Abby’s Christmas Sweater
is complete:
Pattern: Cherished Pullover by Renee Sparkes
My Ravelry Project Page
Yarn(s): KnitPicks Pallette
Colorway(s):
Mist – 1.42 skeins, 328 yards
Marine – .26 skeins, 60 yards
Cornmeal – .08 skeins, 18.5 yards
Garnet Heather – .22 skeins, 51 yards
Pool – .12 skeins, 28 yards
Rainforest – .24 skeins, 55.5 yards
Liptstick – .34 skeins, 78.5 yards
Needle(s): US 1½ / 2.5 mm
US 3 / 3.25 mm
Casted On: July 18, 2009
Casted Off: November 8, 2009
Modifications: None–I followed the pattern to a tee because I don’t really know how to modify a stranded sweater. The only thing I changed was that I didn’t do the K2P2 ribbing at the neck because I was nervous the neck hole would be too small.
This pattern was so fun to make! The pattern was written so so well (Thank you Renee!) and the color combination just pops.
There was one area where I think I could use some help/practice and that would be in the sleeve area. Perhaps all I need are 12 inch circulars but I did notice some bulkiness. Hopefully that will go away when I block it? This sweater is quite dense so I don’t have a huge ton of confidence in the blocking process as I would if it were lace. But oh well. This is still a great sweater and I learned a lot.
I called this “Laura’s Experiment” on Ravelry because even if it doesn’t fit Abbey, which, I hope, is doubtful, I’ve learned a lot about steeking and more advanced fair isle techniques. So much so, I’m test knitting this wonderful cardigan from Kirsten for lil Abbey too. She’s going to be spoiled Christmas afternoon!
The sweater turned out lovely! I think blocking will help, but not sure if it will help it be less bulky. I do think it will help even things out some, though.
I still haven’t done anything that involves steeking, but the Little Birds cardigan is on my list. I should knit up a swatch for that and get it started…
Laura, that is spectacular! If it doesn’t fit her, it’s bound to fit someone at some point and will make a very special gift.
I can tell you that in the one colorwork garment I’ve made, blocking helped tremendously. You won’t get like extra inches of ease or length or anything, but it really helps the stitches to even out and flattens the floats a bit. I used this yarn, too, and I think it has a tendency to stick to itself already, so the blocking really encouraged that.
Absolutely beautiful and incredibly impressive! I’m sure Abbey is going to love it.
The sweater looks fantastic! The colors are so bright and cheerful and your stitches look very even. Abby is one lucky little girl!
I think your sweater looks really good, especially if the pictures are taken pre-blocking/steaming it!
It’s good to spoil children with handknits, when they grow up and still want sweaters they end up becoming knitters themselves
It looks great! I’m glad you enjoyed the pattern!