Parts is Parts

My kimono rectangles are now wearable. They're not presentable, as in for public display, just wearable, as in for admiring my perseverance in the mirror. After a false start with the shoulder seams, a disappointing first seam, a successful second seam, and a ripping out of that first seam, I have come to really like the Three Needle Bind Off. (After clicking the link, go all the way to the bottom of the Knitting Help page. And here's a link for the Japanese Three Needle Bind Off.)

To be honest, the first seam was a disappointment not because I did the 3NBO wrong. Nooo. I accidentally purled the last row on one of my front panels instead of knitting it. So I had this "decorative" ridge of purl bumps on the outside of the seam once the panel was bound off. (sigh)

I hate ripping. "Frogging," the kitchy-trendy word for this activity, does not contain enough hard consonant sounds to echo how violently I hate ripping. Especially ripping out knitting. It's a nerve-racking experience, and it took me about two hours to unseam the first shoulder. My flesh-and-blood shoulders needed to be de-knotted afterward.

All is well now, however. I mattress-stitched the side seams, so they're more or less invisible. And I have picked up stitches on the first armhole and have completed five rows of the first sleeve. Now we're cooking with acrylic.