01-07-2016

Started with a provisional cast-on, worked 1 round plain, and then straight into the lace for the sleeve. I’ll pick up the live sts and knit the ribbing the opposite direction, later. (Possibly on smaller needles? We’ll see.) Must remember to work an extra plain round before the ribbing on the opposite sleeve.

I also want to shrink the neckline a bit. I may pick up and knit an edging, and/or may do some grafting. Gillian doesn’t want an off-the-shoulder neckline.

02-07-2016

On from the sleeve to the body! The sleeve only measures about 9” rather than the 10.5” called for (that’s 11” for this size, minus the ribbing which I’ll add at the end). That’s fine, as my swatch grew with blocking, but it means I can’t just knit this to the measurements given in the pattern or I’ll have a crazy giant sweater! I’ve worked out that 9 ÷ 10.5 = 0.857, so I’m using that ratio to calculate the other dimensions that I should knit to.

I’m also going to make the shoulders wider and the neck opening narrower, proportionally, so that the total measurement across the body comes out the same, but the neck opening isn’t so extreme. (This size works out to a 15” wide neck opening (i.e., a circumference of 30”) which is great if you want an off-the-shoulder look, but as I mentioned, that’s not what Gillian wants. If the neckline is still too big after the sweater is done, I can add a picked-up edging, but I am hoping to avoid that!

I’m thinking a 24” neck opening (12” width) is still plenty of width for a boatneck, so…

1. This size needs a 23” width at the hip.
2. 23” - 12” = 11”, the difference between the hip and the neck openings.
3. 11” ÷ 2 shoulders = 5.5” per shoulder.
4. Those are post-blocking measurements, so I need to do more math with the ratio above.
5. 5.5 x 0.857 = about 4.7” (desired pre-blocking width per shoulder).
6. 12 x 0.857 = 10.3” (desired pre-blocking width for neck opening).

Gee, I hope this math works!

09-07-2016

Finished the front section, and have switched over the needles so I can knit the back next. I feel like I can already get a sense of the fit at this point, and I’m pleased with the adjustments I’ve made. I also weighed the cone of yarn, and it’s still 249.1 gr, so I’m nicely on track to have enough yarn for this.

14-07-2016

Finished the front/back yesterday, and joined again for the shoulder. Onwards!

22-07-2016

I’m onto the second sleeve, but I’m getting anxious about the amount of yarn I have left. Eeeep! Might have to take another trip to Mary Maxim to get more…

24-07-2016

Finished the 2nd sleeve with 31.2 grams of yarn remaining. (I unwound it from the cone to get a more accurate measurement.) That’s only 82 yards! I’m going to bind off (no ribbed cuff) and then bind off the provisional cast on, and see if there’s enough yarn left to think about a waistband. Yikes!

Cast off the sleeves - 28.9 grams left. Guess I’ll tackle a hem… a short one!