Getting Started:

• I’ve decided to make the second size using US6 needle as the larger needle size. I’ll increase the full-bust circ to size 3 and then decrease after full bust, back to size 2.

• While the pattern is very clear and well-written, I did have to rip back the left neckband (to the part where you work straight) because there’s a lot of set up going on until you finish the short rows and I missed a cable round and messed up another.

• Second time around I made a better “table” for keeping things straight which showed columns of pattern row numbers, braid row numbers and short row numbers. I recommend this approach.

• I did Russian join for the first time and, while it is conceptually not difficult at all, working it on a cabled, knit/purl fabric with alpaca yarn that likes to stick in the strangest way (single fibres but so strongly) was very unpleasant. I had to rip out the seam and redo it which was tricky in terms of making sure the stitches were positioned correctly on the needles / that they were all there. (Second time, I didn’t use 21 st, I had 20st on both needles and I think what might have messed with things first time was the picking up of the half stitch on each side. I thought I did it on the same side on each piece but maybe I got it wrong?) At any rate, pulling it back sure didn’t make the yarn any less hairy and sticky than it was previously. Let’s just say that I’m glad that part is over - though I look forward to doing more Russian joins in future, with more suitable yarn.

• Joining Fronts and Back: I opted to add 4 rows to the fronts and back, given that my row gauge is shorter than instructed but this landed me on Row 1 of the Braid on the fronts (cable row). Remember, since the join of the body at the under arm happens on a WS row, per the instructions, you’ll want to be sure you’re not on a cable row when you do the join - unless you want to do all of the cables on the WS going forward.** Alas, I didn’t clearly think about this so I spent a while figuring out how to do the cables on the wrong side only to realize that if I did this on one WS round, I’d be consigned to continue doing it that way going forward. That didn’t appeal. So I ripped back the “join back and front” row and simply joined the yarn to work row 1 on the right side. It just meant that I had to work the braid cable on the same row in which I joined the front to back. I don’t know why it was necessary to start on the wrong side, it’s not like the yarn was there…

Shaping the Body:

• I’ve opted to increase to the stitch count to midway between sizes 2 and 3 - at the full bust - and then back down to size 2 thereafter because I’m not into a boxy shape. I’ll begin this shaping after working the join row. Based on the depth of the garment at the join, and given my dimensions, I have ~4” to get to my bust apex and then another ~4” to get to the under bust.

• Note that the button band, which I intend to knit, is included in the schematic bust circumference, from what I can tell by doing the math. Size 2 (236st) at 6.5” per inch, comes to 36.3. When you add in the 1.5” of the button band that’s 37.8”, not 37.5” but perhaps the pick up at the band eats up a bit of circumference.

• Ribbing stretches a lot. My swatch, which meets row gauge, can stretch quite a bit more. I don’t want this to be oversized so I don’t want to increase the full bust circ too much. Also, this pattern requires a stitch count divisible by 4. I’ve decided to increase by 16st (or 2.5”, not including the button band). That will get me to 40.3” (38.8” + 1.5 button band). My full bust is a bit smaller than 40” so it’ll give me about 0.5” of positive ease without being stretched. If I decide that I want more circ in the end, I’ll just increase the width of the button band.

• I need to increase 16 st over 4” (which is 30R at my gauge). I’ll work 4st per increase row so that means I need 4 increase rows over 30 rows - let’s say one increase row every 7th row. At this point I’ll have 252st.

How I’ll Work the Increases:

• I’ll work these out from the 2st centre panel at the side body, one stitch on either side of each centre panel at either side body. (4st increased per inc). Because the centre panel is 2 purl stitches on the RS, when first increasing, it looks like an accruing batch of purls (just under the arm) for the first few increase rows, until I the knit increases are added in. I can’t start by doing knits on either side of the purl column because the st count must be divisible by 4, must be completed with knits next to that purl column and I only require increasing 16 st (2 knit and 2 purl columns on either side body). My only option was to start by increasing with purls next to the centre purl column as one continues to “push” the stitches, worked in the inc rows, towards the outside of the fabric, away from the centre purl column. Though it’s neater on the WS of the fabric (the part that looks like a batch of knits), it’s quite tidy and invisible under the arm, so I’m not going to worry about it.

• I’ll work plain for 7R and then I’ll decrease over the following 4”, likely back down to 236st, at the same rate. If I feel like I want a bit less positive ease at the waist, when I get there, I’ll do another decrease round.

