Summer Knitting: Soldotna Crop

I normally don’t knit in the summer. I tend to get involved in other projects such as quilting, but this year was different. I happened to see a post on Instagram of the #soldotnacrop (@boylandknitworks) and that was it!

I had been feeling kind of blah on any new projects at that moment, but was so inspired to start knitting that very night! I grabbed what was in my stash and tried to make it work.

I had a brown that my friend Laura @olanngra had dyed for me for my recent sweater project for my son Dylan. I also had a magenta she had bought for me at the Sheep and Wool Fest in Mass last year.

At first I thought I’d add green to this mix. Couldn’t decide. It was the first wool I ever dyed. But then I considered a blue I had also dyed, but had thought was a fail project and something to be over-dyed. I then added a Malabrigo black Rios to the mix and thought that maybe that blue I had dyed would work after all! Basically I had such an urge to get started that I just dove in. The whole time I kept thinking, “is this magenta going to be over the top?”

The Soldotna Crop pattern is available from boylandknitworks on ravelry. She is a wonderful designer and this is a fun project to knit – which is why it’s so popular – check out the hashtag #soldotnacrop on Instagram and you will see wonderful iterations of this pattern. Many folks have knit it more than once already and the pattern has only been out since March!

I had a few areas that I got confused with this project. I had never done “short rows” before and I had to keep ripping it. After some research of others who had knit this pattern, I decided to just do two rounds.

I also was confused about what size knitting needles to use because it isn’t specified in the pattern. I went ahead and used a size 5 needle – 16 inch. Then I switched to the size 7 needle – 16 inch and used that until the stitch increased to a point where I started using a 29 inch size 7.

I knit the size medium and I love how it fits! I decided to go longer after chatting folks on Instagram, one who has knit at least five of these! I asked her which length she prefers and she said, “crop for skirts, but longer for pants.” So since I’m a pants gal, I opted for longer. Also I tried it on many times as I went and just didn’t like the look of my meaty waistline (I’m 58).

I also did the sleeves before finishing the body, and wove in the yarn as I went along, so that when I completed the bottom of the body, I was ready to wear the top right away. Also this made it easier for me to try on throughout the process (I would put it on two circular needles to try it on).

I finished the project today! I think it took me about six weeks altogether, as I’m not a super fast knitter. Very excited and happy with this project!