10/23/12
Wore this once to work this month, but it’s just too loose. Going to frog it and re-do the entire thing as a new project.

02/14/12
I placed my markers as I cast on (read the set-up row instructions backwards to do this), both to help count cast-on stitches, and because counting during the first row of knitting drove me crazy. This is how I discovered that there are errors in the # of cast on stitches in the pattern instructions. The total was off by 8 on all sizes. I’ve corrected in my notes here.

02/18/12
Bah. Twisty circular needles… First cast-on + 3 rows = twisted. Had to take it all out, cast-on again, and re-joined with help of my husband. I hate starting projects…

02/21/12
Did I mention I hate starting projects? 2 rows in and it feels like I’ve been working on this project for weeks. At least now it’s established and I can just go.

02/24/12
Through the first skein of this cozy-soft yarn, got about 10 rows out of it… I only have 4 skeins, and can’t find more. I’ll either have to decide to make a very short haramaki (which might work, since I’m extremely short-waisted) or change to another fiber/color to finish the top. I think it could look cute either way.

2/27/12
Through two skeins, on to the third — at about 26 rows. Such an easy pattern (once you get it started). Cute!

2/29/12
I took it all out (down to row 5) and started again with the decreases at the beginning & end of the knit sections so that it will look neat and tidy. 7 years ago, I would have never done that. But I know that I can finish it again in a week or so, so I’m not worried. And this way the counting is even easier. And it really looks better. Totally worth it.

3/14/12
Binding off using Jeny’s Surprisingly Stretchy Bind-Off, and yes, it is surprisingly stretchy. I had to cheat the last cable & decrease row because I’m completely out of yarn, so I did it at 5 rows instead of 6. The last cable + decrease row is on 41, and bind-off is row 42.

3/15/12
Realizing I would probably run out of yarn if I continued with JSSBO, I back-tracked to the knit section and re-did the ribbing section bind-off normally. Even so, I ran out of yarn before I could finish binding off the 2nd ribbing section. Meanwhile, I realized that I had not idea if it would fit, and whether it was worthwhile to agonize about how to finish it with so little yarn. Ta-da! It did not fit. WAY too big. Literally fell off.

Finished measurements: 8” tall, 38” around unstretched — but 49” around lightly stretched. Which works out to ~130% stretch. So it seems I need to make the medium size this time around? I guess it’s possible my gauge was off — but 38” is within the range for the XL size that I was aiming for. I guess it’s good to be specific about whether the inches indicated are for the stretched or un-stretched piece?

This time around, I’m also going to decrease more rapidly because I have what people call “an hourglass figure.” I’m quite short-waisted and there’s a 12” difference between my waist and my high hip measurement, so I need this to go from medium to small, bottom to top. I’ll be decreasing every 2 rows instead of every 3.

3/17/12
Casting on… augh. I mentioned I hate starting projects, right?

3/19/12
Knit 3 rows, find out it’s twisted, tink back to about 20 stitches in, where I find that the yarn got wrapped around the project. Thank TPTB I didn’t have to cast on again.

Knit 6 rows, find out that this time around I put the decreases on the wrong side. Frog back to 2nd row, pick up stitches again. I’m now back up to 4 rows, and I think (I hope, touch wood, cross fingers) that the project is clean now and I can just proceed. Wish me luck.

One other annoyance — on a couple of occasions, my Webs interchangeable circs came unscrewed and I found that I’m knitting along and my stitches are coming off the right needle! Augh. Thankfully the threaded end of the cable is a little scratchy and I catch it before I’ve gone more than 10-15 stitches.

4/20/12
Finally finished, finally took and uploaded final photos. Thoughts on this project:
Making the first row of the knit sections a purl row did the trick. No rolling on this one.
If I were to re-do it (yet again), I would go with decreases every 2 rows and every 3 rows (2 decreases over 5 rows). Every 3 rows was too gradual, ever 2 rows is a little steep. Although it fits me fine. I would also keep decreasing, as the top a bit looser than I would like. I’d also replace the knit sections with more 1x1 rib and just do the decreases in that. I don’t love how the knit sections call attention to themselves.
But overall, easy, quick, and cute. Will be a nice addition to my fall and winter wardrobe.

