2024-02-13

Essentially using the pattern as inspiration- I received it as a thank you from Marzena for testing another pattern. While that one was amazing, this one seems to be one of her earlier designs and is missing the finesse of an experienced pattern designer.

The sweater starts with knitting a raglan yoke in the round. Short rows are added 2 inches into the knit, creating a very awkward triangle just above the nipples- very obvious! So I started with 2 rows of knitting, and put the short rows right at the neckline. This fixed the entire issue.

The second change is my own fault- I wanted a texture knit so I wouldn’t fall asleep while knitting. This means my gauge is 40 rows to 4” instead of the called for 30. So instead of increasing every other row, I’m increasing every 3rd row in the raglan. It’s going to use much more yarn, and now I’m worried I’ll run out.‍

2024-04-01

Recalculating the sleeves because the grading is off and leaves huge wrist cuffs on anything but the smallest 2 sizes.

Going to create a total 22” sleeve, starting at 89 st, ending with a wrist of 59 st. That is a decrease of 30 st over 130 rows, so decrease row every 8th row after knitting straight for about 7”. Then, can start the wrist cuff.

2024-04-15

Finished today, but after blocking it seems a little long. I may do surgery to remove about 1” of length. Total underarm to hem length was about 18”. Pattern called for 23.5”. Who’s that tall?

Overall - I was really disappointed by this pattern. It’s written for somoene who is not a standard body shape, so making standard modifications took a lot of effort. The grading, even to the 4th of 7 sizes (so right in the middle) was simply proportional to the chest measurement of the smallest size, which results in a garment that looks different on different bodies. I mean, necks are not proportional to our chests.

The funnel neck, which is the key element of this sweater was easy enough to follow, but perhaps a bit too large as written. I ended up narrowing it after a few rows and shortening the overall height. Because of this, I had to guesstimate the location of the ribbon holes. Then, I was surprised when the instructions called for you to sew down the edges of the funnel neck to the shoulder seams, creating a pull on the funnel neck which made the holes too close together.

I LOVED the yarn, however. It has a lovely springyness that shows off the texture so well, and holds its shape while knitting and wearing. It was even delightful to weave with when I wove the band.

And I love the final result.