Another gorgeous design by Jennifer Wood! I can’t say enough good things about this design and the expertly written pattern (as usual).

I used a size 5 US needle for the neckline ribbing because I didn’t want any bra straps showing and I needed the smaller needle to match the neck circumference measurement in the pattern. I then used a US size 6 above the waist and then switched to a 4mm needle. These are not exactly equivalent even though Ravelry lists them as such. 4 mm is approximately equivalent to a US size 5.5 (if there was such a thing). When I got to the hem band setup, I switched back to the US size 6 needles. I bound off with size 4 mm needles using Jeny’s Surprisingly Stretchy Bind-off. I used a 4 mm needle when I resumed work on the sleeves.

I made 13 bobbles/repeats. I did my bobbles using a crochet hook (size G) like this.

What I did differently:

Lots of things going on outside of knitting at the moment. Hence I made some mistakes which miraculously turned out to be advantageous.

Whenever testing, I make a great effort to follow the pattern exactly with regard to construction/stitch counts unless there’s an obvious fitting problem. Everything was fine until I got to the part where you separate sleeves from body. My brain went on vacation starting on page 4 of the pattern (Dividing Round). Although I read this paragraph numerous times, I somehow missed the “CO 9 stitches” both times. I did read the “CO 0 sts” for some strange reason, but decided that would definitely not work for me. So I arbitrarily cast on 6 sts for each underarm. This resulted in side Dot Stitch Panels of 19 sts rather than 13 sts. (Stockinette stitch panels remained the same - 8 and 7 sts respectively.) Because I thought I had 6 extra sts under the arms, I decided to decrease 3 times (2 sts at 2-inch intervals), ending at the waistline. I did the decreasing within the Dot Stitch panels which resulted in some nice waist shaping. From the waistline down, I just knit straight which was mistake #2. I somehow completely skipped over the part about the “Side Dot Setup Chart” which resulted in me doing no increasing. I have a triangular shape (shoulders wider than hips) which is why this fit me so well in spite of my boo boo.

When I got to the setup for the lower ribbing, you can imagine my surprise in learning that I had 28 fewer stitches on my needles than I was supposed to! (I had 188 sts. Pattern says 216 sts for my size.) It was only then that I backtracked to discover my omissions.

At the top of page 4 (1st column), my stitch counts matched perfectly, but at the bottom of page 4 (1st column), my stitch counts were way off. I’d been trying on the garment periodically to check fit. Had it not fit so perfectly, I might have been suspicious, but there was nothing to tip me off until I saw the stitch counts after the Ribbing Setup round. In a bit of a panic, I decided to make the best of the situation.

I switched back to size 6 US needles for the Ribbing Setup round, and increased only 2 sts (stockinette panel on each side) for a total of 188 sts:

8 + 9 + 13 + 21 + 13 + 9 + 8 + 13 (x 2) = 188 sts total

Then during the Bottom Band Setup round, I only decreased in the cable panels (12 sts deceased). So I ended up with a ribbing band of 176 stitches was was just a bit more than the two smaller sizes.

Dot Stitch panels remained the same stitch count for the ribbing. I did appropriate combinations of knit and purl stitches in the stockinette panels. I followed the pattern for the other panel parts of the ribbing.

Another advantage of my mistake was that I only had the one ball of yarn and was quickly running short. I ran out of yarn anyway and will have to order more. I only had enough for 3/4 length sleeves, and I want full-length which will be 5 inches longer. The test pattern was short on yardage requirements. This has been corrected in the final pattern. The upper part of the sleeves are a bit large on me, but this is always the case since I have very skinny arms. It will just be more room to move and the sleeves look fine. I only picked up 6 sts under the arms rather than the 9 sts specified in the pattern, but the upper sleeves are still a bit loose on me.

Body length from underarm to hem: 14.75”

I want to add that this has been such a fun and relaxing knit. I guess I was a little TOO relaxed, but it all worked out great in the end.

August 24, 2019

I finally got around to lengthening the sleeves! Hazel (TillyPomPom on Ravelry) was kind enough to find and purchase some of this discontinued yarn (color) for me in England. Ditto for lengthening the sleeves on my Sydney Pullover. Here’s how I did my sleeves, starting with 63 sts at the underarm:

• Knit 7 rounds straight. Decrease 2 sts on the 8th round (per pattern instructions).

I repeated the above sequence 14 times using a 4 mm needle. Then I started the cuff ribbing using the same needle as follows (37 sts):

-P1, (K2, P2) 2 times, K2, P1, SL marker, P, K, P, K2, P, K, P, K2, P, K, P, SL marker, P, (K2, P2) 2 times, K2, P1

1 did 14 rounds for the ribbed cuff and then bound off in pattern using a size 1.5 US needle and Jeny’s Surprisingly Stretchy Bind-Off. The sleeves are quite roomy on me, but not too large. I could easily wear another thin, fitted pullover underneath this one on the chilliest of days. I’m very happy with how this project turned out.

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