(note: You are looking at a side-seam, steeked at the bottom to allow the border to split at the side. The number of stitches used in the steek is fewer than the number of stitches required after the steek is finished, to accomodate a border. Thus: bump. Looks like a nose to me.)

I’m technically very very behind in my knitting for Nerd Wars. I wanted to knit 7 rows a day to get the body done in the month of June, which was ambitious to begin with. This picture is a few days old; I’m currently on row 56, and I should be on 91. Eep. One of the problems is now that I’m on the tail of the phoenix (like I said; pic is a few days old) it’s strictly an at-home knitting project. It’s just about glued to my armchair, with my computer close at hand for the digital color chart I made… actually, there. I took another picture.

So there you can see my chart a little bit. I love my EZ Bob bobbins from Bryson Distributing. They’re awesome (link: Planet Purl product review). Really, though, I need more. They snap together! I have a ridiculous love for storage tools that snap together. As for the actual knitting… Let’s just say I’m watching (err… listening to) a lot of Netflix, yeah?

Miss BB has been languishing for a couple of months for grosgrain reinforcement on the buttonband. Of course, I’ve been wearing it, dangling buttons and stretched out buttonband and all, but this is much better.

Brief step-by-step:

Pin grosgrain to the wrong side of knit fabric over buttonholes, and corresponding area of the other side.

Mark the button-holes with a fabric marker, and unpin the ribbon. Sew buttonholes, centered on those marks, large enough to accommodate your buttons. This isn’t a buttonhole tutorial or anything, just follow your sewing machine’s instructions. It is important to center those buttonholes on the marks, though. There’s a huge difference in how much grosgrain will stretch around a button, and what your knitted yarn-over will do!

Repin the buttonhole-ribbon over the buttonholes in your knitting, and sew along all edges.

Admire the non-stretchy buttonband when you’re done!

“Well, what you plan and what takes place ain’t ever exactly been similar. ”

If only I could have a scanner! Oh how I miss the days when I had a scanner! Of course, I could also render this pretty easily in an art program on my mac or my pc. Yeeeah, let’s just take a picture.

Sadly, I do not have a scanner, so you’ll have to put up with badly photographed and photoshopped drawings. This time, a schematic! Now that I know my gauge, and I’ve measured myself to the best of my ability, and relied a bit more heavily on jackets that I know and love, I have decided on measurements. A bit of graph paper, some calculations, and I even have a good idea of what the scale of the design elements will be. It’s all coming together now…