Linen Jacket - Finished!

The whole country (at least the part that's not under water) is having a heatwave, and it's all my fault. I finished the linen jacket, and I'm dying to wear it. The jacket is warmer than I expected, so the weather will have to be cooler to wear it - hence the heatwave. My apologies.

Here it is:




The jacket is hard to photograph because it's off-white. It fits well, and turned out well - if I may so myself. It's a definite departure from my usual "uncomplicated" style. I'm sure Nancy will hate it. Dave hasn't said so, but I'm sure he thinks it's "foo foo" - his word for too fussy. I love it.



Here are the details:

Started: June 18, 2007
Finished: July 4, 2007
Yarn: MaggiKnits Linen - Colorway: Natural
Amount: I have no idea. (Sorry.)
Pattern: My own, sort of. I borrowed the collar from the Vera Jacket designed by Mags Kandis of Mission Falls fame. I borrowed the seed stitch border and tassles from Maggie Jackson of MaggiKnits fame. (Check out the photo of Maggie Jackson in the lower right corner of the designer's webpage. She's wearing the jacket that served as inspiration for mine.)

I owe a million thanks to Robin, for the valuable advice she shared. She cautioned me to make the jacket a size smaller because of MaggiKnits Linen's propensity to stretch significantly. I took this advice seriously - even though I was really worried when I knit it. The first time I tried the jacket on, the sleeves were the snuggest fit I've ever made (on purpose). Within a day they stretched to a comfortable yet snug fit. I made the sleeves about 3/4's of an inch shorter than I normally would have, and they've already stretched enough to fit fine, but it will be okay if the sleeves stretch a bit more. I left the cuffs open. If the sleeves continue to stretch, I'll seam the cuffs. If that isn't enough to get a good fit, I'll add a little elastic. (I hate elastic around my wrists and hope it doesn't come to that.)





My original plan was to use hooks and eyes to close the front. If I did that now, the jacket would pucker along the front opening. It looks fine open, so I'll wait to see if it stretches enough to add the hooks and eyes.

This is a project I've been thinking about for two years. It turned out pretty much as I'd imagined. That doesn't happen very often - not to me anyway. I'm really pleased with it.