I went to Beijing for a business trip. This was my first visit there, so I figured I have to visit the famous yarn scene. After all nearly all the Cashmere yarn I have bought in the past came from China! My boss was nice enough to let me go during working hours, after our first unsuccessful attempt.

And oh my! It’s a sight I will never forget. There were at least 50 stores crammed in a large building. All they do is sell fabric and yarn. There are so many different varieties and choices. I noticed an interesting practice not often seen in US and Europe. People would go to these stores to pick out the yarn, select a pattern out of a catalog, and then the store just machine knits the sweater for them. When they heard that I am buying the yarn for hand-knitting, they were all very excited b/c I don’t look 80 years old. Apparently in China only 80 year olds knit.

The yarn was not extremely cheap, but quite good compared to what we normally have to pay in the US. I suspect I had to pay more because I am a foreigner. You have to haggle for EVERYTHING in China. It’s a custom that I am not fond of at all.

I modified the pattern quite heavily. I added sleeves. I didn’t do the neckline but instead just stopped flat. It became an off-shoulder sweater at that point so I converted it into a boat-neck by knitting ribs at the neckline. I like the ribbing detail so much. It’s surprising what a small detail can do for a sweater…

The sweater is very light weight, warm and extremely comfortable, and I still have a ton of yarn left.

Extra Note on how to add the sleeves:
The sweater is basically a T shaped garment.

• When the pattern calls for split for armholes, I used provisional cast-on to add stitches to both side of the arm. A good instruction for the method I usually use can be found here: http://www.purlbee.com/provisional-cast-on-tutorial/
• I start with one arm, and then turn the garment, and continue through the body on the wrong side, and then add the the other arm. Then I just start working back and forth.
• Depending on the length of sleeves you need and the gauge of your work, the number of stitches will vary.
• After I am done with one side of the T-shaped garment, I undid the provisional cast-on, then pick up the live stitches, and start knitting the other side of the garment.
• When I am done with both side, I did a three-needle bind-off to close the sleeves at the top b/c I felt it matches the pattern well. If you prefer a different look, you can do kitchener stitch for a seamless join.

T shape sweater measurement: The body is 16.5 inch wide, 14 inch from bottom to armpit, 5 inch from armpit to neckline (and that’s the same for the arm since it’s a T). The neck opening is 12 inch.

My gauge is 32 stitches = 4 inches in the bottom rib section.