Kimono Jacket

So at Kid 'n' Ewe last November, I saw the sample for this kimono pattern at the Plain & Fancy booth and fell in love. Several of us Rockstars bought the pattern and enough yarn to do it, but I am the first to knit it up. It was easy knitting. Almost no seaming and mostly stockinette with a little seed stitch, so great mindless knitting while vegging. It did get a tad bulky to handle by the time I got to the last sleeve. The back and both fronts are knit separately, then joined via a three needle bind-off, so when doing the sleeves in the round, you do have the bulk of the garment to turn and handle in your lap.

The pattern has an easy button closure done with a crocheted loop and a single button added during finishing, but so far I like the shawl pin.

The yarn is Plain & Fancy dk weight. Blues and grays, with dark blue for the trim. Since I wear jeans most of the time, this is a good color combo for me. It is knit lengthwise and did grow a bit in length, but that is fine by me. I am long waisted and this covers my hips. I alternated skeins every few rows to combat pooling and color variations that can occur between hand-dyed skeins. The yarn is super soft. A DK weight single-ply wool that is not splitty at all and is very easy to knit with. The gauge gives it good drape and it is a light fabric that is good for our north central Texas weather. The Plain & Fancy lady lives in Henderson, TX and I don't think she has a website...she sells at fiber festivals. I really like her yarn. She does a great job dyeing, too, and she had several really nice colorways at Kid 'n' Ewe.