(available now in my Etsy store)
I love Entrelac knitting! It is rich in texture and perfect for making great colour combos. Featured below is the 'SunchiB' hot water bottle sweater, the pattern now available in my Ravelry store. In this post, I thought I'd share with you the process that goes into making this cozy. It is well worth the effort... enjoy, :)
This sweater is knitted in one piece, which requires the shaping of Entralac Diamonds around the neck of this hot water bottle. This is probably the trickiest part when knitting this cozy (detailed in the pattern). It requires the sewing of one of the triangles, as shown in pic 2B and the rest is knitted in a simple entrelac knitting pattern.
When the knitting part is finished, it is necessary to stitch in all the loose ends, so that our knitting looks neat and seamless. The sweater is lined with the 'acrylic felt', explained in my knitting pattern. We cut out the lining felt to match the knitted sweater and attach it to the knitted sweater by sewing the two together. To make sure that the lining is not moving, we hand-stitch the lining to the sweater using the blanket stitch along the bottom edge, as shown in the photo below.
The long sides of the sweater are then sewn using the sewing machine. Finally, we stitch up the felt along the other end of the sweater, using the blanket stitch.
It is a good idea to insert the bottle now, just to make sure that everything fits together before we finish the last part, which is the sewing of the sides of the sweater. It is best to use the 'mattress stitch seam', as we want the diamonds to be aligned and flowing from one to another. Mattress stitch seam will do a perfect job.
After you finish one side, your sweater should look something like this. Repeat the process on the other side.
Ta da, now you have one great and stylish looking hot water bottle sweater.
Happy knitting from SunchiB! ♥