How I’ll Work the Decreases:

• I’ll work these out from the 2st centre panel at the side body, one stitch on either side of each panel at either side body. (4st decreased every decrease round till back to 236st).

• I really don’t know why this knit has thrown me so many curve balls (and really, the pattern is excellent as is the design). Somehow I worked a cable row wherein I messed up both cables and didn’t notice until I was about to work the next cable 8 rows later. FWIW, I am not a person who loves cables. Most of the time I find them too busy. They’re rarely difficult to work but attention is required and it’s sometimes it’s hard for me to figure out where I’m at, even with markers. Nonetheless, the idea of ripping back was a bit soul-sucking so I decided to try laddering down the cable panels and “knitting them up” again. The hardest part of this was figuring out what went wrong and how far back to tink. The overs and unders start to blur. I started to watch a “fix cables” video and then I realized that I didn’t have the patience for it, I was either going to figure it out by trial and error or not at all. And figure it out I did. But this was a 3 hour detour.

• Final Length of Bodice and Yardage Used So Far:I knitted the body to 11.25” in main pattern followed by 2” of rib. After cast off in pattern: 13.25” long from sleeve opening. Before sleeves and button band, I’ve got 149g of yarn remaining. Body took 253g, heavier than my preference but I did knit the body 3” longer than instructed. Update: I’ve decided to rip back the button band and hem ribbing to lengthen the sweater by 2 more cables. I’ll have enough yarn given that I bought an extra ball.

Lengthening the Sweater Body:

• So, having ripped back the button band and the original hem ribbing, I added an additional 2 cables plus 6 rows / 24 rows to the body - over and above the 21 rows I added the first time. As such, this sweater is 45 rows longer than the pattern instructs. At my row gauge that’s an extra 6” of length.

Button Band, Take 1:

• I imagined that this would take more than the 80 yards projected as I did increase the length of the sweater by 3”. Miraculously I went to the farm website and found another skein of Sage’s yarn. So I bought it quickly After this, I no longer had to worry about running out of yarn (which was starting to concern me given that the body used up 250g - and that’s as much as most of my sweaters weigh altogether).

• I do not intend to work the buttonholes into the band because I’ll either wear it open or with a shawl pin. This kind of button band does not have the kind of structural integrity required for buttons, IMO, esp over the course of time. Also, I like more fitted garments and, though this will fit me with at least an inch of ease at the bust, it’s not enough to prevent pulling given a projected bust. In my experience (and I’ve knitted and sewn a lot of cardigans) the only kind of button bands that don’t pull on hand knit sweaters (presuming the garment isn’t totally oversized) are tightly-knit double knit bands or those reinforced with ribbon on the wrong side. YMMV.

• I added 2 extra rows to the shawl collar after working the short rows and it is tidy, though optimally I would have added those extra rows to the collar before starting the short row section.

• I picked up 3 out of every 4 stitches until the side back neck. Then, along the back neck, I picked up almost every stitch till I got to the other side back neck. Then went back to 3 out of 4.

• Note (and the instructions don’t speak to this) if you do add length, to retain the intended proportions, you may wish to move the short row stitch markers higher up the sweater (aligned generally with the under arm. I went to 72 stitches on either side of the markers (vs instructed 52 st).

• Yardage used on shawl collar: This took 36g. As my yarn has 3 yards to the gram, that means I used 108 yards (not that much more than the 80 yards instructed - and I did add 3 more inches of length (or approx 21st) on either side of the cardigan AND I knitted 2 extra rows. So I think that 80 yard estimate (for size 2, written as instructed) must be pretty spot on. Update: See below for my second go round with the button band as I ripped it back (as well as the hem of the sweater body) to add additional length to the body of the sweater. See below for Button band Take 2.

Button Band Take 2:

• So, having lengthened the sweater by another 24 rows (on each side), 45 rows longer than pattern instructs, this time I inserted the markers at ~96 stitches from the hem on each side to delineate where the short row collar will begin.

• Once again, I picked up 3 out of every 4 stitches until the side back neck. Then, along the back neck, I picked up almost every stitch till I got to the other side back neck. Then went back to 3 out of 4. Update: That’s what I meant to do but I actually picked up 4/5?! I did put the stitches on a barber cable to confirm that the button band isn’t too heavy / being dragged down by weight. It really doesn’t seem to be - even though this yarn is 80% alpaca. But this thing will be 1.75” wide at the end (in the non-shawl portion) so I have to be prepared to rip it back over time if it drops).

