Sweater - Abandoned House (DIL 15)
At some point, probably in 2025, I started crocheting another pullover, but didn't record any notes. I found it recently so I'm documenting what I can, reading my work to figure out what I did.
Pattern: modified from Done In Love Pullover by Katy Petersen
Hook: 3.5mm (might've used a smaller hook for the collar ribbing)
Yarn, collar: (probably) de Maille en Bas, l'Essential in "Ardoise" (cool slate semi-solid)
Yarn, main: ColorOfMyFiber, Merino Nylon Fingering in "Abandoned House" (pale, desatrated mauve with rusty speckles)
Construction
I've been trying to solve an issue with this pullover. The collar stretches out over time--both over the years, but also over the hours it's worn, the weight of the sweater pulling it down. The neckline on my partner's sweater is lower than he likes to wear--it's not a fashion statement he's eager to make!
I'm not sure the solution is just to make a smaller neck opening, because that will still stretch out, but I think it would help.
So this project uses a different stitch for the collar ribbing: yarn-over slip stitch (yoslst) in the back loop (bl-yoslst). This stitch makes a very stretchy fabric with much better recovery (mechanical) than back loop single crochet (bl-sc)--which is how most crochet ribbing is made.
Back loop slip stitch (bl-slst) ribbing is also nice and stretchy, but I find it requires vigilance about tension. Uneven tension will be very noticeable and loose stitches snaggle easily; bl-yoslst is way more forgiving of uneven tension (the extra y/o helps absorb and hide irregular tension). Bl-yoslst also makes a taller stitch, of a height comparable to bl-sc, which means I can generally use patterns that call for blsc without modifying rowcounts!
I also made the collar ribbing wider, using 12 stitches of bl-slst (instead of the more usual 6 to 8 stitches).
I'm optimistic that these changes will address the collar stretching issue.
Yarns
The ribbing is made from a dark grey semisolid, probably small-batch dyed. So I think it's l'Essential (fingering weight sock yarn, 80/20 superwash merino/nylon) by de Maille en Bas in "Ardoise" (slate), but I misplaced the label so who knows?
Below are some yarns I ordered from de Maille en Bas, including Ardoise (second from the left):
The main body uses a sock yarn dyed by Barb Stechl (ColorOfMyFiber) in the colourway "Abandoned House":
This is a lovely grey-lavender tonal with small sections flecked with rusty speckles. This makes a grungy appearance of corrosion that I apparently find very compelling to see on wool!