Pattern info originally copied from http://web.archive.org/web/20080420035302/http://mysaucyl...

Modified as noted below.

Original pattern:
Small knit section 1, large 1x1 rib section (middle-back), small knit section 2, cable A, smaller 1x1 rib section (middle-front), cable B. Knit 5 rows. On row 6, start decreases and cables. Decrease every 3 rows, cable every 6.

Modifications:

• All decreases in the original pattern happen in the middle of the 20 stitch knit sections. I altered this to put all decreases on the back side of each knit section, since the decreases up the middle looked a messy (see 2nd photo for original, 3rd & 4th photos for modification). This means the decreases are at the end of knit section 1 (ssk) and the beginning of knit section 2 (k2tog). (I originally did it the pattern way, and then took it all out, just for this detail… Can you say perfectionist?)
• After completing it once, I decided to modify the pattern this time around so that my beginning/end point is in the middle of one of the ribbed sections, rather than after the end of a cable. My brain just wants more symmetry.

SIZE: S [M, L, XL]

FINISHED MEASUREMENTS:
Waist: 25-28 [29-33, 34-38, 39-42] inches
(Length: 12 inches)

Extrapolating for a size XXL (waist 43-47”): Cast-on 262, work in 1x1 rib pat over 107 sts before Cable A, work in 1x1 rib pat over 95 sts before Cable B.

MATERIALS:

• 24 length-inch US #6/4mm circular needle
• 6 stitch markers
• Cable needle

GAUGE: 20 sts/22 rows = 4 inches in stockinette stitch

PATTERN NOTES:
1x1 rib pattern: All rows: *p1, k1* continue to last st, p1

Cable A:

• Rows 1-5: p2, k6, p2
• Row 6: C6F
• These rows form the cable.

Cable B:

• Rows 1-5: p2, k6, p2
• Row 6: C6B
• These rows form the cable.

HARAMAKI PATTERN (modified):

Cast on 166 [190, 214, 238] st using circular needle. Join.

Original pattern, set-up round (row 1):

• k20, place marker
• work in 1x1 rib pat over 59 [71, 83, 95] st, place marker
• k20, place marker
• work first row of Cable A, place marker
• work in 1x1 rib pat over 47 [59, 71, 83] st, place marker
• work first row of Cable B, place marker 166 [190, 214, 238] stitches

My own preference:

• work in 1x1 rib pat over 35 stitches, starting & ending with purl stitches (right half of middle back)
• p20 (NOTE: After this row, knit these stitches; this row helps keep the knit section from rolling up. k2tog decrease at the beginning of this section.)
• work cable B
• work in 1x1 rib pat over 59 stitches
• work cable A
• p20 (NOTE: After this row, knit these stitches; this row helps keep the knit section from rolling up. ssk decrease at the end of this section.)
• work in 1x1 rib pat over 36 stitches, starting with purl, ending with knit (left half of middle back)

Work in pattern for 2 more rows (rows 2 and 3).

Row 4, 1st decrease row: k till 2 stitches before marker, ssk; work in 1x1 rib pat over 59 [71, 83, 95] st; kt2og, k till 2 stitches before marker; work in pattern to end.

Row 5: work in pattern.

Row 6, 2nd decrease row, 1st C6F and C6B row: work in 1x1 rib pat to marker; kt2og, k to marker; work cable B; work in 1x2 rib pat to marker; k till 2 stitches before marker, ssk; work in 1x1 rib pat.

Continue in pattern, decreasing every 2 rows, working the cables every 6.

Because of the amount of yarn I had, I ended up with about 45 rows.

For the final row, purl any stitches left in the solid knit section.
Bind off.
Block and weave in all ends.