Here she is, my pride and joy. Oceania is a completed Orangina designed by Stefanie Japel. It is a simple and sophisticated pattern and extremely sexy. The sexy comes not only in how it looks, but how it makes you feel.Oceania was knit out of almost exactly 5 balls of Bouton d'Or Mango on size 3 Addi Turbos. The color used was Ocean (how appropriate) and kindly gifted to me by my sister-in-law when B returned from his latest trek to France. A freak stomach flu provided the necessary Darwinian inspiration to match the yarn to the pattern. I do feel they are truly meant to be together.
I knit the smallest size widthwise and the next size up lengthwise. I also chose to not block out the lace upon final blocking (at least this time around). I really liked how it fit when I first tried it on and I don't really miss the blousy nature of the original pattern. I will try it blocked out after a wash sometime and see how it looks. I'm sure it will be great no matter which way it dries and I think that it will only allow me to get that much more wear out of this top.
The other thing that I am especially happy about this top is that I really took the time with it to make sure the fit and sizing would be good. I made and blocked a full gauge swatch. I also made sure that as I knit my front and back that I had the same number of pattern repeats. This allowed the the seaming to come together almost perfectly.
There was a row to row match up as I made each side seam stitch, which made for a very even seam and the pattern matched as well. I also seamed my shoulders even, not along the scallop, so that they lay flat. These aren't as pretty so, I'm not bothering with a picture, but I am still happy with how they came out. The result of this extra effort is the first top that I can throw on and fling off without feeling like just the smallest jostle is going to make the whole thing unravel.Most of the credit also has to be given to the pattern design and the yarn. The yarn is a 50/50 mix of cotton and modal, which gives it a lot of, well, give. I also keeps it's shape really well and I am hoping the man-made stuff will keep it from growing. The pattern also really shows off the color of this yarn which has a really nice sheen to it. It is fairly bright and saturated, but with all the open lace, it gives it plenty of breathing room to be beautiful. Finally, one of my favorite details of the pattern is how the stems of the lace actually flow right into the ribbing. It is a subtle detail that I think makes this top really special. I will recommend this pattern to anyone and if you are the adventurous type, this top is crazy sexy au naturale.
16 comments:
It looks great! Congratulations!!
Oh. My. God. I had seen this knit elsewhere, but like you mentioned it had this blousey factor. I didn't really like that about it, but lo and behold, here it is being just simply gorgeous, and perfectly simple and stunning and now I have to recreate it. Did you alter the pattern in any way? How does the size that you knit compare to your measurements, etc... Anything you can tell me will probably help :) I may even have to buy the same type of yarn (although in a different color) to make sure it comes out well :)
It's gorgeous! I like the close up of all the lace details. Most of the pictures I've seen of Orangina have been from a slight distance or with a darker color yarn, so I couldn't really see the beautiful lace pattern. Lovely!
Ooh la la! Très sexy.
I only wish that kind of neckline wouldn't make my breasts look like they fall right smack in the middle of my torso (but, then, maybe they do???).
One question: how long did it take for B to get that off you? (actually, two questions, I guess: he didn't tear in the process, did he?).
Beautiful! I love your finished version so much! I bought the pattern months ago but haven't touched it because its lace on size 3 needles.
Way to go! You are an inspiration to knit this. Absolutely beautiful!
It looks wonderful. Very inspiring - I may have to dig into my stash and make one as well.
One of the dirty little secrets of knitting is that you should keep track of the number of rows that you knit on all of your pieces so that the fronts, backs, and sleeves match up. Of course, no pattern ever says this, so new knitters don't always do it. Another dirty secret is that decreases and increases should be "paired" - either leaning toward or away from each other on either side of the knitting, but never leaning in the same direction. I've written most of an article on these things - I just need to finish and publish it!
Anyhoo, your Oceana is magnifique! Gorgeous color!
P.S. When are you making more socks? Your first ones were so pretty...
Wow, everyone's finishing their Oranginas...I should finish mine!!
Yours looks awesome, very flattering on you.
Absolutely stunning!!! what a beautiful job you did!
Oceania looks lovely! You did a wonderful job, congratulations!
It's gorgeous!! You'll have to show me what you did with the shoulders. I'm going to start mine as soon as this last baby sweater is finished. I'm sorry I missed meeting Jenny this weekend.
It looks fabulous on you. Great color and fit.
Wow, I think that's one of the nicest Orangina's I've seen! I recently got the yarn and pattern to start mine and think, like you, I'll actually make a blocked swatch (yeah, I know, something that should always be done anyway ;)
So pretty! Both of you.
Breathtaking! Oceania looks fantastic on you, great color as well : )
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