ridin' the wave

It's a well-known fact that finishing a garment is not my favorite thing to do. This morning, after finishing the second sleeve, I embarked on the sewing and the collar to the Wave Jacket. There was a false start on the three-needle bind-off for the shoulders (um, Rowan? The RIGHT sides need to be together, not the wrong ones; that is wrong) but I got the collar knitted up, and commenced in weaving in more ends than I care to thing about.

My row gauge was off rather significantly, thus calling for some pretty fancy math to get the finished garment to the called for measurement. But this is denim: renowned for its shrinkage after the first washing. I did some calculations, and after one nightmare with numbers and denim chasing me around, I decided that it was fine.

Before the hot water wash: length is just about 18", and it's supposed to be 15.75". Will the washers in our laundry room hit the recommended temperature of 60 degrees C? No idea, but there aren't other (easy) options. In it goes, with some towels and old jeans that I keep around for just this purpose.

Out of the washer, there is some shrinkage. But not enough, and we can't give a one-year-old a floor-length jacket. Holding my breath, I tossed the jacket into the huge, industrial dryer - alone. I know that these dryers get hot, and I'm hoping that 15 minutes will do the trick.

Post-dryer, we are there. Triumphant jumping up and down, and a few concerned, strange glances from the building staff who are walking by in the hallway.

It's still too damp to sew up, so no reveal shot for a while. Then comes the zipper. But it's so cute. Three cheers for Miss Bea and Louisa Harding.