25-01-2020

What I’ll say is that the pattern has very efficient construction and is a simple, modern design that will hopefully be useful and chic on me. I do think there are some places where the pattern seems translated (in a way that could definitely be clearer). I think word repositioning and punctuation would help. Furthermore, for a new knitter, I don’t think this pattern is optimal. It presumes that the knitter knows a lot of things - particularly about modifying size or shape - and it gives no intel on that account. Unless you are shaped like the designer, you may well be disappointed with the fit, unless you modify it, as I will, substantively.

Also, my biggest pet peeve - which this design is sadly guilty of - is that it comes WITHOUT a schematic. If I’m paying for a pattern with sizing complexity (like a sweater), I expect a schematic because I always alter patterns to suit my proportions. It takes 4 times as long to understand what to change and where, without one.

I had to knit this thing on paper in order to figure out how change the requisite elements. I don’t expect a designer to be able to intuit my alterations but I am irritated by having to spend much longer than necessary because I’ve got to come up with a baseline that’s already predetermined.

It’s not like a designer doesn’t know all of the relevant vertical and horizontal dimensions (having designed the garment) and these can be shown with a simple picture and measurements. I’m becoming increasingly unlikely to buy patterns unless I know that they come with a schematic. There are enough fantastic patterns that fit this bill. If it’s a matter of pricing, I’d pay 25 per cent more for a pattern with a schematic. (And yes, this rant is the culmination of frustration re: recent sweater projects that don’t provide the deets.)

27-01-2020

For future reference:

• Did CO for XS and worked the initial neckband (and picked up stitches for the body - referred to in “Raglan” section) at the XS size.

• After raglan set up, but before working the first row of increases, the numbers look like this:

selvedge plus button band rib / raglan st / sleeve 1 / raglan st / back body / raglan st / sleeve 2 / raglan st / button band rib plus selvedge

11/ 1 / 12 / 1 / 31 / 1 / 12 / 1 / 11 - this is consistent with instructions for XS

At the end of the raglan increase section (barring the inclusion of additional front body increases following the removal of the sleeves to waste yarn), aka row 54 for me, it looks like this:

47 / 1 / 66 / 1 / 85 / 1 / 66 / 1 / 47

This gives 8” depth along the diagonal raglan seam (and more like 7.25 inches of straight vertical depth) and lands about 2” above the apex of my bust.

• I removed 132 st for both sleeves (66 st per sleeve), which comes to 13.7” circ, at my gauge, once you add 6 st at first row - and is as balloon-y as I prefer sleeves to be. (Also, I don’t know if I’d have enough yarn to do the sleeves as written so it’s good that I don’t want to.)

Note that, till I knit them, I won’t know how long I want the sleeves but they may be shorter than the recommended 38 cm / 15” from under arm to top of cuff. (Cuff is drafted to be approx 1” 8R before BO.) I think I want a bracelet length balloon sleeve in this instance. Update: I knit to a scant 14” from under arm and then did 9R (approx 1.2”) of rib followed by stretchy bind off (not tubular).

• I also added the instructed 6 st at each armhole, while removing sleeve stitches, so on starting the body section, my numbers look like this:

left fr / under arm / back body / under arm / right fr
48 / 6 / 87 / / 6 / 48 = 195 st (or 39” at my gauge)

This translates into:

51 st left front (incl rib)
51 st right front (incl rib)
93 st back body
Total: 195

• I’ve decided to do 1 more increase row (increasing 4 st, 2 at front next to button bands and 2 on the front body sides at each underarm). That’ll give me another 0.8” of circumference, bringing the total circumference to 39.8 inches. Also 199 st at this point (I may opt to do waist decreases later on…). See below for deets on increasing the 4 st.

• Important note: Given my dimensions (short upper bust section but proportionately projected full bust), I’m going to knit approx 2” straight (15R) before beginning the instructions for Body (size XS), as written. This is because the pattern is written so that the first button hole sits at 0.75” from below the bust apex. At the point at which I removed the sleeves (given that they were at the depth and circ of my choosing - 7.25” vertical depth and 13.7” circ), I’m still about 2 inches from my full bust apex. At my gauge that translates into ~16R (to end with a WS). I’ve also decided to add 4 st (or 0.8” more positive ease) by increasing (at row 9 of the 16 rows) - 2 st at the under arm (between the 6 st cast on at each UA) AND 2 st on either side of each button band (as made during the raglan increase section). This brings the body to 199 st (39.5”). Consider decreasing for waist shaping if you decide NOT to crop this substantively…

28-01-2020

Sleeves: I opted to make the sleeves 13.7” circ (66 st on holders plus 6 stitches on first row = 72 st), at my gauge. As written, the XS sleeves are 16” circ, aka 78 st on holders plus 6 st on first row = 84 st (way to voluminous for my frame and taste).

