My first handspun sweater! I bought Evert the Michigan Romney x Corriedale ram’s fleece on Etsy back in November, washed it in December, and drum carded and spun it in January. I spun the singles with a supported long draw on my Sidekick, and three-plied them on my miniSpinner. See my yarn entry for more details.

After setting the twist in the yarn with hot water and Eucalan, and washing the finished object with warm water and Eucalan, it STILL smells like Unicorn Power Scour.

1/2/2015: finished blocking and photographing swatches. Still need to spin all the rest of the yarn; I only have the one 4 oz skein right now. I will probably reset the start date on this project when I officially start the sweater, after spinning all of the yarn and swatching again with the real stuff.

1/31/2015: chose a pattern! Cast on for Sleigh Ride.

At some point in the middle: even though I swatched and got gauge, by the time I finished the yoke, the sweater was clearly turning out too small on 6mm needles. I had to order a set of 7mm tips for my Addi Natura set to continue after ripping back.

2/22: all done!

I increased one extra round at the yoke, aiming for a sweater in between the 36.5” and 40” sizes. I otherwise followed the directions for the 36.5” size.

I didn’t like the buttonholes not centered in the button band and I also don’t like the yarn over method, so I worked two-stitch one-row buttonholes three stitches from the end of the row. I also did five buttonholes instead of four, spaced eight rows apart, because I wanted a button at the bust. I think it’s more flattering that way.

I added several inches in length to the body.

I originally planned on adding sleeves, but I finished most of the first and realized I was going to run out of yarn. The sweater was already quite heavy -- despite being woolen spun, the yarn was dense. So I ripped back and went with short sleeves as per the pattern.

I used 6.5mm needles for the sleeves because I didn’t have a set of 7mm dpns. I could have magic looped the sleeves, but I don’t care to -- I always end up with a fold line when I magic loop on projects bigger than socks.

Estimating yardage based on weight.

Buttons are from Anthony’s Wood Shop on Etsy. I don’t think they’re perfect, but they’re what I have.