I don’t know whether or not I’ll be able to go to Rhinebeck this year, but I am joining the KAL for fun anyway!

My opinion of the pattern:

It is a good one! If you are new to knitting colorwork, this pattern would be a good choice because none of the floats are long enough that you need to catch any of them (though you could if you really wanted to). I found no errors in the pattern.

Regarding the welts:

Although I usually knit Continental style when knitting single-color stockinette, I found it easier to knit Round 6 of the welt section (the round that closes the welts) English style, which keeps the working yarn out of the way of the welt-closing process.

Modifications:

• Shorter neckband
• Yarn selection (Oh Dang! held double chosen for the CC)
• Waist decrease shaping: first I marked the sides under the underarms. Then I knit this once every twenty rows: * k to 3 sts before m, ssk, k1, sm, k1, k2tog, rep from *, k to end. (My row gauge doesn’t match the designer’s and I knit mine oversized so as to accommodate an inverted slightly triangular shape so your mileage may vary.)

Needle choice:

First, I will say that I knit very tightly compared to others so anyone comparing needle sizes should know that I’m always sizing up at least 1-2 sizes compared to most knitters. Because of that my row gauge is often dissimilar to others even when my stitch width gauge might be meeting a certain gauge accurately.

I knit this with addi Unicorn interchangeable needles (rocket tip). I’m working on determining whether or not my gauge is the same/different with different needle products this manufacturer makes. (Loving the needles, I like the pink cords (they make me happy, plus they are just the tiniest bit thinner than the blue cords, thus a little more flexible), and I see no disadvantages knitting with these needles. I do not have any particular ergonomic needs regarding my hands, so I notice no particular difference with ergonomics when using these needles but ymmv. In my limited experience so far they perform exactly as I am used to with their equivalent standard rocket interchangeable needle.) I’m planning on knitting a different colorwork sweater later using the same Spinster’s Daughter yarn and will knit that on standard rockets and see if there is any difference in the gauge.

Regarding needle tip length, see below.

The Yarn:

Although this is my first time knitting with the sport-weight Spinster’s Daughter, I have knit a garment using the worsted-weight version. (I loved the worsted weight FO so I’m sure I’ll like the sport-weight one too! Those interested in more yarn feedback can look through my completed projects for my green Sunset Sweatshirt.) Like the thicker version, the sport-weight version is also very bouncy and stretchy. As a tight knitter, I am really focusing on making sure my tension is equal to the Oh Dang! which is not nearly as stretchy and bouncy. I normally enjoy knitting with short needle tips but for this yarn combination I definitely recommend (and am using) long needle tips so you have plenty of room to spread the stitches out on your right-hand needle which helps to ensure that your floats aren’t too tight.

Tubular Bind-off:

I made an instagram highlight on how I personally do tubular bind-off, in case anyone finds it helpful.