Entrelac Shrug

I love the look of Entrelac...addictive and fun, especially with self striping yarn like Noro. For my project, I used Noro Silk Garden and Cash Iroha. The pattern is Dramatic Datewear from Ponchos and Wraps (a Knitter's collection). It was an easy knit. Some people slip the first stitch of each row if they know they have to pick up stitches. At first, I did not, and when it came time to pick up the stitches for the next tier, I just picked up every other stitch. Then I slipped the first stitch of each row to make it a little easier to pick up the stitches. However, I noticed that the latter technique made holes where the stitches were picked up. Not big ones and barely noticeable. But the former techinique left no holes. When I discovered this, I returned to the former method.

For the cuffs, I picked up 36 stitches, instead of the 50+ stitches stated in the pattern (I knit the size small). I used a 2x2 knit/purl rib for 2 inches. What can I say, I don't like knitting rib.

I didn't block it at first; I usually think this is just an extra unnecessary step. Boy, was I wrong. I seamed the arms and tried the shrug on. The arms were tighter than I expected, which wouldn't have been such a big deal, if the back part of the shrug didn't look so short. I ripped out the seaming and steam blocked it on my kids' playmats. Now I am just waiting for it to dry and will seam it later today.