Project Journal: Deschain
The Deschain is a beautiful top designed by Leila Raabe in Quince & Co. Kestrel. It is wonderfully lady-like, but still a little sassy and has a whole heck of a lot of positive ease. Like, a lot. The smallest size is a 54″ bust circumference. It is cropped short, meant to be wide and have some flow.
So, if you have also fallen in love with the Deschain and plan to knit it, which I still recommend you do, here’s my advice:
Revolutionary, I know… but this was my biggest mistake. I was a little cocky and skipped swatching. In the end my top grew a lot. The Kestrel is 100% linen, spun in a knitted ribbon. Linen is well known for its supple and drapey characteristics, softening and wearing beautifully over time. My gauge was fine, but I knit each side to the length I wanted without factoring in how much it would block out. Once blocked, it grew significantly and no longer has that cropped fit that I love about the design. There is definitely a bit of frogging forecasted in my future.
That slick linen doesn’t take to weaving in ends very well. However, with an i-cord type yarn that has a hollow core, you can weave the ends into each other. Here’s a wonderful tutorial from Skacel: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZYyQs5Tt_ZE
Alternatively, you can tie the ends together with a double knot. I’m typically a strident believer that knots don’t belong in knitting, but this is the exception. When I do use them, I tie a double knot which allows you to cut the tails off right at the knot, making it look rather tidy. Here’s a great video from Jane Richmond: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-nq_7EXTWHE
My last observation about the Deschain is that the back side tends to ride up just a bit on most people. To counter this, if you have the hutzpah, I recommend adding just a few short rows to make the back come down a bit further. Put your short rows at the end and beginning of the row, and work back and forth on the right side for a few extra rows. This will result in a bit longer fabric at the back while maintaining a nice shape and keeping the same number of rows to seam on the sides.
My Deschain looks fine as it is now, but it’s not quite right yet. I’m planning to pull out an inch or so from the bottom (re-knit those short rows) and re-bind off again.