I LOVE This Sweater

I LOVE this sweater. It is my first top down sweater. I used the Neckdown Shaped T Shirt by Knitting Pure and Simple (http://www.knittingpureandsimple.com), and the yarn is Elsebeth Lavold's Silky Wool in Color 22 (Eggplant) (http://www.ingenkonst.se/sw_e.htm). The blend is 65% wool and 35% silk, and worth every penny I paid for it. The feel of the yarn was heavenly as I was knitting it and the drape of fabric is very nice. The pattern was easy to read, with clear instructions that made sense to even me. Will I knit this pattern again? YES. I also liked the way I was able to make it to fit.

The interesting thing about this pattern is the number of needles it calls for.

24 inch circular needle size 5

24 inch circular needle size 3

16 inch circular needle size 5

16 inch circular needle size 3

double point needles size 5

double point needles size 3

That's a lot of needles for one sweater. I don't have the variety of needles that this pattern calls for so I used a 60 inch circular needle in size 5 and a 40 inch circular needle in size 3.

Now using the 60 inch needle may sound like overkill, and at first I thought it was, BUT, I made an amazing discovery. Using the 60 inch needles for the body of the sweater allows an ample knitter like me to try on the sweater WHILE the sweater is still on the needles. Pretty cool. I am discovering that using a 60 inch needle for my garments makes it a lot easier to either try on the garment or hold it up to me and have a smooth fabric.

Oh, and by the way, for those of you with eagle eyes (if anyone reads this blog that is) I know there is an errant thread that needs to be woven into the fabric. I'll catch that before I wash and block the sweater.

If you're wondering what the sweater looks like on the pattern, well, here it is. It's pretty close, isn't it. I can't explain why I am so excited, but it is a thrill to have a sweater that I knit FIT. And, the best part is, I've been told it looks beautiful on me. I won't be wearing it for a while because it is too warm to wear for a whole day, but on the first cool day this coming Fall, I'll have it on.

Baby Boomer Sue