Saturday 16 March 2013

The Templeton square Wrap

The deadline for the Templeton square competition is over, and I finally can write about a project that took me 2 months and a lot of ripping and re-knitting to complete.


I saw the competition quite early and although I have never done anything like this before, I didn't hesitate much in deciding to participate. There are two reasons for this: a) it was beginning of the semester exams, so yes, procrastination is obligatory and b) I wanted to test myself, and see what I can achieve.

Although during the whole thing I was very tired mentally and got frustrated more than the regular amount of times, in the end I am pleased with the result. Both in color and design. I am saying this, because until I found a pattern in my head that pleased me, I was very doubtful of the finished result.

But as soon as I decided to use the 'hidden' leaf pattern in the non rectangular parts, I gained some confidence. But then, there was some other problem: I had to be very careful with my moves, and since I didn't take any notes, I had to remember all the modifications I did. Because I had to repeat the same things on the other side of the piece.


Let's just say that I didn't always do that. Because of exams I was not working on it continuously, so I constantly forgot the small details, and that translated to ripping and re-knitting. There was a particular part, that one night I spent more than 4 hours on it just to get it right.

I also wanted to avoid any seams, that's why in the 4 narrow parts around the corners of the templeton square I knitted and joined the sides simultaneously. And I really like the look of it. It looks very neat.


The yarn was also a bit controversial for me in the beginning. I had gone yarn hunting and from all the choices available I liked this one the best. It was not very cheap either, and I eventually used 5.5 skeins for the wrap. But when I started using it I was not very confident about the way it would look like in the end. Right now, the more I look at it, the more I like it, so I have to admit that I was worrying too much. :P


This yarn is very soft and warm and fits perfect the wrap idea, but I was surprised to notice the amount of pilling it would produce, just by knitting it! Most of it went away when I washed it, but it did get some curious looks!

And then came the blocking! It's a pretty big piece and it took some time to dry, but the major problem was where to put it and where to pin it! I was lucky enough because my mother found some big packing polystyrene blocks - totally great for blocking.


Photographing it was different from usual - I was not in a state to show my face (it was during the sickness period) and I wanted to make sure that the photos taken were of the best quality, so I proposed to my mother to pose for this time.

I enjoyed the freedom of composition this time! ^^


During our Cultural Exchange I had the chance to wear a few times, and it's lovely! Strangely very suitable for spring weather.

And now time for the other projects on my to-do list!




2 comments:

  1. Those two months really payed off in my opinion, that is gorgeous! Just too pretty! I looks great on your mother, be careful, she may steal it from you.

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    1. Thanks! :) hahaha actually I think she already requested to wear it :P but I don't mind, it's not the first time we share clothes.

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