Ruthless Knitting

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Finished Object: February Lady Sweater

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Pattern: February Lady Sweater (an adaptation by Pamela Wynne of Elizabeth Zimmerman’s February Baby Sweater)

Size: 37″ bust, 16″ length and 13″ sleeves to armhole, about 9″ raglan seam

Yarn: Brown Sheep Nature Spun Worsted (100 percent wool; 245 yds per 100 g skein), color 133 (blue fog)

Yardage: About 800 yards (3.25 skeins)

Source: Yarnzilla

Needles: US 8 (5.0 mm) circular needles

Gauge: 16.5 stitches and 32 rows = 4″ in garter stitch, blocked; lace repeats are about 1.75″ wide and .75″ tall

Notes: This sweater took me six weeks to complete. Given that I spent much of my free time in those six weeks lying on the couch reading detective novels and vampire books, I think I can safely say that in normal circumstances it would have been a quick knit.

I ended up modifying the pattern a bit to suit the yarn I chose, which knit to a slightly larger gauge for me than the 18 stitches over 4″ called for in the pattern. I cast on 83 stitches for the 35″ size and then just kept going with the garter stitch raglan increases until I had 168 stitches at the armholes, omitting the eyelet row altogether. The sweater looked awfully small while I was knitting it, but it blocked to more or less the size I wanted (whew).

I used some vintage mother-of-pearl buttons on the yoke, and I’m quite pleased with them. I may need to reinforce the buttonholes, which gap a bit, particularly at the bottom. But that’s easily done if it turns out to be necessary.

I enjoyed working with Nature Spun Worsted, which is a dirt-cheap workhorse yarn that comes in a huge number of colors. I think I spent about $15.00 on this sweater. Can’t beat that! The only drawback was that the yarn was rather smelly before I washed it. I suspect that’s not the fault of the online seller but rather a consequence of the fact that Brown Sheep mothproofs this yarn. I would rather not have my yarn dipped in mothproofing chemicals before I knit with it, but at least the smell went away with one washing.

I picked this pattern because I thought it would make an attractive maternity sweater that I will still be able to wear after the baby is born. And indeed, it is a nice maternity style, but it turns out that after 37 weeks of pregnancy I am somewhat weary of wearing things that button only over the chest and then drape fetchingly over the gigantic baby bump. Not that there are a lot of other style options to choose from — one may as well highlight the bump, since concealing it is a lost cause.

Still, as much as I enjoy the baby’s exploratory nudging from the inside, I look forward with pleasure to having a non-globular stomach again, even if it’s a bit worse for the wear. Last week I thought of a favorite pair of pre-pregnancy pants and was swept with a wave of nostalgia. Likewise, it is with pleasant anticipation that I look forward to wearing this sweater in the more standard, non-pregnant fashion. Meanwhile, it’s doing a nice job of pinch-hitting as maternity wear.

This entry was posted on Friday, November 7th, 2008 at 11:50 am and is filed under Finished Objects. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.

11 Responses to “Finished Object: February Lady Sweater”

  1. Bertha Says:
    November 7th, 2008 at 12:41 pm

    Oh my gosh, that came out so perfect and it really does highlight your globularity perfectly! :) The great thing about this sweater though is how it will still look beautiful post-pregnancy too! I love the color you chose! I also can’t wait to meet this little one, so close!

  2. Marsha Says:
    November 7th, 2008 at 1:13 pm

    You and the sweater both look great! :)

    I’ve been thinking of giving that sweater a try–and with the same yarn, too. I have a ton of that yarn from a recently frogged what-in-the-world-was-I-thinking-when-I-decided-to-knit-a-giant-ruana project.

  3. Barb Knox Says:
    November 7th, 2008 at 2:28 pm

    Beautifully done! Love the sleeve length. And the buttons are perfect.
    (You look great by the way.)

  4. beverlyanne Says:
    November 7th, 2008 at 2:40 pm

    Great job. The sweater is beautiful and really practical. If the baby is a girl you can make her one too. However, if you follow EZ’s gauge, she won’t wear it until she’s two. All in all I think I like this better as an adult sweater.

  5. Wanda Says:
    November 8th, 2008 at 1:09 am

    Very nice Ruth! The sweater looks really lovely on you. Just a few more weeks to go before the baby comes!

  6. Lady Euphoria Deathwatch Says:
    November 10th, 2008 at 11:59 am

    Hi Ruth,

    The sweater is beautiful as are you. I love the gray.

    I have to still do my sweater over but I’m waiting for colder weather. Still to many things to do outside.

    I only found you a few weeks ago as a blogger. I was looking at some of your older blogs and just realized you are Sheldon,s creator. Thank you for such a cute toy. My youngest is in her thirties and no grand kids. So the Sheldon I’m making is for me.

    Thanks again.

    Sincerely, Euphoria

  7. DeltaDawn Says:
    November 10th, 2008 at 4:05 pm

    Great, utilitarian sweater! Now and later - can’t beat that. I was hoping to see the baby bump eventually but I didn’t realize how fast time was flying!

  8. Walden Says:
    November 10th, 2008 at 7:17 pm

    It looks wonderful on you and fits very well! Great job! I think so far this sweater looks very good on those who are pregnant.

  9. Octopus Knits Says:
    November 13th, 2008 at 2:00 pm

    You are clever to make such a flexible sweater, and it looks great on you now (I’m sure it will later, too)!

  10. Emilee Says:
    November 16th, 2008 at 10:24 pm

    That’s a lovely sweater!

  11. mel Says:
    November 18th, 2008 at 12:46 pm

    It’s a great sweater, and you look adorable!! Will be thinking of you!!

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