I get so many comments when I wear this- it’s a big hit. Lovely design and great yarn.
Fits perfectly! (I was concerned about ease, and could’ve gone smaller, but the stretch due to panels/ribbing is so wonderful.) Finished with just inches of yarn left, seriously. I switched to size 4 needles for the body after the decreases because I was afraid it would be too large, and I would run out of yarn. I made a size 36 bust (3rd size). I am 5’10” with a 38” bust so I could’ve gone down a size but this worked out fine.
This yarn has wonderful stitch definition and loft, since it is chainette it’s so easy to use for cabling without a needle. It is so light which is important in a sweater this big. The yak will make it nice and warm, yet it is so soft. I will need to try more colors of this yarn.
Swatched on size 5 and 6 needles and got the same result. So I started the sleeves with size 4’s for the ribbing, then changed to the 5’s and changed to my 6’s about 1/3 up from the sleeve cuffs.
I knit the sleeves in the round, cast on -2 stitches to account for the k1 seam edge. I almost always knit Two at a time, magic loop method. I detest and avoid second sleeve syndrome wherever possible.
For the body cast on, since I had to cast on 540 stitches, I used the two-ball method of long tail cast on, and then knit a row or two of ribbing before I joined to make it easier to avoid a twist in the join. (Past lessons learned!)
The pattern was well written and easy to understand. The cable panels became easy to predict and remember, making mindless Netflixing possible but keeping my interest as well. Not much seaming at the end- just the setting in of the sleeves and turning of the collar, so it is fast to finish up.