Sept 21: I decided to knit the shrug in one pass from the bottom of the first sleeve (magic loop) to the bottom of the second sleeve (no provisional cast on). I’ve changed the sleeve shape to suit me better - a straight, real 3/4 sleeve. I need to make the shrug body narrower than the small calls for (17.5 - 18 inches across the back).

Oct 1: I lowered the neckline by about half an inch. Not sure how this will work but the given dimensions seem really high.

Oct. 7: The cast on for the front was too loose. Arguably, I should have made the ribbing smaller than the XS 160 stitches. If I were to make it again, even with a 37 inch chest, I’d probably do 152 stitches. To mitigate the looseness, and to raise the (too low) neckline, I added 4 rows of garter stitch by picking up and knitting at the neckline. I used a smaller needle to do this (US7) to gather things up. The garter mimics that on the bottom of the sleeves…

Oct. 11: I finished this and will wet block it tomorrow. All in all, I like it - though it’s too low cut for me to wear it without a cami underneath and I don’t think I can pick up and knit any more than I have already (it wouldn’t sit right). I made the finished length 14” (not including the garter at the neckline) as opposed to the 18” recommended. I might knit another inch in garter on smaller needles if I find it too short. More likely I’ll block it a bit longer.