Just so happens that 72 st is also divisible by 9, so I don’t need to work the set up row (after knitting 38 cm / 15” of sleeve, as instructed, or whatever length I decide works best for me). I can go straight to the decrease section at my desired length.

For 72st on needles, K7, K2Tog repeat means that you dec 8 st per round vs 9 for the XS version as drafted.

R1 K7, K2Tog (64 st at end of row)
R2 even
R3 K6, K2Tog (56 st at end of row)
R4 even
R5 K5, K2Tog (48 st at end of row)
R6 even
R7 K4, K2Tog (40 st at end of row)
R8 even
R9 K3, K2Tog (32 st at end of row vs proposed 36 st to start rib). This is ok for me because my wrist circ is 6” and, at my gauge, 32 st = 6.4”

Pattern calls for knitting rib for 1 inch. I may opt to do more than this depending on how it looks at 1 inch. Did 1.2”

03-02-2020

So I made the sleeves first and now I’m back to the body. The pattern calls for 4 large buttonholes/buttons total, one every 2.75 inches or so, the last one worked in the rib section (which is drafted to be 3” long). I’ve decided that I’m going to make the buttonholes ~1.5 inches apart (1 small buttonhole, done over 1 row, every 12th row, given my gauge). This is because I feel it will pull less than would fewer larger buttons placed further apart. Also, more numerous smaller buttons make more of an impact than just 4.

The sweater, as written is about 10 inches long from the under arm to the hem. I don’t know how long I’m going to make the body (I’ll try it on as I go) but I imagine it’ll be at least as long as the original pattern instructs, if not longer. Update: I found 12” to be a good length - or ~2 inches longer in body length that is instructed for XS

At this point I’m estimating that I’ll make this sweater long enough for 7 or 8 buttons - two of which will be in the rib. At a minimum I’ll have 6 buttons, just based on my closer placement. Update: 6 buttons is where I landed based on my desired length of 12” from underarm.

I intend to sew 1/2” wide piece of petersham on either side of the button band: One side I’ll sew the buttons onto, the other I’ll machine buttonholes into before hand sewing the ribbon in place. Given that I have only 33” of ribbon, I’ll aim to keep the sweater shorter than 16” from underarm or I’ll need to find a longer piece of ribbon. As I am short, I don’t think I’ll want to knit anywhere near 16” length unless I decide to make this sweater look rather different than the pattern version.

Next thing I have to decide is whether to do minimal decreases to shape the waist - which I’ll probably only do if I don’t decide on a cropped look (length notwithstanding - I’m talking about cropped for my proportions). If I opt for decreases, I’ll likely only do 4” of decrease from bust dimension (39.8” to 35.8”) because I don’t see this as a fitted sweater, just maybe not a shapeless one. But I have to get to the underbust before I decide how to manage this… Update: I opted for 12st decrease, 4 stitches over 3 decrease rows, or 2.5” at my gauge.

06-02-2020

OK at ~6.5” from underarm, I’m a bit late in the game to shape the waist (I’m pretty well at my true waist) but I’m going to take out either 1.6” - 8 st - or 2.4” - 12 st - over 2 or 3 RS decrease rows - 4st per row on either side of the waist “seam”. I def want to bring this about quickly (but not so that it looks strange). If I do this over an approx 2” length (aka 15 rows at my gauge) I’m looking at 1 decrease row of 4 stitches every 4 rows (to work decreases on the RS). I’ll either do that over 8 R (a bit over 1” of length) or over 12R (a bit under 2” of length).

Update: I opted for the 12 st decrease in circumference.

I think I’m going to aim to make the garment to the high hip or at about 12.0” - 12.5” from underarm. In this instance I won’t have to do increases for hip shaping. My high hip measurement is ~37” (re-confirm) so even if I do 12 st decreased, I’ll still be at a circumference of 37.4” at high hip.

Update: Fairly important thing I forgot to consider, though it’ll likely be fine, is that the button bands overlap, so one has to account for 2” smaller circumference below the full bust, when the bands lie one atop the other. This makes my rib section snug, pre-blocking, but the yarn will release quite a bit. Worst case scenario, I just wear the sweater with the bottom button unbuttoned, something I do with most cardigans, just because I like the look.

