Test knitting my own design along with ordinary test knitting. A gift for my very best friend, who deserves it.

Info & modifications:

• Using a smaller needle to compensate for row gauge in intarsia.
• Knitting narrow ribbing.
• Added waist shaping: decreased 2 sts under each arm (a total of 4 per round) every 4.5 cm, four times - a total of 16 sts decreased. Then I increased the same number of sts to flare out towards the hips.
• About the stranded knitting: Getting the long stretches of yarn behind the work just tight enough is almost an art. Too loose, and the gauge will be off and the stitches will look large and sloppy. Too tight, and the whole stranded section will pucker, hiding the design and making the yoke too small. Every time I switch colors I stretch the stitches on my right needle out and make sure the wrapped yarn lies flat along the stitches. I also try to wrap the yarn every third stitch, though sometimes I go with 2 or 4 sts in between, to avoid getting two wraps on top of each other. I’ve made a video tutorial that hopefully explains this a little better.
• To reduce the potential effects of measurement errors in the sleeve decreases I measure the decrease rates on the whole sleeve in stead of just between decreases (i.e I increase after 3-6-9-12-15 etc cm instead of every 3-3-3 cm).
• Changed the lengths at the recipients request: Yoke: 21 cm (per pattern) Body (from sleeve division): 46 cm Sleeves (from sleeve division): 47 cm
• Knit the button bands with yarn held double to make them more sturdy.

The colors equal
Malsen og mor Shetland Soft; Frost & Isvann
Holst/Magasin Duett Supersoft; Iced & Glacier

Progress:
June 18: Cast on size M
It’s slow going as the pattern writing and testing is taking most of my free time, but sooner or later it will be finished.
July 28: Divided for sleeves
July 29: Figured I should check with my friend to see what size she really is. Turns out I am a terrible judge of other people’s sizes. Ripping back the whole thing and casting on for size S.
August 5th: Yes, dividing for sleeves! Now it’s smooth sailing with plain knitting only interrupted by a little intarsia.
August 21st: Finished waist shaping and 5th butterfly.
August 28th: Finished body, starting sleeves.
September 18th: Finished sleeves.
September 20th: Finished buttonbands, washed and steeked.
October 4: Finally added buttons and gave the cardi away