• What I’ll say is that it isn’t dropping now, it’s very slightly lifted up / shortened (though I wouldn’t mind if it were more so because, again, gravity is a thing). I did bind off firmly, esp in the non-shawl portion. Post-blocking, I’ll reassess. And again, it may take a number of wears before the issue makes itself known. At least I have all the yarn I need to redo it, if nec. But I really hope it’s not nec. cuz I’m kind of done with this thing now…

• Note: As you can see in the designer’s photos, this is not a thick/wide shawl collar. It’s pretty compact which is what I like about it. If you want something deeper/bigger - and natch, this will use more yarn - you can start the collar lower down the sweater (regardless of whether you lengthen the bodice or not) and working a few more short rows than the 11 instructed.

• First go round, I picked up 279st. This time, having added more length to the body, I picked up 339st. That’s 18% more stitches. Technically, this time, I picked up 5% more stitches (relatively) than I did the first time because I did 4/5 pick up rather than 3/4. I’m really glad I bought the extra ball of yarn because I anticipate this version may take as much as 50g of yarn…

• While I neglected to pay attention to how much yarn I used for the band, I ended up using 29g of the final ball of yarn. Good thing I was able to order it!

Sleeves:

• Apparently, based on the chart on page 2, size 2 requires ~430 yards of yarn (143g of my yarn which is 3y per gram). That seems like a lot - 71g per sleeve, but the sleeves are not slim. Update: Given that my fitted sleeves took 48g of yarn each, I think 71g is likely an accurate amount of yarn to knit the sleeve in size 2…

• I’ve got 113g of yarn remaining - before the extra ball of yarn arrives, which will add another ~100g. (That should be more than enough.) I find the sleeve drafting a bit voluminous given the short length of the sweater. (Note: Though I added 3” to body length, the bodice doesn’t come out looking long because my projected bust eats up most of that length.)

• I casted on 88st (first size) though my armhole was knitted at the second size. I did this by CO 4 st over the 6st under arm and then 42 st on each side (delineated by the shoulder seam). I got 42 st by picking up approx 4 out of 5 stitches. I ensured that I had a centre column (alas, it’s purl st column to match up with the side body) to decrease against.

• In the end I did knit a fitted sleeve because I feel it will be more flattering on me given the shape of the sweater (which I’ve modified to be more fitted).

• Goal was to get from 88 to 66 st by elbow depth so, over 55R, I needed to decrease every 5th round (2 st per decrease round, 11 decrease rounds to dec 22 st). I further decreased, thereafter, 18 more st over 9 dec rounds. To do this I worked an additional 52R of 2x2 rib, decreasing every 4th round. Then I worked straight till I got to wrist length. (the BO stitch count for the second size).

• In the end I used 48g of yarn for each sleeve knitted to the recommended length (but made less voluminous).

Final Thoughts:

• This is a clear pattern and a lovely design, though my version will look somewhat different than the pattern because I did modify it in a variety of ways to make it better suit my own shape / taste, mainly by slimming and lengthening the sleeves, fitting the bodice and lengthening it. At the length recommended it will be quite cropped on many - esp if you have a long torso, are tall or have a large/projected bust.

• While this may be named Easy Cosy, I did find the project went on. Of course, that’s on me given the early errors I fixed, additional alterations I made and the fact that I did the full sweater (long sleeves, fitted / shawl collar) and I added 6.25” to the length, over the instructed 10.25”.

• This is definitely amongst the heaviest sweaters I’ve made (that I intend to keep). It doesn’t feel particularly heavy though, given that it’s quite robust. It’s more exceedingly warm (and cosy) than weighty (a quality I don’t like).

• While I realize that the back neck cables (at the Russian join) don’t cross, because that would be tremendously fussy for knitters to manage, I don’t love how that cable is uncrossed / different from the others. I mean, it’s at the back neck and the shawl collar will cover it. But if you don’t do the shawl collar, it will be visible.

• I’ve worked short row shawl collars in the past but this one utilized the markers differently and was done slightly differently (to achieve more or less the same outcome). For a newer knitter, short row one might be a bit tricky to interpret (if not read carefully) given how the prior WS row inserts the first SR marker. Just follow the instructions exactly, remembering that, as of SR 1, there are 2 markers and you will work to the second before creating the first short row.

