It's finally finished! Knit, blocked, and ends woven in. This sweater has been an on-my-mind project for quite awhile now. I thrifted about five skeins of the cream color way back when. Can't even remember where. It's a linen rayon blend from a company called Springbrook Yarns (now defunct) with just a little bit of sheen and a lovely drape. I knew immediately I wanted to make a loose fitting, easy wearing sweater out of it. The one problem was I didn't think I had quite enough. So. Stripes it was. The indigo colored yarn is Rowan Creative Linen that was purchased at my favorite (semi) local yarn shop Churchmouse Yarns on Bainbridge Island.
This is my second go at using the EPS (Elizabeth's Percentage System) method (you can see my first here), and I'm tempted to never follow another sweater pattern ever again. It's so darn liberating to be able to knit with whatever yarn and whatever needles you like and still be totally confident the fit will be perfect. I have to admit I'm one of those knitters who shrugs off doing a proper gauge swatch (for those non-knitterly types gauge is the count of stitches per inch. When you knit from someone else's written pattern, your gauge needs to match the designer's gauge so that the finished garment is the right size). I also tend to substitute yarns a little haphazardly. All of this means that sometimes things don't turn out as expected. And I have gotten better at swatching when it really matters. Say, for a sweater instead of a scarf. All this to say, I love that with EPS you can both do your own thing and be certain the measurements will turn out right because they're your measurements. On the other hand, there are so many beautiful designs out there - like this or this - that I'm sure I'll be following someone else's directions again soon, too.
Now for the rest of the details. Size US 6 needles. Extra design elements: 2x2 twisted rib (with only the knit stitches twisted because I hate twisting purls) on the lower hem and sleeves, side slits, and raglan sleeve shaping. I wanted to stick with the semi-nautical theme so I went with a wide boatneck by doing extra all-the-way-around decreases, and only three rounds of neckline shaping in back (to raise the neckline slightly in the back). I finished the neckline with three rows of garter stitch, then bound off with a super stretchy bind off method. Underarm holes were grafted together after finishing everything else (hurray for only having two tiny seams to sew!).
No comments:
Post a Comment