I did quite a bit of fiddling with this project.

First, I didn’t buy the yarn that was called for in the pattern, so I redid all of the instructions to better match my gauge, just by winging it where I felt it needed it. On my first attempt, I decreased for the waist too quickly and had to rip it out. I also decreased too quickly on the yoke and started that part over as well.

I have a moderate to long torso, so I’d planned for this sweater to be long. Even though my yarn had only 6 1/2 rows per inch instead of 8, I think I made the same number of rows.

For the body, I cast on the number of stitches for the Xsmall, which gave me about the appropriate size for the small when corrected for gauge.

For the sleeves, I overcompensated. I was thinking that my arms are quite large, so I used the number of stitches listed for the size small rather than Xsmall, but I found the resulting sleeve opening much too large and oddly shaped. (See photo with grey sweater underneath.)

The first neckline I did I wasn’t happy with at all. (Again see photo with grey sweater. It was rolling up way more than I’d like at the neck edge.) Someone suggested I use smaller needles, then cast off in purl, so I did that, adding a twist to those last few rows as well. It’s much better than how it first looked, but not yet perfect. However, I knew that if I didn’t finish it off right away I would never stop fiddling with it, so I wanted to at least get it done, if not done perfectly.

I wore this sweater to work today, and I’m finding that it actually could have been a little smaller. It feels like it was meant to fit slightly more snug. I think I might just have too many rows in the yoke section. If I do rework the neck, I will probably take out the last bobble row as well as a couple just below it.

As a short term fix the arms, I’ve run a string of yarn through the top edge of the ribbing and pulled it tight to slightly gather it. It’s not how the design was meant to be, but it works. I haven’t tacked it permanently like that yet because I’m not really sure how to do it.

I haven’t made the detachable long sleeves that were included with the pattern. With the sleeve style I ended up with, I doubt they would fit.

Cost of materials $12