Wednesday, April 6, 2011

qiviut sweaters

Just finished yet another 100% qiviut sweater....this one is sold and now on its way to its new home in Vancouver. I decided to knit this one with rolled edges to get that beautiful qiviut drape going. All edges are double cast off so there's no chance of stitches unraveling. Knit in fine 2 ply its just so yummy and soft as a cloud with that distinctive qiviut halo ! Qiviut is 8 times warmer than sheep wool and is so light and airy the knitwear is very comfortable to wear next to the skin. Available in Adult Sizes: small- $600.00, M-$640.00, L- $680.00, XL-$700.00, XXL-$740.00, XXXL- $770.00+ xpress shipping. Unisex design.

 The ladies sweater (not shown) comes with ( at no extra charge) a lace neck scarf attached to the sweater by way of knitted belt loops. I will post a picture of this when i get around to knitting it in a few days or so. The scarf drapes beautifully and there's no chance of loosing the scarf as it fits snugly through the belt loops. To order a sweater or a custom knit design please contact me at http://www.cottagecraftangora.com/ for more information.

The 2nd sweater I'm working on above is knit with 80% Qiviut-20% super white merino. Knit with 3 strands together = 6 ply on 5.00mm circular needle. I knit the bottom 3'' inches on a 4mm to make the edge stitches firm. Its very Thick and I'm sure it will be very warm. This design is an irregular rib and i think its just what this heavy sweater needs......the rib construction and the merino content will help it keep its shape and drape !
Not sure how much yarn this sucker will take....i dare not count.  I have balled  352 grams, the back and front so far measures 8'' and i need to go to at least 15'' inches up to the armholes. This baby is already sold and when finished will be on its way to Idaho. The customer bought this to keep him warm while riding his horse.

Will post more as the sweater progresses so check back Jim to see your sweater come to life !
So far so good......divided St's for back and front and I'm very happy with the yardage its better than i thought ! The sleeves are set in style and I'm DEC the St's at both ends for the arm hole shaping. The rose wood needles are very smooth (though not as smooth as the Addi turbos http://www.espacetricot.com/
 i knit English style so the knitting is Flying now.....cant wait for it to be done so i can stand back and look at my work, this sweater is gorgeous and I'm sure i will be making many more of this design !


Voila.....complete except for i want to add a hood. I think the hood should be knit in regular plain stitch as this will highlight the overall design of this sweater. One of the great things about an overall rib design is that it really holds its shape well, has gorgeous drape and elasticity to every inch. The sweater looks small but it magically grows on you the moment you get it on ! The rib design feels so comfortable to wear and makes a person look taller and slimmer. Will post the final picture after i add the hood later today.....wish this was mine, Winter is back. Were having Snow and wind again today 'soooo lucky i don't have to travel to work'


So we can say .......its complete. This sweater is sold and now on its way to Jim. To buy this sweater design contact me at the email address above with your size and color choice. Price $1,800.00

HOOD FAIL.........well i tried 3 different hood styles and didn't like any of them on this sweater and i suddenly realised why ? The hood should be all one with the sweater......a continuation of the neck line. For sure next time i knit this i  will suggest to the customer that we add a hood.

The Hat That was A Hood.......all is not lost. I had this rectangle left over.
10'' X 20'' so i turned it into a thick warm hat for hubby.
I stitched closed the seam along the short edge and turned up the brim section sewing it closed and along the length ways edge i gathered the top section on 4 strands of yarn so it would be strong enough to hold up to whatever he puts it through !
 The stitch pattern is: 5mm needles cast on 66 sts * k3, p3, k1, p2, k2, p3, k4, p4, rep from * to end. Row 2: k the k sts and p the p sts.
  30 minutes after this picture was taken he calls me from his Pied (foot) Dr's office and says ''er can i sell this hat''......the Doc wants it.......lets just say I'm not making another hat for him....the butcher might ask for the next one !

6 comments:

  1. Wow! Such lucky folks to be able to commission these gorgeous sweaters. It must feel like Heaven knitting them!

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  2. Jennifer, i know i am really lucky to be able to do this for a living and i dont take it for granted ! The qiviut is the ultimate in Luxury and fun to knit with.

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  3. Do you do special orders? Your prices seem much more reasonable than the quivit knit wear store in banff, how are you able to provide these works of art at such a difference in price? Thanks

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    1. Hello, Thank you for contacting me ! Yes i do custom orders, i have a custom knitlist i can add you to if you would like a sweater. We take less profit and sell more yarns and knitwear plus we are a retailer and not a wholesaler. The stores buy in qiviut products and take 100% profit this drives the retail price up. we make all our own yarns and knitwear too so this makes us very competitive, next year 2013 we are moving the business to Ontario so we can increase our production......Thanks !

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  4. How much wool of qiviut I've needs for a sweater 6-ply, type 2nd sweater ? I am a tall 6 feet 4 inches slender. Thanks.

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    1. The hand knit 6ply requires about 650 grams. If you are considering knitting this sweater & if i was making it for me i would use only 2 strands of 2ply throughout to make a 4ply weight sweater....that's quite heavy enogh because its roasting warm ! If you were to knit it that way you would need 420 grams ish or 18 to 19 balls.

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