FO: Heroine

Finished object alert. Shocking though it may be!


I present you Heroine. General details on the Ravelry projects page. I apologize for the dark pictures but that's sort of a consequence of fall. The coat is dark brown but it's a heather so in the light, reds and oranges shine through.


I have mixed feelings about this knit. It was so quick (granted my timeline wouldn't suggest that but the knitting took no time at all), and it's an easy knit so both of those are positives. I love the style of this pattern...very me. And I like that it was a felted design because it is definitely warm and cozy. BUT...it's felted. Contradictory a little bit? I don't claim to understand all the mechanics of felting but I do know that width versus length, garment size, fiber as well as many other factors can have an affect on how the project will felt. And I realize that when you stick a garment in the machine to felt, it's not a science and sometimes what comes out may not be what you expected.

I knit a medium because the felted size seemed to match what I wanted...an over-sized, but not huge, coat. The problem, and the reason I have mixed feelings, was different parts of the coat felted very differently. It definitely felted more length-wise than width-wise (as was expected but it seems to be extreme...the coat is way too wide relative to the length. The length dimensions match the pattern but the width dimensions are way off...and before someone asks, my stitch gauge and my row gauge were spot on), the main body of the coat felted much more than the arms (not expected), and within the main body, the back shrunk more length-wise than the front pieces (not expected). In addition, the collar shrunk length-wise severely making it a very large neck opening with a very short collar. All these problems makes this coat sort of sloppy to wear. Since it's so wide, it often ends up hanging lopsided and the back always rides up since it is shorter than the front. Some of this is evident in the pictures, but I was trying hard to position the coat on my body correctly.

If you look at the finished coat on the pattern page and look at the definition of knit stitches, the drape of the coat, and how big some of the pieces are (the collar in particular), it certainly appears that they barely felted that version (not something I really paid attention to from the start). Most of the projects on Ravelry are on the 'more felted' side and now that I know what I'm looking for, most seem to have similar 'fit' problems that mine does.

So two things I'd suggest if you are thinking of knitting this coat. If you want the 'look' of the coat on the pattern page, knit a smaller size and felt way less (mine went through almost one full cycle). I also think that felting less would eliminate some of the problems I'm having with the coat. The front and back were the same number of rows before it went into the washing machine so guessing felting less would make this less of an issue.

Complaints aside, I will wear this coat and often cuz I still love the style. And as most who know me can attest...sloppy is sort of the norm in my world.

Final touch...of course these are the buttons I used. And I love them!_ _ _ _ _
Now playing: Carolina In My Mind by Allison Krauss and Jerry Douglas.
(I saw this tribute to James Taylor a year or two ago on OPB. I was hooked as soon as Jerry Douglas started on the dobro. But when Allison Krauss started singing, it literally sent chills down my spine. So periodically I search out the video and listen to it over and over again since they didn't record the song for purchase). This is one of those weeks.