Ah! Almost to gauge straight away! Yeeee!

I have to try keep it ‘tall’, because the row height became nearer and nearer gauge as the swatch went on and I relaxed. I may have to keep a ruler nearby to make sure the height of my rows does not vary too much depending on what I am watching on the telly or what happened at work that day ;)

I hadn’t really understood the stitches set up, but by the end of the swatch it became clearer and instinctive. No need to stay attached to the instructions at every step, which is great.

I understand the sweater is a straight shape, so that should be quite easy once I get into the groove. great!!!!
:):)

I think the 4-ply merino will make a really really warm top. Thankfully it’s lightweight, so it may make a good travelling jumper.

08/10/2017
I made it to the end of row 10, medium size.
I’m supposed to add another row, then add 8 underarm chains, but it somehow seems already long enough…
I’ll read the rest of the pattern, especially the sleeves, to see whether this extra row is vital, or if I can skip it.

Liking it lots up to now. I’m almost at the end of the yoke and I haven’t even used up 2 balls of yarn. It’s so light and fluffy!

Long may it continue :)

13/10/2017
I stopped the yoke at row 10, did the 8 chains underarm and tried a couple of rows. It worked well. :)

Sleeves
After 3 rows the first sleeve seemed to be getting a bit too wide already, so I decided to do some decreasing. A bit like Keilexandra’s invention , and a bit playing around with it. None of it is perfect (Dora has to fear no competition whatsoever from here!! ;)), but it does not look nasty and it does the trick. For the last 4 rows I swapped to a 3mm hook, like Dora suggests in the book.

So that I can follow it on the second sleeve:
row 1-3 as per instructions
row 4 1st and last group of 4 stitches, decrease to 2 tr2tog
row 5 ch 3, 2 tr slanting left into the 1sr tr2tog of row 4, then 2 tr slanting right into the last 2 tr2tog of row 4 (it does not matter whether you do it in front or behind the 1st 2 tr’s because unfortunately is going to be out of synch with the rest of the pattern anyway - but it’s not ugly). Continue as per pattern, when you get back to the start, sl st in the 3ch, sl st into 1sr and 2nd tr, and in the middle of the 4 trebles, chain 3 and move to the next row. It is not brilliant because you loose the ‘crosses and squares’ pattern for 1 row, but it kind of blends in.
row 6 decrease again like row 4
row 7 decrease again, this time I was trying to avoid the out-of-synch cross, so instead of attempting any crossing, I just crocheted 2 tr tog straight down the 1st two tr of the row, and into the last 2 tr of the row. It does not look ugly, and the sleeve is taking the right shape, but I wouldn’t patent it. ;)
row 8 dec again, like row 4, but at the end of the row, sl st in the middle of the cross, ch 3 to start the next row and start the pattern from the ‘whole’ group of stitches, skipping the tr2tog’s.
row 9-13 work in pattern all straight
row 14-17 work in straight pattern, but with 3mm hook

Love it :) slightly longer than 3/4 but not annoyingly long, and it does not need a cuff. Happy :)

It started with 7 8-st groups at armhole, and it went down to 5 at the cuff.

Hopefully, although I winged it a bit, the other sleeve will match :)

I’ll make a break and go out looking for buttons :) nice :)

28/10/2017
button band and neck!
Moved to 3mm hook.
I fitted 3sc’s in each row end, I could have fitted even more…
Neckline, I did sl stitches.

Finished! It fits like a glove!
:) :)