Saturday, January 05, 2013

My first finished WIP for 2013

 

My first finished WIP for 2013 has arrived. As previously mentioned, this sweater has been in my work-in-progress pile since 2009. It's my first ever recycled yarn project (made from an unraveled Goodwill sweater). I love the result and it'll be a great layering piece for work when Spring rolls around.

Stats on this sweater:
Yarn: Recycled 50% Linen and 50% Cotton
Needles: Size 4
Pattern: Ropes and Picots from 2008 Winter Interweave Knits (Ravelry link)
Alterations: The original pattern is made using a Tweed wool and is pictured on a model with about 2 inches of positive ease. I wanted a more tailored look so I went with only about a 1/2 inch positive ease. The Springy nature of the yarn led me to shorten the sleeves and for now I'm leaving the snaps off of it because I think it looks pretty good without any closure on the front. When knitting the sleeves I skipped all of the increasing and cast on the full amount for the top of the arm. I just made sure to knit enough rows to have the sleeve hit my elbow when complete.

This pattern was pretty easy to follow. The only hard part was the finishing work. The instructions are vague on seeming and I got confused when trying to fit the sleeve into the odd arm hole shaping. This might be a product of my inexperience with saddle shoulders. Also, there is next to zero instructions on how to fit the fronts to the shoulder shaping. I studied the pictures in the magazine (only 2!) and finagled it into place. I think I got it right and it fits and drapes really well so I guess I did it pretty well. The neck and front picot edging also takes a long time to complete. This sweater is not for the anti-finishing folks. Patience is required!

Overall I can't wait to wear this to work once the weather warms up.