Buttonhole positioning (aligned with depth from underarm):

BH1 - 3.5” below underarm, at front band
BH2 - 5.0” below underarm
BH3 - 6.5” below underarm
BH4 - 8.0” below underarm
BH5 - 9.5 below underarm - this will likely be the beginning of the rib section
BH6 - 11” below underarm

Waist shaping rows: K to 3 st before side marker, ssk, k1, sl marker, k1, k2tog repeat * - , k to end of row

Insert this row into the knitting sequence starting at the third row below buttonhole 3 (RS): increase row, P, K, P, increase row, P, K, P, increase row, P, K, P.

08-02-2020

Pre-blocked Dimensions, not stretched:

Underarm to top of waist decreases: 6.5”
Top of waist decreases to hem: 5”
Raglan diagonal depth: 8”
Raglan vertical depth: 7”
Sleeve length from underarm to hem: 15.5”
1” above first BH to base of hem (length you’ll need for petersham, on each side): 9.5”
Circ at rib hem: 29”
Circ at full bust: 34”

Post-blocked Dimensions:

Underarm to top of waist decreases: 7.25”
Top of waist decreases to hem: 5.5”
Raglan diagonal depth: 9”
Raglan vertical depth: 8”
Sleeve length from underarm to hem: 14.5” (I didn’t pin these)
1” above first BH to base of hem (length you’ll need for petersham, on each side): 10”
Circ at rib hem: 32”
Circ at full bust: 35”
Underbust circ: 35”

11-02-2020

It is a production to line the button bands with petersham. Steps include:

• Measuring the exact length of button bands you want to line.
• Cut 2 pieces of ribbon to length that is ~1.5” longer, than the exact measured length so that you can fold over the raw edges for clean cut top and bottom of ribbon (for each side of the button band)
• Fray check the raw edges.
• Use glue or wonder tape to fold over and stick the raw edge, such that the folded edges are at the exact measurement required. (Provides clean top and bottom edges). Press as required.
• Pin the ribbon to the buttonhole side of the band, to keep it in place, and then stick pins through the holes (into the ribbon) so that you know the centre point of each hole (this is also where the buttons will be placed on the other piece of ribbon but worry about that later.) Once you know the centre point, unpin the ribbon from the band and pencil the centre point (at each pin) on the “visible” side of the ribbon (the side that will be visible on the sweater inside, which has the clean edge - the folded over raw edge will be invisible because it will face the button band itself).
• Mark the desired length of buttonholes with pencil onto the right side of the ribbon, over the vertical centre line of the ribbon (you’ll machine stitch over the pencil so it won’t show in the end).
• Machine stitch the buttonholes according to machine instructions. You could also make the buttonholes by hand.
• Mark the button sew on points on the other piece of ribbon - ensure that they are aligned with where the buttonholes are positioned on the first piece of ribbon. Again, you’ll stitch over these penciled dots with the button thread.
• Hand sew the ribbon, wrong side of ribbon against wrong side of sweater bands, around outer edges invisibly stitching into the sweater (not all the way through to right side, just catching the knitted stitches) and ribbon alternately. End result looks like a pick stitch on the ribbon but it’s actually more like an invisible hem stitch.
• Sew on the buttons.

By the time all is said and done, to do this carefully takes about 3-4 hours (presuming you machine the buttonholes and there aren’t any issues). I had a challenge so this prob will take 5 hours For hand stitched buttonholes on the ribbon, that would likely take longer - esp if you are doing more than the 4 buttons that the pattern recommends. There are really no short cuts.

15-02-2020

It’s rare for me to give a super smiley face pattern rating when my experience of the pattern (and its clarity) is not particularly high. But this is the result of my having done all the work (other than conceiving the original design) to make this one that fits me very well. When a pattern is this basic, it’s all about the fit and I fear that, between the instructions and the massive amount of ease included in the pattern, it’s quite easy to look like one is wearing a sack (which can be unflattering, depending on your proportions - and your opinion, obvs). While design is mostly about perspective, I do think the excessive ease in the sleeves is a deal-breaker - unless your arms are very bulky for your size. I’d cut the ease by 3-4 inches, no matter the size you choose to make.

I could see myself making this again, now that I’ve figured out the fit, but if I were a new knitter or one who doesn’t understand / care to engage with fit nuance (and finishing), I’d stay away. And keep in mind, those prepared to modify the fit - you’ll have to do so from scratch - and without the benefit of a baseline schematic to save you time and lots of unnecessary effort.