Let’s try a sweater

If you have a hand knit sweater in your closet, you should know that whomever made it must be pretty fond of you. Sweaters use a lot of yarn, take a lot of time, and are generally really tricky to get right. Giving one as a gift is kind of a big deal. I’ve never before actually attempted to make an adult size sweater, even for myself. But my dad has a decade birthday coming up soon and I wanted to make him something really special, so I’m giving it a shot!

Of course the first step was choosing a pattern and buying yarn. This time, since it’s a gift, I got dad’s (and step-mom’s) input on pattern and color choices. Dad likes cable knit but “not too busy”, he wanted a shawl collar neckline, and color request was maroon/burgundy. So I settled on This pattern, and bought a beautiful burgundy tweed yarn from my local yarn store. The yarn is “ultra alpaca”, from a company called Berroco. It’s worsted weight, 50% alpaca and 50% Peruvian wool. The wonderful owner of my local yarn store recommended this particular blend because alpaca is so extremely soft (feels like cashmere) but doesn’t hold its shape well, while traditional wool is durable and shapeable but not as soft, so a 50/50 blend offers the best of both. This is why I love to shop local, I get expert advice from someone who always remembers me and asks about my past projects. Ya’ll this yarn is SO NICE, and I already surpassed the record I set with the wingspan shawl for the most money I’ve ever spent on yarn, but it’s for my dad’s birthday present and the money went to support a local small business so I’m feeling it.

The pattern itself is pretty simple, in fact I realized a couple weeks ago when I wrote the post about the Rainbow Baby Sweater that this is basically the same sweater but with different cables and in a grown up size! The biggest challenge for me in this project will be sizing.

For adult sweaters, the sizing and shaping has to be pretty much exactly perfect in order for the final result to fit right. (baby sweaters are a lot more forgiving!) I really want my creations to be worn, used, enjoyed, and no matter how pretty something looks on a hanger, if it doesn’t fit right nobody is going to wear it. But I’ve always struggled with gauge; my most successful projects are things like shawls & baby blankets, for which sizing doesn’t matter at all. I even struggle with hats because they never end up exactly the size I mean for them to be. (I can’t count the number of hats I’ve made for Caitlin that she never wears because they’re just a little too small to be comfortable! It’s very frustrating for us both!)

I started this project by testing my gauge, which means knitting a test square and making sure the measurements of those swatches match what the pattern calls for. I tend to knit with very tight tension and I usually have to go up 1-3 needle sizes to get my gauge right. But this time, for the first time in my life, my gauge was perfect on the very first try!

Now I’m halfway through the front panel of the sweater, and I’m a bit worried that it’s coming out too big. It’s hard to tell, and at this point there’s not much to do but trust my gauge. I’m going to finish the front panel, block it out, then measure the finished dimensions and see how it looks. If it’s too big I might decide to start over in a smaller size, but hopefully this one will work. Stay tuned and I’ll keep you updated as I make progress!

• Featured project: Rick’s sweater
• Medium: knitting
• Pattern: https://www.knitpicks.com/north-ridge-pullover/p/52928D
• Materials: Berroco “ultra alpaca”, worsted weight, 50/50 alpaca/wool, dark burgundy tweed. Purchased from https://www.kcyarncompany.com
• Started: February 2022, still in progress

#workinprogress #knitting #buylocal #newproject