this problem by single-crocheting around the neck edge.
So, is it time to call it quits, or can this relationship be saved?
I have taken out all of my seams, swearing all the while. Calmer yarn is slippery and loose ends can untuck themselves and open up seams, so I seam my Calmer garments like iron. You can imagine what fun I had taking it apart again!
Without a magic potion, I just don’t believe I have the skill to seam this reverse straight stitch garment in cotton fabric with mattress stitch. This is clearly an area where I need to improve. Tips, anyone? Apart from the need for help, I am bringing this up because this kind of seaming is probably an advanced skill other knitters may not have either, so it would be helpful to know that before choosing this pattern. For example, I have seamed about 102 garments using the mattress stitch, but I can’t make this work. Then again, the reverse straight stitch pieces I seamed were in a woolen blend and maybe that made all the difference.
My plan is to turn the garment inside out and wear it with the RS showing, and the inverted T design executed in purl. Then I will have to find some way to pick up stitches at the bottom /cut off the curled hem and start over with that. Sigh. This little fling has turned out to be a much bigger commitment than I had bargained for!