stilwell. a sweater.

While this sweater soaks in its Eucalan bath, I thought I would do the write up for it prior to taking some photos later in the week once dry. When I initially saw this sweater (prior to the book being released), I knew I wanted to knit it. I didn’t have high hopes that I would like it – I just wanted to do some simple colourwork that I could learn from and enjoy. Going in with no expectations means I didn’t expect a lot from this sweater … and guess what? I LOVE IT!

I cast on for this sweater at Christmas time after receiving the yarn from husband. I love the softness. I love the colours available. I love the tweed. Jared’s sizing is great – I was a little worried about the bottom being narrower than the bust size since my hips are wider (40 inches) than my bust (36 inches) but it fits perfectly. I knit the 36 3/4 inch bust (size Small).  On me, the sweater has about a 1 to 2 inch ease. The pattern calls for a 2 to 3 inch ease. The short row shaping at the waist is genius – it gives me the room in the upper hips/lower waist that I need. This means that the sweater doesn’t end up with a bunch of bulk between the shoulder blades – also a bonus since my body doesn’t need that extra room to accommodate my bust. I know for some women’s bodies this is a blessing but for me, I need the extra all in my hips and buttocks!

Getting gauge however was a little difficult but on 4.0mm needles for the non-colourwork sections, I actually got gauge. And a beautiful fabric as well. I used 3.5mm needles for the colourwork sections and the tension remained consistent with the slight needle change.

There were no modifications in this knit (thank goodness). This meant casting on the stated number of stitches and knitting (something I rarely do). I added another 2.5 inches to the bottom of the sweater, which I am glad I did since the length is now perfect (after washing).

A note about the collar. A few people said that they didn’t like the collar too much and changed it, so I went into this thinking, “I’ll see if I like it and go from there.” The collar is what kept me from finishing this, to be honest. I cast off the collar and was left with the grafting under the arms and the weaving in of ends (which took forever) but I just couldn’t bring myself to finish those things because I was worried that when I tried it on, I wouldn’t like the collar. One of the girls at knitting group showed us her finished Cowichan sweater on Thursday, with almost the same collar. I loved it. Loved it. And so the sweater was finished with an excited anticipation that had been lacking in this project up until that point. No expectations brings brilliant surprise and glee. Yup – glee.

That said, I am glad to have it finished and off the needles. The yarn is great – I would knit with it again. The Knit Picks City Tweed HW is soft and creates a really nice finish. The yellow is a-w-e-s-o-m-e. I love it and am so glad I chose it. I think this will see a lot of wear (especially camping and in evenings outdoors).

The buttons were in my button stash – they are wood buttons that are cut, which creates a slightly star-like pattern. The wood has almost a yellow tinge to places where the wood has been carved so I thought rather than go searching for the perfect buttons, I would go with what was right in front of me – I really like them on this sweater and now more of my stash buttons have been used up! Yay to using what I already have. Now, onto other projects :)

-r.