Edited to add: I found the neck stretched down the shoulders so the collar didn’t sit up like a collar. I added a crochet chain around the bottom of the neck ribbing (starting and ending between the button bands) and it’s perfect!

Recommended gauge is 4 stitches = 1 inch and I’m getting 4.5 per inch with 5.5 mm needles (up a size). I don’t really want the fabric any looser, though, so I’m going to try it at this gauge. I’m adding lifelines, so if it’s turning out too small, I’ll rip back to the bottom of the collar and go up a size. We’ll see how this goes.

Nov. 20
Okay, so it was turning out too small. I got through the collar and past the first buttonhole and then realized it was way too small. What was I even thinking? My measurements put me in the range for both the medium and the large; if I were getting gauge, I’d go for the medium (I cast on for the medium anyway, like an idiot), but since I’m slightly tighter than gauge, I’ve ripped it out and re-started with the large.

On the upside, the yarn is handling all of this very well and I remain pleased by the colour and the pattern, two good signs I think.

Buttonholes: I placed the buttonholes every 14th row (or every 7th right-side row) because my gauge was slightly tighter than the pattern and the extra two rows kept the buttonholes two inches apart. I use the one-row buttonhole technique, binding off the fourth and fifth stitches of the button band.

Feb. 9: Divided for the arms and knit down far enough to properly try it on. The good news: it is fitting just how I want it to; the less good news, I seem to have jumped ahead a row and my chevrons are off. Sigh. I put in a lifeline right before dividing, so I’ll rip back to there and actually read the chart as I go along this time.

March 30: Finished body increases and switched to 4.5mm needles for the bottom ribbing.

March 31: Finished the back! Picked up 11 stitches in the underarm and will deal with them by decreasing more quickly at the beginning (decrease two sts every four rows five times, then decrease every 9 rows seven times – 24 stitches decreased). (Decrease on rows: 2, 6, 10, 14, 18, 27, 36, 45, 54, 63, 72, 81)

April 1: First arm finished! Knit 108 rows before switching to 4.5mm needles for ribbing.

The colour in the top photo is very accurate.