When you cannot wait (or merely lack the patience) until you’ve hand knitted your ideal simple sweater, there’s nothing for it, just whip out the Addi Express and knock out some panels!

I might even do something different to the hem and cuffs. The whole thing should be ready in a few days!

Verdict
I worked everything according to the pattern except the sleeves. Instead of working the sleeves as tubes, I worked them flat (42sts) then worked decreases every 12 rows down to the cuff (30sts). I wanted slimmer sleeves, so this worked out well for me.

Here’s how I did this (see link): How I work decreases on the Addi

Generally, the knitting tension is a little loose because the Addi machine knits to the equivalent tension of 6mm Needles. This yarn, as I’ve discovered, seems to work best up to 5mm needle size.The neck shaping was worked by hand using 6mm Needles and all the twisted rib trims were worked using 5mm needles.

After a good wet blocking, all the stitches fell properly into line. The seams were still a bit lumpy (compared to the rest of the fabric), so I ironed them flat with a hot steam iron - it’s the best way to get a nice finish on hand knits, in my opinion!

Despite the openness of the fabric, I am really pleased with the outcome, the blocking has helped to even out everything and I love the fit. It’s relaxed and something that I’m likely to ‘live’ in. ️