This may be one of the most difficult sweaters I have ever knit, but I’m glad that I didn’t give up on it because this is one of my favorite sweaters that I have ever knit. I almost quit a few times, but I found that taking breaks and really reading the directions very carefully helped.

For example, the increasing wedge section baffled me for a whole day. Then I realized I wasn’t reading the pattern carefully enough: I assumed slipping the stitches on rows 1 & 3 meant that you just slipped the stitches from the left to the right needle like you normally do when you slip stitches, and then I assumed that you ignore those slipped stitches and start knitting the other stitches in the left needle. Upon closer inspection, I realized I was wrong. Instead, you had to slip stitches from the RIGHT to the LEFT and THEN you had to knit those slipped stitches, and then move on with the pattern. If I had read this more closely, I would have realized this a lot sooner.

By far the most difficult section to decipher was the increasing wedge section. What a feeling of accomplishment to figure it out and have it actually work!

My notes for working the increasing short row wedge: Row 1: Slip stitches from right to left needle. Knit those slipped stitches with the color you DIDN’T use in the previous row. When you hit your first shadow wrap (it’ll look like two stitches), you knit that shadow wrap - that means that you knit the two stitches of the shadow wrap as if they were one stitch. Then you knit until you hit the next shadow wrap (again - it’ll look like two stitches). Knit the shadow wrap through the back loops - this means you are putting your needle into the back of BOTH loops. Then knit one more stitch. Next, do a shadow wrap. Turn your work over. Row 2: Use the same color as the previous row. Slip the shadow wrap that you created at the end of the previous row - that means you’ll treat the double loops of the shadow wrap as just one stitch. Purl until you find the start of your previous row. Do a shadow wrap with that first stitch of the previous row. Turn your work. Repeat these two rows.

As Impowell1 noted, it was helpful to keep the marker in while working the increasing short row wedge. It was also helpful to keep in mind that after every purl row, you should have the same number of worked stitches on either side of the marker. This was a nice way to make sure I was keeping things evened up on both sides.

I couldn’t have figured out shadow wraps without the tutorial suggested by the pattern maker: http://socktopus.co.uk/2011/02/05/short-rows-shadow-wraps/

I made full length sleeves. Also, I didn’t decrease as often as the pattern suggested. Instead, I decreased twice within the bottom fourth of the sleeve.

Overall, it was a fascinating construction. I couldn’t figure out how the whole thing would be knit in one piece, so seeing it take shape was gratifying and instructional.