Friday, November 20, 2009

Sweaters!

Well, I've finished a couple sweaters over the last month, and I've delayed posting them because I haven't taken great photos of them yet. Well, I decided to post them anyway, since if I wait till I have decent photos then they may never get posted! So... here goes:

Pattern: Wicked
Yarn: Miss Babs Yummy in Obsidian
Needles: US7


Started October 7th.
Finished October 29th.

This is a lovely pattern. A top down raglan sweater design. I'm happy with how this turned out. I ended up frogging my first attempt (which was past the sleeves no less!) because I was unhappy with where the neckline was hitting me. I really can't stand a sweater that hits my neck above my collar-bone. I was quite upset about the frogging, but I'd rather have a sweater that I will wear than one that stays in a dresser drawer. I essentially went up a size (or two, I can't remember) to get the neckline a bit wider.


Modifications: I made a couple pretty major modifications. I used short rows to bring the front neckline down farther than the back neck. Maybe you can tell from the photo that it scoops down in front a little bit. The other major modification I made was to add bust darts. They go a long way to making the sweater have a more shapely fit. Overall, I'm very happy with it! I need a few more long sleeved boat neck t-shirts to wear under it, though!


Pattern: Inspired by Tomato
Yarn: Knit Picks City Tweed DK (in Tahitian Pearl, Enchanted, Splash and Poseidon)
Needles: US7



Started: October 30th
Finished: November 14th.

I say this in inspired by the Tomato sweater, because I really just worked off the basic shape and design of the sweater. I used DK weight yarn instead of worsted, so the stitch counts in the pattern were no good for me. I figured out my gauge and my desired neckline dimensions and worked from there. I didn't take many detailed notes of this, since I was kind of figuring it out as I went. I used a stripe sequence of 8 rows of the blue-green color and 2 rows of the Pearl. I also transitioned from the lighter blue-green to the darker blue-green. I added bust darts for shaping (since they turned out so well in my Wicked!) and I'm pleased with the result. I decreased for the waist as well, and added in a few increases for the hips. I used the Jogless Jog at the side of the sweater, but didn't bother with it under the sleeves.

(Jogless Jog)

(Bust Dart)

I also used a 2x2 tubular bind off on the cuffs.

(2x2 tubular bind off)

Overall, I'm very happy with it as well! The yarn is so soft and snuggly, too, so it makes a wonderful winter sweater, but with a bit less bulk than a worsted weight sweater would have.

Two sweaters in about a month and a week. That's not too shabby!

Happy Knitting everyone! And Happy Thanksgiving next week!