Ice Cream Sweater

I finished one of the fronts of the Ranch Red Cardigan and have cast on the ribbing for the second. I hope the second one goes a little faster than the first.

Here is a toddler sweater I have been working on. This is the first incarnation, since I think it would be better with a slightly larger neckline. The ribbings were knit by hand, and the rest was done on the bulky machine. The ice cream cones were done later by duplicate stitch. I often use cross stitch patterns as designs for sweater embellishment, but I add an extra row to the duplicate stitch design for every two rows on the cross stitch chart because most knitting stitches are 2/3 as high as they are wide. This keeps the design from looking squat.

The sweater zips up the back, from bottom to top. I once had a commercial sweater with a zipper like that when M was a baby, and it is so convenient for dressing a less than cooperative baby. Naturally, if this were not a design prototype, the zipper would match. Maybe.

I use the same yarn for the duplicate stitch as was used to knit the sweater. This was an acrylic yarn, so after the duplicate stitch is done, I cut a negative template out of cardboard in the shape of the design, which means that I have a sheet of cardboard with a hole in it the shape of the design. I use this to shield the rest of the sweater while I gently press and steam the design. This flattens the design and makes the thickness the same as the rest of the sweater. You have to be really careful not to fry the yarn though. I use a damp handkerchief as a press cloth.

I had to pry this sweater out from under a huge pile of fabric in the sewing room like a magician pulling the tablecloth off of a full table, so I'd better go check to see if there has been an avalanche.