collar me

Psssst. Hey! It’s me! bpt/blt, the work-in-progress sweater. I thought I’d drop a note while my handler is under the weather. After weeks of being manhandled by her, I’m kind of glad she has the flu. Thank goodness she is nearly finished with me. She just has to add a collar, block, and attach the zipper. She could use some serious collarly advice, though (well, that’s not ALL the advice she could use. I mean, how does someone who has knit for nearly 25 years JUST figure out that her flat gauge differs from her in-the-round gauge? A wee bit dim-witted, are we? But I digress … ).
So she wants me hoodless, but she made no accommodations for this before she began knitting (of course. Typical impulsive behavior), which has resulted in a rather wide neckline. She was hoping to do a nice little folded-over collar like Claudia did on her pumpkin spice sweater, but let’s face it, she is no Claudia, and a collar like that might look goofy on such a wide neckline. Me, I’m thinking maybe an applied i-cord edging to match the hems might be the ticket. That would mean the neckline would remain pretty open, but goodness knows she has enough scarves to last a lifetime. Anyway, please send her some advice. There’s a good chance she’ll listen to at least one of you (though there’s also a good chance she’ll screw up the advice).
Here I am:
blt neck.bmp

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13 Responses to collar me

  1. Jan says:

    You are TOO funny! (BTW, the applied I-cord edging sounds interesting. Can’t wait to see what you decide!)

  2. Lisa says:

    How would it look to pick up stitches around the neck, decreasing if needed for a few rows on the way up, and knit a 1X1 ribbed mock turtle neck that is short and doesn’t turn down, but rather stays straight and will hug into the neck?

  3. carolyn says:

    dear bpt/blt – please tell your sickie owner that i think you are looking very lovely, that the cables on your opposite sides no longer look different at all (was the earlier picture a mirage?) and that the applied i-cord sounds lovely but i’m curious how it would work out – would it go straight up? curl out? or in? unfortunately i am brain dead and have no good suggestions. but i am eager to see how you turn out so tell her to get better and get to work! 🙂

  4. elka says:

    My dearest BPT/BLT please tell your knitter that she may pick up your neck sts and rib on much smaller needles for an inch or so then break out into normal collar treatment using regular sized needles. Actually she may even gradually increase needle size so that your collar lies flat. This is a trick picked up from Marian Foale whose book nobody seems to have heard of but she did do many of those nice 80’s polo type collars that stood up just a bit.

  5. Thinking out loud here–what if your handler picked up your neck edge with smaller needles and then did a mandarin collar using the same cable on your front and shoulders? You’re awfully nice looking, though.

  6. Becky says:

    Note to BPT/BLT, you’re looking quite lovely in spite of your collarless state. Why not tell Mariko that Elka and Leslie both have great suggestions re the smaller needles, and you might also consider decreasing a few stitches evenly across the first row (more specifically, where the cables are) so that it neatens it up even more?

  7. Silvia says:

    I think a fold over collar would look fab, I agree with the other folks, pick up with smaller needles and decrease a few stitches as you knit a nice huggy 2×2 or so rib. It’d look great.

  8. Eklectika says:

    Wah – I can’t see bpt/blt as a .bmp on the Mac…
    But, I’m glad you’re feeling better – at least enough to knit & play on the computer!

  9. Sharlene says:

    Wow, you have reminded m that I wanted to knit bpt at one time. Might have to look for something worthy at Stitches! Which reminds me… get well soon Mariko. You’ve gotta be better for Stitches! 🙂

  10. claudia says:

    Yay! A talking sweater! I’m so glad I’m not the only blogger who gets them.
    Ribbed collar, good. Fold-over collar with a bit of a stand-up, also good. Cabled collar? Yup. I-Cord? You’d have the wide neck problem.
    Good luck!

  11. Kerstin says:

    Lookin’ good in the neighborhood! Mr. Rogers would be proud. 😉 How about sewing a collar band on? My biker jacket neckline was a lot bigger than yours and I was able to reduce it considerably during the sewing process. I doubled up the yarn and used smaller needles so it would stand up and then pulled the yarn tight while I was sewing. You could play with stitch patterns or keep it simple. Love the color!

  12. alison says:

    Dear bpt/blt: I’m with Leslie — Mandarin-style cable collar all the way. And you are looking awesome. Please tell the knitting person to get well soon.

  13. megan says:

    looks good enough as is…then again, I know nothing about knitting!! You’re sweater seems nice. Do any of your other projects talk??? Do baked goods talk? My brownies aren’t saying a word!!

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