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Knitting the Viral Project Hail Mary Fox Jacket: Gauge, Yarn & Intarsia Struggles

Last week, I officially cast on the viral Project Hail Mary fox jacket knitting pattern. I was so excited to get started. I ordered my yarn directly from the Briggs & Little mill in New Brunswick (they were absolutely lovely to deal with BTW) rather than the kit from Mary Maxim. It felt like the beginning of a really fun challenge.

I’m totally missing the red for the tongue. 🤦🏻‍♀️

So off I went with swatching. Do you swatch? I always do for garments. Plus, the biggest size is slightly smaller than I would like so I thought I might have to play around with needle size anyway.

I swatched first with the pattern needles – 6mm/US 10. The recommended gauge is 14/4″.

6mm pre-blocking
5.5 mm pre-blocking

There wasn’t that much difference between the pre-block and the post-block gauge.

Clearly, the winner is the 5.5mm/US 8. But rather than a 48″ chest circumference, I’m going for 50″. AND the 6mm is a lot more flow-y.

So off I went! Ribbing was a piece of cake. First few plain rounds, no problem. Then this…

That’s a lot of little bobbins!

That’s when it stopped being fun. This is when my knitting confidence took a big it.

But we got there in the end. Little paw prints done. They’re not great but not terrible either.

When I started the actual fox legs though, my intarsia was a MESS. I don’t understand how my stitches can be so uneven. Ugh!!!!

I’m very frustrated. I’m good at this knitting thing! Why am I so terrible at Intarsia? My friend Mary asked if I could duplicate stitch any of it. I initially said no because the B&L Atlantic is chunky and I don’t know that it’ll look right. But after my first attempt (which I didn’t photograph because it was too gross), I decided to try the “shadow” of the legs in black – it’s literally a line along the leg – using duplicate stitch.

Have you ever tried Intarsia? How did it go for you? I’ll take tips if you got ’em.

Stay tuned for progress…

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Wiley Lane Shawl

I’m finally finished writing up this pattern. I’m pretty excited to share it.

The vision for this pattern came to me when I visited a friend who lives in a beautiful home on the water. I thought “It would be so nice to have a row of beautiful, chunky shawls that can double as blankets, hanging by the back door ready to grab on your way out on a cool summer evening“. I pictured a rustic hand-made “coatrack” with three or four of these, in natural shades, hanging around, waiting for their wearer to head outside to sit on the back porch or sit by the fire.

A paid version of this pattern is available on Ravelry HERE.

The paid version includes more detail, a video tutorial for the less common techniques, as well as calculations for all the gauges from fingering to bulky (needle size, stitch counts and approximate yardeage).

Materials:
2 skeins of Cascade Eco +
scissors
darning needle

Needles:
I used 7mm needles – no US equivalent is available. I would size down to a US 10.5 in order not to run out of yarn if you’re using the Cascade Eco +.

Dimensions:
The shawl has a wing span of 56″/142cm, knit in a diamond shape and folded in half. Each edge measures 40″/101cm.

PATTERN:

With 7mm circular needle (US 10.75 or 10.5 if the former are not available to you).

Cast on 3 stitches using the knitting cast on.

Work 4 rows of I-cord.

Pick up 3 sts along the I-cord, bring working yarn to the front, pick up three stitches along the cast-on edge. (9 stitches)

INCREASE ROW: *K2, kfb (knit front and back), knit to three stitches remaining. Slip 3 wyif (with yarn in front).

Repeat the increase row until you have 168 sts on your needle.

DECREASE ROW: **Knit 3, ssk (slip, slip, knit two together through the back loop.

Repeat the decrease row until you have 9 sts left (3 I-cord, 3 middle, 3 I-cord).

I-CORD BIND OFF: *knit 2, SSK. Transfer your stitches back to your left needle and repeat two more times, until you’ve decreased the three middle stitches. Now you have your beginning I-cord and your end I-cord. Flip your right needle so that your tip is facing the same direction as your left needle and graft the 3 front sts and the 3 back sts using Kitchener Stitch.

Please tag me on Instagram if you make a Wiley Lane Shawl – I would love to see your version! @mimimustknit.

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Creative People = Inspiration

I had the most wonderful day with my friend Louise yesterday. First, she took photos of me and my new shawl (pattern coming soon).

I was pretty excited this morning when I went through the photos and wrote out my pattern. I’ll be recording a few videos for the techniques too. I’ll post the basic pattern here for free but I’ll also publish a paid version with the videos and all the gauges you can use with the details on needle size, stitch count and yardage. Eeeeeek!

