Well, shit.
In my defense, the yarn is on sale.
IT IS TIME
First of all, the original wolf pattern does not have the fox eyes, so I am figuring that out. You can only buy the fox cardigan in a kit, which is why I'm using the original pattern since I didn't want to use the Mary Maxim yarn. Nothing against it, but I've never worked with MM yarn, and I wanted to work with something I know since so much of this project is gonna be me fucking around.
Anyway, the eyes.
Purple is marking where I am adding black. The grayish/white is marking where I am adding white.
RIGHT FRONT:
LEFT FRONT:
I am not making any changes to the eyes on the back because it looks like they're the same for whether you're doing the fox or the wolf.
Yarn is listed above, but so you know what is meant to match what:
Gamay (dark red) = the gray used for the wolf fur
Werewolf (dark gray = paws and eyes
Framboise (it's fucking red) = tongue
Desert (off-white = background color
I suspect I may need more of the off-white since I'm working single crochet rows instead of the equivalent of slip stitch rows, but we'll see.
The called for hook sizes are 6.0mm and 4.5mm. When I did my gauge test, I decided on a 5.5mm for the larger hook, so I will be dropping down to a 4.0mm for the ribbing hook.
Gauge is approximately 3 stitches per inch wide and 1.75" for 5 rows using the 5.5mm. This is larger than the gauge in the pattern, but by working the smaller size, It will come out about the same width as the original but about 10 inches longer. We'll see how right I am on that.
Which brings us to the first part of the pattern. Starting the back. I'm supposed to work long rows of ribbing until it's 3" tall. I will do this as follows:
Using the 4mm hook, Ch 69. (nice)
Sk first chain. SC 68 across.
Turn. Ch 1. SC in first 2 stitches. Back-loop-only (BLO) in next 2 stitches. Repeat across. Repeat this row until band is 3" tall.
OFF I GO.
WAIT.
Since it's 68 stitches, the final stitch is a BLO. So, when you turn, you work 1 BLO for that first stitch, then work the 2SC, 2BLO across. You're stacking like on like.
So, after the second row, the third row works like the first row, and the fourth row will work like the second, and so on until the band is 3" tall.
11 rows for 3 inches! I'm not sure the stitch pattern actually worked to add a little stretch, but that's something I can figure out next time (Mary Maxim has a LOT of vintage sweater patterns with this kind of color work). It'll get the job done for now.
Moving onto the main back. I just realized the wolf/fox is outlined with black, so the dark gray I'm using for the paws/eyes will also be used for that.
Back piece paws are done! I gotta make bobbins for the rest of the back. I carried the yarn along for these since they go all the way across, but it will be easier to do the next part if I'm not wrangling whole skeins.
Also, turns out I was working on 67 stitches to start. Not sure how I dropped one, but I snuck it back in.
Will update again tomorrow after I get the bobbins started. There's only two rows between the paws and the start of the foxes, so there's not much more to do tonight.
Good morning! Not only did I finish the first background skein, it finished perfectly on a row end!
She's beautiful.
Now, I am very much enjoying the back, but I also want to get a sense on if I need to prepare to get more of the background color, so I am going to set this aside and start on the sleeves. They have paw prints at the base and then just the off-white (it's actually more tan in person; my computer monitor is a fucking liar) all the way up.
I will be tweaking the sleeves slightly. You're supposed to do another 3" tall ribbing with them, but the sleeve is meant to be 24.5" in gauge, and with my gauge being larger, I will be cutting most of that ribbing out in order to shorten the sleeve to have something like a better fit. I expect it will still be extra long for me, but also Sean may end up stealing this one to wear, so it may fit him.
Onward!
On the plain part of the sleeve, and I just wanna note that you wanna pay attention to the chart because the sleeve increases several times:
I've highlighted it throughout so I don't miss one. The decreases at the sleeve top are one on top of the other, so much harder to miss.
FIRST SLEEVE DONE
It took just under 2 skeins of the Desert, which means I will very likely need more to finish the whole thing. I have nine skeins total and have now used most of 3.
No biggie. Just noting for later when I might reference this for another project.
Of note, I'd have used more than 2 skeins if I had not cut rows:
Between the last increase and first decrease, there's 13 rows of just working even. Since I knew the sleeve was gonna be extra long, I just skipped them. There's multiple work even rows between all the increase rows, so if I ever make this again and need to shorten the sleeves, I can cut from those as well to get an exact measurement.
Gonna rest up and probably get back to the back tomorrow. My perfectionism is starting to irk at the stitches on the tapestry parts not looking absolutley perfect, so no more of that tonight.
Update:
I am in yarn bobbin hell
I am in slightly less yarn bobbin hell. But I did did manage to us the wrong red on the one paw. I am not going back.
My perfectionism is twitching, but I am ignoring it. My issue isn't actually with my stitching but in how tapestry crochet works in general. It's okay if the color shows through a bit, but it BUGS ME.
Haven't gotten through the fourth skein of desert yet, so no idea if I'll need more. Hoping to get to the armhole decreases for the back tonight.
No photo tonight but I got through to the armhole shaping on the back (yay!) only to realize I'd done the armhole shaping on the sleeve wrong (boo!). Which means I will have to undo the upper part of the sleeve and fix it (boo again!). It's not difficult, just annoying. It's an alternating row decrease, not a straight decrease, but alternating row decreases are not super common, so I didn't think to check.
Hopefully will have the full back to show off sometime tomorrow, and then I may fix the sleeve and make the second sleeve before starting on the front because I am soo fucking tired of color changes.
This is all the colorwork I have left for the back. I am so close to getting the back done. OMG. I made need a couple of days away from this whole thing before I tackle the rest.
OH THANK FUCK
My perfectionist brain does NOT like the beige showing through the red, but this is what happens in tapestry crochet sometimes. I know it's not something other people clock, but I can see it, and it bugs me. This is why I tend to intarsia. But these sorts of projects are not made with foresight. These sorts of projects are made by going "I dare myself" and then refusing to think through more than the basics.
And, I mean, the back is done, so results are results.
I'm going to need more beige to finish. I maybe have just enough to finish the body of the sweater, but I will still need some for the collar. I'm going to make the first front side next to figure out how much I need for that, then see if I can find the yarn anywhere in town. So far, no. It's a collab between Lion Brand and a knitting creator, so it may be only available on the website. Hoping it's not, though, so I can just pick up exactly what I need locally.
