word.

Finally, an FO! I looked in my archives, and I haven’t finished a damn thing since the Anastasia Socks. That was in July. July! But tonight, after some minor surgery, I finished something, for real.

DSC04332

tie x 3

That’s right, I finished the necktie. First, it was too short. I took the whole thing out and knit it anew, making it narrower and thus longer (I knit until I was out of yarn). Then after blocking, it was too long (which I found out in a sleepy haze this morning while the boy was getting ready for work; he’d planned to wear it today). We assessed the surgery that was needed, and I did an end-of-tie-ectomy this evening, taking scissors to stockinette for the first time ever (it was totally painless). The details:

Necktie
Pattern: Loosely adapted from Interweave Knits’ Traditional Neckties; find free patterns for other neckties by IK here. I basically used their measurements for length in the first part of the tie (11.5 inches until decreasing, approximately 11.5 inches of decreasing, etc.) and ignored the magazine for the last half, increasing when I thought I should and working straight until I was out of yarn.
Yarn: Lorna’s Laces Shepherd Sock in Denim, 1 skein
Needles: US size 3
Technique: Knit in a tube using magic cast on, magic loop, and a kitchenered end. Huzzah for no 5.5-foot long seam!
Gauge: 9 st/in
Stitches: At bottom front, 46 stitches; at end tip, 30 stitches; at narrowest, 18 stitches
Started: Friday, September 1
Restarted: Tuesday, September 5
Restarted Again: Friday, September 8
Blocked and Ready (or so I thought): Tuesday, September 12
Actually Finished, for Real: Wednesday, September 13 (Oops, needs a little band for tucking the small end through. Perhaps ribbon.)
Notes: Not much else to say. I enjoyed the miles of stockinette, though when the band was narrowest (1 inch wide), turning the work was rather tedious. I should have taken the opportunity to teach myself how to work backward, but I didn’t want to risk wonky tension. I’d originally planned to use the double knitting technique (k1, sl1 wyf to end; repeat) but my first stitches were a complete mess, so I started over last Friday and used magic loop instead.

Using sock yarn in a new way was nice–I feel as though neckties can offer you a nice blank canvas for playing with textures. Of course, the boy prefers nice plain stockinette best, so I may not get a chance to experiment much with knit/purl patterns on ties for him. He floated the idea of a striped tie next–self-striping probably wouldn’t work, since the height of the stripes would change as the width of the tie changed, but on second thought that might create a cool effect.

tie!

He seems to like the result a lot, and I’m happy. As they say, knitting is love. Of course, I just knitted him a little noose . . .

20 Responses to word.

  1. turtlegirl76 says:

    Very nice! Lots of knitted ties I’ve seen look too bulky or, well, crappy. This one looks nice and slim, perfect gauge and great color! Sometimes simple is best. I love it!

  2. Liz K says:

    The pics are great! That tie looks so cool. Of course, my hubby is a bow-tie guy, so I think I’ll be passing on that. Maybe one for my son when he get a little bigger.

  3. Dee says:

    Oh my golly, I thought *you* had minor surgery at first. Then I realized you meant the TIE had surgery. :::slapping forehead:::

    I’ll put my 2 cents in about the guy too…..CUTE …he models well. Oh yeah — the tie —the tie looks nice also.

  4. Laura says:

    What a great tie–you guy seems to like it, too. Let’s hope he doesn’t lose it like he loses all the hats that you make for him.

    I don’t think my guy would ever go for a knitted tie, even if it did look as good as yours.

  5. knitannie says:

    I love the tie, Minty. I’m going to float the idea to Mr KA, see if he’ll go for it. I love the stripey idea and self striping would be cool, kind of like a test pattern. Also love the photos, very Starsky. Your boy is cute!

  6. heather says:

    a dedicated knitter restarts 3 times and wields scissors without fear. I admire your tenacity, but with such a cutie waiting patiently for the goods…plain to see your muse.

  7. Rachel says:

    How could you have withheld your adorable boyfriend from your blog readership for so long? He is quite the hottie, and I encourage you to make him a regular feature on the blog. (No, I’m not oggling…I’m complimenting.)

    I must say I was more than a little skeptical about the knitted tie concept, but yours came out really well! Plus the photoshoot is awesome.

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