After we got the photos taken and warmed up a bit (that wind was arctic yesterday), we went to work on a basket I started about 13 years ago. Yes, you read that right! I made the body of this basket with a group of women from my old spinning guild but I never finished it. It’s been living in a tote for all this time, taunting me. So I asked Louise if she would help me finish it (hers is finished and we used it as a model). How cute is this basket?

I laid awake last night (because hot flashes 🤪 – also, I figured out how to insert emojis) and imagined how I could sew a little liner for it so my knitting needles wouldn’t fall through the little cracks. The possibilities… of new fabric. Shhhhhh, you heard nothing!

When the basket was finished and my hands were raw, I spent some time working on my crochet star (see last post: https://mimimustknit.ca/bookmarks-knit-or-crochet/) and a pair of socks.

THEN, we started imagining what it would be like to host a knitting/creative retreat in our area. We talked about other pattern designs, a circular sock knitting machine (that we are considering sharing the cost of), etc. WE. HAD. SO. MANY. IDEAS.

I adore spending time with creative people. We feed off each other and there’s literally no limit to what we can imagine.

This morning, I finished my crochet Bookmark for Wine Lovers. I read the instructions wrong at the end and used the secondary colour to finish the side. I think it looks cute like that. Right? Hope the designer doesn’t mind. 😉

It’s still wet but it’s going to be so cute when I put the fringe on! I can’t wait to use it. I think I did ok for my first try?

I ordered some snaps to use with leather so I can make a shawl cuff to go with my new finished Wiley Shawl. I tried to make one yesterday with fabric snaps but it was a fail.

OMG! I can’t believe I almost forgot that THIS happened…

I read Project Hail Mary and saw the movie last week. Amazing book, great movie. When I saw this sweater on Ryan Gosling, I thought “sweet Baby Jesus! That looks just like a Mary Maxim sweater”. But I didn’t give it a second thought. WELL, yesterday, I noticed that it’s all over Instagram! It was even on CBC, NBC… What is happening!?

I posted it in my stories and two people asked me to knit them one. I’m dying… I couldn’t stop laughing all day yesterday.

So, yarn order is going in when I have the last of the measurements. Pattern already purchased. This is actually happening! I’m making a Mary Maxim sweater (but not in the acrylic kit they sell on their site – squeeky acrylic gives me the ick so I try not to use it if I don’t have to). I will use yarn made in Canada at our very own Briggs & Little in Nova Scotia – the oldest woollen mill in the country. ❤️

So, that’s what I’ll be doing for the next few weeks I gather.

Off to Montreal tomorrow to hang with the kid. He told me to bring my “gym clothes” so we can go to the gym together. I wonder if he knows that I work out in my underwear most of the time at home. I would NEVER subject anyone to that IRL so… now I have to find some appropriate workout clothing. Garh!

What are you working on?

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Bookmarks: Knit or Crochet?

I’m not sure how or why I became preoccupied with making a knit bookmark. But alas, here I was looking up “bookmark” on Ravelry.

NOW, I initially planned to knit a cute lacy number 😉 but when I failed to specify that I wanted knitting patterns in my search, I was flooded with really beautiful crochet bookmarks.

I know how to crochet. I don’t know that I could read one of those fancy illustration things… what do they call those? I think it’s a chart just like in knitting, only way fancier. (Am I the only one that thinks they’re so pretty?)

I really don’t know what that gnome is doing in there???!!!

So I scrolled and scrolled through project after project. Then stopped dead when I saw this one:

I. AM. SMITTEN! Honestly, how are there no projects??? It’s SO stunning.

These are the “honourable mentions” in my Favourites Bookmark Bundle:

I was 100% going to make that Pikachu bookmark for my son. He was obsessed with Pokemon growing up. Sadly, this pattern isn’t available anymore. Boooooo! Maybe some day I’ll be able to figure it out without a pattern.

Guess what I did Monday during my lunch hour? I went to Michaels and purchased a really tiny crochet hook and some thread. I haven’t actually started this bookmark because I need to practice this new technique: overlay mosaic crochet. Until about four days ago, I had no idea this existed. So, naturally, I have to make something.

Enter the Mosaic Starburst Square by Erin Toews!

Isn’t she so eye-catching? (How do I insert a heart-eyes emoji dammit?)

This is how mine is going:

Honestly, I’m having a hard time putting this down. (How do I insert an eye-rolling emoji?)

Tell me, where do you stand on the knit vs. crochet bookmark?

Mylène