I quite like my first Corvid Coat from Brooklyn Tweed. So much so that I decided to knit it up again in a cream. And, I can pick an undyed winter white for a coat because as someone said to me, “You must not have children.”
A few things I did differently this time. The pattern calls for a cartridge rib collar. A close approximation on my machine is to knit fisherman’s rib.
On my first version I knit the upper collar 5 inches wide because I don’t read knitting and that’s what I thought it said. But, mine wasn’t wide enough. Going back and reading the instructions again (with slightly better understanding of knitting) I see that it should actually be about nine inches in width. So, now it turns back.
I also got the hang of short rowing my shoulders so those seams should look smoother and prettier (except where I forgot to ‘wrap’ my stitches resulting in some holes. But, what’s really nice about short rowing is how much less bulky the seams are!
Because my yarn is a heavy Aran weight, (undyed wool from Colourmart) I was able to knit the back all in one section on my bulky machine. Last time I had to split it in two sections.
I know this sweater is going to show all. the. dirt. So, I washed my gauge swatch in warm water — preparing this for a lifetime of abuse. I took this sweater up to New York last week for a wedding.
Jordan was kind enough to wait until we got back home to tell me the back of the sweater hit every single stair on every subway we took. Popped this in the washing machine as soon as he let me know and it was sparkling cream in no time.
Due to the weight of the yarn (almost four pounds in this coat!) the coat also hangs/pulls longer than drafted. If I were to make it in this weight again I would shorten the overall length. But, more likely I will make it in a worsted wool as called for in the design. I am planning two more of these. One in a red and another in a nice steely grey.
Miss Celie's Pants 
Sorry – I don’t post much but do love your blog! This coat is amazing! Even if the length is a bit inconvenient it does have a huge amount of drama to it.
Thank you, Ro! I was hesitant wearing it at first because it’s A LOT of coat. But, I’ve embraced the bulkiness and the drama 😀
On Mon, May 15, 2017 at 8:11 AM, Miss Celie's Pants wrote:
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Love this—of course! The foldback of the collar is so luxurious. Fisherman’s rib for the collar? Back to the manual for me. I love all of your model poses, too.
I think I also tried half fisherman’s rib. But, this was much closer in the look (generally speaking). That said, with this weight of wool, it took ALL the ribber weights in the house. I was sweating each pass of the carriage.
On Mon, May 15, 2017 at 10:38 AM, Miss Celie's Pants wrote:
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Great coat/sweater! So dramatic!
PS – Don’t buy into that kids/no kids bull. I just cut two pairs of white/off-white trousers. And my diaper bag is white. 😉
I love a cool mom! I swear sometimes people say the damnedest things and just don’t think about it.
On Mon, May 15, 2017 at 12:01 PM, Miss Celie's Pants wrote:
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I plan on making a bulky weight gray shrug as a travel coat – Brooklyn Tweed’s Stonehaven and if didn’t already have the yarn I’d have to change it to natural. I lI’ve the natural color of your coat. My kids are all older!
This is so brilliant! I have just started getting a handle on my lace carriage. I’m tempted to give Stonehaven a go. I ended up wearing this Corvid on our trip to Kansas City last weekend. It was a blanket on the plane. A coat when it was chilly an a pillow when I needed a nap. I feel like I’ve been missing out on all a good heavy knit can do!
On Mon, May 15, 2017 at 12:01 PM, Miss Celie's Pants wrote:
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It looks great! I’m not sure exactly how you’re washing this, so I’d like to share an experience that I hope may save some disappointment: your wool garments may come out of the wash cycle looking fine for a while, but they will eventually felt (unless the wool is treated/superwash). Felting is cumulative, and one day you may pull out your sweater to find that you can’t fit your arms through the sleeves … ask me how I know.
It’s the agitation that causes wool to felt, so if you have a top loader, you can let the coat soak in there (without starting the cycle), then spin the water out (spinning alone won’t cause problems), let it soak in the rinse, spin again, and lay flat to dry. Otherwise I recommend soaking it in a big tub or your bathtub, and then spinning out the extra water in the washer (provided that yours has a spin-only cycle, you don’t want it to agitate or squirt cold water, since sudden changes in temperature can also start the felting process).
I’m a huge fan of wool and all its marvelous properties, we just have to take care of it well and it will last for decades. If anyone is curious about felting, there’s more info on my blog here: http://wp.me/p26mbH-mF Good luck!
Thank you, Tasha! This is good information to know. I thought I would treat it like a gentle wash garment. It also picked up an insane amount of the indigo from my jeans too. I’ll soak it in the top next time. I use a front loader and the cycle is rinse and spin. Thank you again for the helpful info! I’ll take better care of my knits!
On Mon, May 15, 2017 at 12:59 PM, Miss Celie's Pants wrote:
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Looks cozy and elegant, both. And I love the idea of a creamy crow.