Friday, July 07, 2006

Absolutely Terrible Debbie Bliss Pattern

FYI: Debbie Bliss' Hooded Kaftan from Special Knits is the WORST pattern ever. I like DB's style and I don't mind that her garments knit up way too big and she never offers schematics. I can forgive her for that but I cannot forgive her for writing a really crappy pattern.

Before I start on one of her projects, I google the pattern and check the errata. One forum on Knitters' Review noted there were some problems with attaching the hood on this sweater so I was extra careful to avoid the pitfalls other knitters mentioned.

The sweater worked out fine until I got to the hood. I didn't mind binding off the back stitches only to cast on hood stitches that would eventually be sewn to the back stitches. However, any designer who thinks that the following instructions produce something resembling a hood is crazy:

(With 67 stitches on the needle...)
K4, m1, knit to last 5 stitches, m1, K4. Work 5 rows straight (in st stitch). Repeat these 6 rows 9 times more. Bind off.

That's it. That's the hood. that's a freaking trapezoid. That's not a hood. I thought the edging might pull the fabric into a hood shape. Nope. It's still a trapezoid. I intend to email DB with my criticism but I doubt I'll take the hood out. I might try to sew the trapezoid together to force a hood out of it. I don't know how well that will work but we'll see. Grr.