I really like how this turned out! Especially because merino and silk against your neck = love.

I’m using a thicker yarn and larger needles than the pattern calls for. I got between 4 and 4.5 stitches/inch gauge in stockinette, so I opted to cast on 88 stitches instead of 128. It turned out to be about 18-19 inches around, so if I were to do it again, I might go to 96 stitches. However, the slight tightness as I get it on is balanced by snuggly, close-fitting, soft warmness.

Setting up the picot edge - my first picot edge - was a bit fiddly. I settled on my regular cast on around two needles (US 7 and 4). I left the 4s in that cast on row while I knit the next 11 rows, and then knit through both stitches on both left-hand needles to get my edge. It looks great but it took a while to get there.

I found that stitch markers were useful to get the spiral pattern started, but then I ditched them so that the spiral could flow without having to move the markers around every 7 rows.

I knit a good portion of the body during President Obama’s Inauguration 1/20/2009 - therefore the project name.