2023 - gifted to Marianne who borrowed it 6 years ago and loved it. I just wasn’t wearing this.

This sweater was a challenge, for various reasons. In the end, I am happy with the finished result and I’ve worn it alot.

Notes:

• First repeat finished! 5.5 inches.
• Added pockets (this sweater NEEDS pockets when worn like a coat!) like my BKFF and pocket guru Maggy (mswnola). Pocket liners knit with Primo Worsted in Headboard, a gift from my other BKFF Shannon.
• Started 5th skein after 18 inches from bottom. 4 repeats plus 18 rows of 5th repeat to armhole (22.5 inches)
• knit 4 inches of collar with smaller needles, then switched to larger for the end, so it folds over nicely and flares out.
• body and collar weigh 598 grams. Took a bit more than 6 skeins of yarn.
• sleeves took over 1 skein each.
• start buttonband with 66 grams - 36 left after one side.

Notes about the Pattern:

• there are a lot of things I like - the cables, especially the sleeve cables - although I wish they went up the arm a bit more, and the collar, which I will never wear squished down, but folded over or unbuttoned. I do have a few complaints, however.
• there should be numbers on the bottom of the charts to make for easier reading.
• it would have been nice to have a pick-up ratio for the buttonbands. Followed Artlady and did 3/4 which was perfect.
• I find it annoying that the pattern is locked. I want to highlight the .pdf when it is up on my screen, but that isn’t allowed. There is no reason to secure the pattern so that you can’t add notes or highlights - having a .pdf should be secure enough.

Note about the Yarn: - the comments on the yarn page are correct. There is a fair bit of VM that I’ve been pulling out, but the biggest issue is the twisting. I stop and untwist, because I don’t want to end up with a bias in my knitting. I also found 6 knots in 9 skeins. Weight is also variable, sometimes heavier but more often less. Ran out of yarn, although I should have had 250 yards to spare. Skeins have less yardage than advertised. Brooklyn Tweed is sending me another skein so I can finish. Update- The skein got lost in the mail, so I pulled apart my swatch and finished the sweater.

Pockets - want the bottom to be 14.5 inches below armhole. As the side seam will be 22.5 inches, start at 8 inches up from hem (row 17 of chart).

• right front: knit in pattern to the side panel; turn. Continue in pattern for 30 rows, slipping the last 2 stitches knitwise (closest to the side panel) on RS rows, then purl them on the WS. This makes a kind-of icord edge, and doesn’t need further finishing.
• repeat with the left front, starting at the stockinette portion just after the side panel, and slipping the last 2 stitches purlwise on the WS rows.
• the bottom 2 pictures show the pocket flap knit (left front) and a close-up of the nice slipped stitch edge from the back. Then pictures of the pocket inside with the bright yarn, and the pocket from the front.
• pick up the purl bumps behind the fronts and knit along with the back, doing all the decreases as per the pattern, for 30 rows. I’m using lighter yarn for the pocket liners, to save yarn and have less bulk, with the first 5 stitches of the inside knit in the regular yarn, so the liners don’t show. Knit the liners in garter, due to the difference in weight - stockinette was feeling a bit flimsy.
• Join the fronts (starting row 19 of the chart) by a 3-needle knit, with the fronts and the pocket liners knit together. Note - if I did this again, I might not pick up from the purl bumps and do the 3-needle join at the top, but just cast on extra stitches for the liners, and then cast off, and sew the top and bottom, as well as the fronts. I had to do the top row in the regular yarn for the flap, as joining it in the cable pattern might have let the blue show through.

KAL with my 2 BKFFs. Rhinebeck 2015 memories of seeing this live.

Swatching on 6.0 mm and 5.5 mm needles. Unblocked swatch: 14 st. and 22 rows = 4 inches on 6 mm needles, and 15 st. and 22+ rows = 4 inches on 5.5 mm needles. Blocked, pretty much the same, maybe 14.5 stitches on 5.5 mm needles.

Thank you lovely Shannon for the gift of the pattern!