Honeymoon Cami FAQs

It's spring again, and the Honeymoon Cami is back with a vengeance. I've been getting a lot of hits from the pattern over at Knitty, and the Honeymoon Gallery has gotten a lot of play as well.

To top it all off, Honeymoon knitter Amy started a Honeymoon KAL complete with its very own blog. [edited to add: Sorry guys, the KAL is over and the blog is gone....]

Since everyone else is gearing up for spring with this pattern, I thought it was high time I did the same. For starters, I created this (long-winded, as usual) FAQs sheet for the knitters over at the blog. You'll be able to find it on the sidebar of my homepage below the honeymoon picture. I've also written up the pattern for the alternate version of honeymoon that I made out of my Anouk scraps last summer. I'll post the pattern on both blogs when I finally work my way through it.

Honeymoon: Frequently Asked Questions

I've been meaning to do this for the Honeymoon Cami for a while. When I first submitted it to Knitty as "piquant", I really didn't think many people would make it as their first shaped garment. The yarn and the shaping at the top make it a little challenging (though apparently still quite doable, as I have many newbies in the gallery) for your first project that isn't a square, so please don't feel alone if the going is a little rough at first. You can do it!

These FAQs should be useful to those who are newer to knitting as well as to those who are not, since there are a couple glitches (we'll call them "features" like the computer programmers do) in the pattern. Many of these features used to be covered on the Knitty Board, but since the change in providers I haven't been able to locate them. At any rate, it's nice to have everything in one place, and what better place than this?

I'll continue to update and re-post this FAQs sheet as other features arise, so if you have questions, feel free to e-mail me for "tech support". I'm happy to help out and will post my answers here if they will be of general help to the group. So here goes:

1. What yarn should I use?
GGH Mystik is very pretty and drapes nicely, but it can be a pain to work with. If you dislike working with splitty yarn, by all means avoid it. People have different tolerances for certain yarn characteristics and it's good to learn what you dislike early on so that your experience is a calming one rather than an on-going struggle. If you're new to knitting, I would recommend going with something else, simply because there will be other challenges, and you don't want to muck up your yarn and end up with a finished cami that is worse for wear. Of the possible substitutes, my choices would be cotton fleece and cotton classic. They both come in a wide variety of colors and are well-priced high quality yarns. Other people have used:

Berroco Cotton Twist
Berroco Linet (discontinued, but you may have it in your stash)
Brown Sheep Cotton Fleece
Cascade Pima Cotton
Cascade Rich
Cherry Tree Hill 100% Linen
Classic Elite Imagine
Dale of Norway Svale
Elann Endless Summer
GGH Safari
Henry's Attic Silk
Klaus Koch Clip
Lily Elite Cotton
Mondial Lucente
Patons DK Leila
Rowan Linen Drape (discontinued, but I've scored some on E-bay)
Tahki Cotton Classic

If there aren't enough options for you here, or if you have something in your stash that you think *might* work, this is a good article on yarn substitution. The one thing I'd add is that if you want to be safe, go for a very, very similar fabric content.

2. What size should I make?
Make the size that is closest to your actual bust measurement. Don't rely on your bra size. Get out the tape measure and get to know your measurements. This will help you to make knitted garnments that really fit. Most patterns have areas that need to be tweaked to fit each individual. The sooner you start to learn to make things tailored to your body, the happier you'll be with the finished product. Please take a look at the FAQ for busty girls, even if this isn't an issue for you, as it contains good information on taking measurements, waist fit, etc.

3. The lace ribbing is driving me crazy, what am I doing wrong?
You've probably made one too many drop stitch scarves. A yarn-over takes the yarn over the needle before the beginning of the stitch. Don't loop it or do anything fancy, just make sure it crosses over your needle one time by taking your yarn to the front of the work before knitting through the back loop.

4. Do I have to use lace ribbing at the bottom?
No. Just make sure to get back to the number of sts I specify for your size in the first round of plain knitting. Regular ribbing works nicely, and several people have played with lace borders to great effect. Check out the gallery for examples.

5. Isn't k2tog a right-leaning decrease?
Yes. I wrote left decrease in the original pattern because it was on the left, not left-leaning. This got edited (rather logically) to be left-leaning, and I didn't catch it in the proofs. Similarly, the other decrease is on the right side and left-leaning.

I've gotten some pretty funny e-mails about this. One woman went through a huge exposition (with pictures and links) to explain to me that a k2tog is right-leaning. I'm pretty sure she went to these lengths in order to be nice. If something looks wrong to you, and you find several resources that tell you it's wrong, most likely it's a typo. Just ask if it's a typo rather than spending your time composing a research paper on the subject. My feelings will not be hurt. Even if I had confused left and right (something I do all the time), you won't hurt my feelings by letting me know.

6. What the heck is EOR?
Answer: 1) a stuffed donkey that plays with winnie-the-pooh; and 2) an undefined Knitty abbreviation meaning Every Other Row.

7. I'm making size 34, 38, or 42 and when I get to the arm and V-shaping I have 2 extra stitches - what gives?
That would be my math. Just divide your sts so that the extras are on the back - one on each side- and then do an extra decrease on each side of the V. It's a pretty easy fix.

8. My cami plunges a bit too much at the V-line - can I fix it?
Most likely, you need to adjust the straps. I've made two camis now and both times I made the straps too long and needed to rip back and shorten them up. They'll end up shorter than you'd guess, and getting it right makes a big difference. The safety pin is your friend.

9. I have huge breasts and a tiny waist. How do I make Honeymoon fit my amazing bod?
First of all, I am crying huge tears for you, because you have obviously been cursed with an incredible physique. I had no idea how many double D cups were running around out there atop 28 inch waists until I designed this cami. You would almost think it was normal, though I steadfastly refuse to believe that. (Denial is a big part of self-acceptance.) If this is your problem, please don't write me. I don't even want to know that you exist.

Seriously, though. If you do have this kind of proportion issue, I'm pretty sure that you've come across the pooling thing before when buying clothing, so you're aware that you may have to make some adjustments. If you're going to stick with knitting, you'll need to get to know your measurements. Get out the tape measure and find out what your circumference is for hips (right at the bone), waist (the thinest part - don't go by your jeans) and bust (right across the nipple, don't go by your bra size, cause I'm guessing it's off - mine is). Your chest measurement should be as close to the finished measurement of the cami as possible and your waist should not be more than about 2.5 inches smaller than the finished measurement of your cami's waist. If the written instructions won't get you there, you 'll need to make some adjustments.

To adjust the bust measurement, just add a few increase rounds within the 25 rounds over which you would increase in the pattern. (I decrease 5 times, every 6 rounds, so 1 dec round + 5 plain rounds + 1 dec round + 5 plain rounds +1 dec round + 5 plain rounds +1 dec round + 5 plain rounds +1 dec round = 25 rounds total). Since gauge is 5 sts per inch, each increase round (which adds four sts) adds just shy of an inch of fabric. You can probably add about 3 increase rounds at the most (This is my best guesstimate, since I have nothing to try my theories on.) If the increases don't get you enough bust space you may want to learn about the art of short-row shaping. This Knitty article is a good place to start . I am not personally versed in this type of shaping in the bust area, but I can attest to it's use for shaping shoulders (described here). If you are busty, you will definitely want to make friends with the short row. If you're a knitter, you'll want to make friends with Bonne Marie Burns' Tektalk (she wrote the Knitty article). The girl knows her knit.

Do the same thing for the waist shaping if it's necessary - whatever you need to do to get the fit.

Posted by Julia at March 23, 2005 12:21 PM
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