• The yarn is fantastic; it almost radiates heat but not in an itchy way, which is remarkable given the halo of this alpaca blend and the presence of guard hairs. I have to assume that Sage is a fairly young alpaca because her fibre is still very soft. The halo does mitigate the pop of the cables and 2x2 rib, which works just fine for me. The colour is also beautiful, totally natural, cool camel tone. I do hope it will retain its shape, over time, given that it’s 20 per cent wool. It feels drapey but not to the extent that it won’t have decent recovery, esp given the cables and rib, which provide the yarn with some structure.

• This is up there in terms of cost for garment. The yarn was $230CDN but I’m pretty sure it was hand spun, given its lovely unevenness, and it’s likely the least processed yarn I’ll ever use, given that I don’t intend to clean fleeces, it’s undyed and was made in its entirety on a farm 3 hours from my house.

• Having blocked this, it’s clear that I could have made the size 2 without bust mods and it would have fit with my desired ease (which is generally in the -1” to 1”). I’m just slightly concerned that, given the way the alpaca opened and relaxed, and given the overall weight of the sweater, this might become bigger than I prefer - but time will tell. It was impossible for me to predict how the 2x2 rib would stretch after blocking (a swatch just can’t tell the story) and I erred on the side of more ease at the bust because I want to cross the bands over each other and use a shawl pin. For ref, my bust is 39-40” (though I am a narrow, short, small person). I graded between size 2 and 3 at the bust which should have given ~1’ ease with the goal that the bands, atop each other, it would stretch slightly over bust when pinned. But when I lie one band over the other, which happens quite easily, there’s barely any stretching of the fabric given how much stretch comes from a) the alpaca and b) the 2x2 rib. If I’d used a firmer wool or used this wool without increasing at the bust, I think I’d have preferred the fit, at least on first impression. But that’s because I like fitted things. As long as it doesn’t continue to stretch, I think it will be just fine. With pinning after wet blocking (but no active stretching of the wet fabric), the bust and hip circumferences grew by 6 inches each. Perhaps I misunderstood if the measurements included the button band…

• Happily, the button band did NOT overstretch vertically on blocking. I think my 4/5 stitches and then picking up most stitches at back neck worked alright. I would totally pick up most stitches at back neck were I to do it again though I might have been more prudent in my side band pick up had I realized what I was doing. Nonetheless, it seems fine.

• I’d be careful about buttons on this button band, esp if your fabric is drapey and/or you have a projected bust. I’m pretty sure that the band, as instructed, is not adequately structurally sound that it won’t stretch out or pull between buttons. Mind you, I go hardcore on button bands and if they’re not double knit or lined with ribbon on both sides, I use them as a decorative feature with shawl pins. And, of course, if you go for a lot of positive ease, then there will be less pulling (but also less shaping).

Preblocked Measurements:

“Underarm” to hem: 16.5”
“Underarm” to cuff: 16”
Bicep circ: 12” (unstretched)
Cuf circ: 6” (unstretched)
Full length from back neck (not including collar) to hem: 24.5”
Bust circ (not overlapping the band): 32” (unstretched)
Hip circ (not overlapping the band): 31” (unstretched)
Shawl collar depth at back neck: 3”
Button band width below shawl collar: 1.8”
Hem depth: 1.8”
Length of drop shoulder from cable at neck to arm opening: 5.25”

Postblocked Measurements:

“Underarm” to hem: 17”
“Underarm” to cuff: 16.25”
Bicep circ: 10” (unstretched)
Cuf circ: 6” (unstretched)
Full length from back neck (not including collar) to hem: 24.5”
Bust circ (not overlapping the band): 38” (unstretched)
Hip circ (not overlapping the band): 37” (unstretched)
Shawl collar depth at back neck: 2.75”
Button band width below shawl collar: 1.75”
Hem depth: 1.75”
Length of drop shoulder from cable at neck to arm opening: 5.5”
Note for future - straight from “shoulder tip” to “shoulder tip” (Measurement E on schematic) is 18” wide. I didn’t measure pre-blocking but it probably would have been more or less the same and this is aligned with the size 2 (the size I made)…

Gauge Swatches:
US5:
Preblocked - 2x2 rib - 32st and 29R in 4”
Postblocked -2x2 rib - 27 and 32Rin 4”

US6:
Preblocked - 2x2 rib - 29st and 29R in 4”
Postblocked - 2x2 rib - 26st and 30R in 4”

I get closer to gauge with the rec needle size (US6) but the fabric feels quite open to me. Mind you, having worked with Cardiff Cashmere on a US6, I don’t think it would be any more firm / robust than this fabric (though I didn’t knit that in 2x2 rib).