Pattern: Doocot by Kate Davies
Yarn: 3 skeins of Cascade Yarns Roslyn in colorway #13 “Olive”
Needles: US 5
Time: December 16, 2018--March 9, 2019
Ravelry link
Looks like I have to play catchup on some project notes... Here’s a sweater I worked on throughout the winter and finished just in time to start layering in spring! I went back and forth on my opinion of this yarn for a while; though it’s incredibly soft for a tweed-looking texture, all of those little silk flecks popped off often while knitting, so frequently I would find my lap, desk, bag, floor, etc speckled green after working on the project :/ It seems to be holding together and not shedding quite so much after blocking, however, and the fabric is beautifully light.
I’m quite a fan of this pattern, too--I already have another Doocot on my needles now!
Pattern: 15-11 Marius-genser rund sal by Unn Søiland Dale
Yarn: 8 skeins of Patons DK Classic Wool Superwash in “Dark Gray Heather,” 2 in “Ivory,” and 1 in “Red”
Needles: US 5
Time: June 26--August 8, 2015
Ravelry link
If you’re someone who pays attention to my project notes, you may have noticed that this isn’t a recent FO. In fact, this is my 2015 Rhinebeck sweater! Though it was briefly featured on this blog last year before the festival, I never made a separate FO post because I was missing one thing: actual pictures of me wearing it. Because as amazing as going to Rhinebeck was, a flaw in my plan to take pictures of this sweater appeared, which was that it was too cold to take my jacket off!
It is now one whole year later, and today in Seattle the temperature at last dipped to Chilly Enough to Break Out the Pure Wool. I wore this sweater over a long-sleeved shirt to keep the wool from my skin (I’m very sensitive, oops) and felt cozy and accomplished all day! Part of the reason I love this sweater so much is that despite it looking very simple, I Frankenstein’d the pattern to an absurd degree. Mods and more comments can be found below the cut!
What happened was this: I began knitting this on US 4′s and started with a sleeve. Got halfway through the sleeve and tried it on just to see. Uh-oh. Sleeve is much too tight around the wrist, tight enough that even blocking won’t fix it. Sleeve is also hugely wide after the increases, which is what the pattern specifies but not how I like my sleeves. I also notice that the sleeve has taken a lot more yarn to knit than I anticipated, and I got the Patons on sale and don’t really want to buy more. I’m also knitting a size above my 0 ease fit because I initially wanted the sweater to be a little baggy, but if that takes more yarn that’ll have to go. At this time I’ve also looked through the Ravelry project page enough to notice that other knitters report not liking how deep the yoke is/how high the collar sits. I already knew that I’d have to wear this over something in order not to scratch myself to death, so leaving the collar that high is a no-go.
BEGIN THE MAD MODDING
I need to save yarn, so I rip the sleeve, go up a needle size (4 -> 5) and down a pattern size (M -> S). My first priority is making sure I have enough yarn to complete the yoke and the body to a length I want; the sleeves can be shortened after that if I’m running low on gray.
So I start knitting where it matters: yoke first! I provisional cast-on 336 sts for the S yoke and knit up to the 4th yoke motif (the x’s) as normal.
As many other projects had noted the yoke as being way too deep, I cut out one of the yoke motifs in CC1 and went on to the next motif in CC2, but kept the yoke decreases intact throughout those rounds. This decreased the depth of the yoke and left the collar at the level I wanted.
For the collar, I shortened the final CC2 motif somewhat and knit 4 short rows over the back half to give it a bit more shape (and be able to tell which side of the sweater was which), then decreased (k3, k2tog) around to get 112 sts before 6 rounds of k2p2 rib.
Next, I unraveled the provisional cast-on and divided for body with 96 sts for front and back, 72 for each sleeve. CO 10 between front and back for each underarm. Total body sts = 212
For the sleeves: I picked 5 sts from the underarm, 2 in between underarm and sts on hold, 72 from on hold, 2 between on hold and underarm, 5 from underarm = 86 sleeve sts. Decreased 2 sts every 6th round as pattern instructs, then decreased 2 sts every 11th round until = 54 sts. I worked first yoke motif and then decreaseed 2 sts before working the modified red cuff = 52 sts
All hems were 2x2 rib instead of seed stitch because I hate seed stitch…
A simple way to sum up the process if all of that made your head spin: instead of knitting the whole sweater as a seamless yoke bottom-up, I knit the yoke bottom up, then picked up stitches around the body and sleeves to knit those top-down.
Did it work??? Here are my Ravelry notes from last summer:
when I tried this on after blocking I was so proud of myself that I could’ve cried. this sweater is absolutely perfect. PERFECT. the fit not too snug but not too baggy, the wool is lightweight but warm, and picking gray over navy for the base color was a great decision because the sweater looks old-fashioned and classy without reminding me of my old school uniform. and all this was achieved despite me making this sweater--a plain and simple bottom-up stranded yoke--in the most completely complicated method possible. I mean seriously, read the mods below if you want to delve into my twisted mind, but all of my frantic math, ripping and reknitting, and wild guesswork somehow mixed together in a miracle fruit salad that brought forth this masterpiece that I finished in the hottest part of the summer. many, MANY pictures will be taken when I wear it to my first Rhinebeck in October, and I couldn’t be happier!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
I love these photos by my friend Katie, but thanks to that coat the sweater was still hidden. Sigh!
My first Rhinebeck was indeed magical (again, here’s the recap) and finishing this sweater in time to wear it there makes the garment all the more special in my eyes. I’m glad that I can at last share with you what it looks like on a human body, as well as break it in for another season :)
Pattern: Just a one-color brioche rectangle!
Yarn: 2 skeins of Patons Beehive Baby Sport DK in “Angel White” and an unknown amount of recycled dk grey acrylic from a sweater, held doubled
Needles: US 8
Time: December 29, 2015--October 4, 2016
Ravelry link
Now before you ask me why on earth it took nearly a year for me to knit a plain rectangle and sew it together, let me say that this infinity scarf has been my backburner project for a long time. Basically I would only work on it when I was bored with other projects, and since brioche requires you work the same row twice you might understand why it took as long as it did! I originally started this as a stashbust and intended to gift it to someone if I was in need of a last-minute birthday or holiday surprise, but I actually grew to love it a lot and needed a more standard, neutral scarf in my fall/winter wardrobe. Holding the two yarns together produced a very subtle marbled effect that also had the plus of taming the wild halo of the gray, unplyed acrylic with the plyed white Patons. And now after a year of being smushed at the bottom of my WIP pile, I can finally wear it!! :)
