Blueberry Hill Crafting

Posts Tagged with sweater

Winter Woods Cardigan

Pattern: Pascal

Yarn: de rerum natura Cyrano – 5 skeins of Poivre Blanc, 1 skein of Granit, and 1 skein of Pavot

Needles: US 9s and 10s

Size: 44″ (no waist shaping)

I liked knitting this one – beautiful, soft yarn to work with, quick knit (due to the bulky yarn), just enough colorwork to keep it interesting. The only knitting problem I had was that the suddenness of the decreases on the yoke results in a weird bulge on my back right above the armpit – you don’t notice it because of the bulky yarn, but it seems like a design flaw to me. The only other problem I ran into was that the red color ran when I blocked the sweater 🙁 Not too bad, luckily, but I would have used a color guard solution, had I known that might happen.

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Violets pullover

Pattern: Niamh by Isabell Kraemer

Yarn: The Wool Barn Cashmere Sock 4ply – 4 skeins in color Violets

Needles: US 3s

Size: M1 (37.75″)

I picked a smaller size because I was getting a little bigger gauge, and I was hoping for an oversized pullover. In retrospect, I wish I had stuck with my usual size (M2) – the pullover fits me perfectly, but it’s not the slightly oversized, baggy look I was hoping for.

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Gather Cardigan

A different variation on my Candy Stripe Cardigan pattern, perfect for showing off the natural hues of A Verb For Keeping Warm’s beautiful Gather yarn.

Pattern: Candy Stripe Cardigan

Yarn: A Verb for Keeping Warm Gather (75% Rambouillet / 25% alpaca) (sport weight, 200 yds / 50 g per skein):
— MC Quartz (5 skeins)
— CC Doe (1 skein)
— CC Smoke (1 skein)
— CC Lighthouse (1 skein)

Size: Medium

Needles: US 6s

I used broken rib on the cuffs and increased the buttonband ribbing to 2″, but otherwise made no modifications. This yarn is wonderful when knitted up, light and bouncy but warm 🙂

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Mahone Bay Pullover

This is my second sweater pattern in By Hand Serial Lookbook No. 9. It is a beautiful way to use rustic, woolly yarn in natural colors, and perfect for a summer afternoon out boating on the water!

Pattern: Mahone Bay Pullover

Yarn: HW WoolWorks Downeast Woolly – MC Natural Grey (5 skeins) and CC Natural White (1 skein) (200 yds of worsted weight yarn per skein)

Needles: US 8s and US 7s (ribbing)

Size: M

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Smitten by mohair

My second go-round knitting one of my new patterns from By Hand Serial Lookbook No. 9. This time, I wanted a completely different look, so instead of a rustic, “sheepy” yarn, I used fingering weight, knit at a fairly open gauge, double-stranded with mohair. The result is a soft, warm yet light pullover that drapes beautifully and looks like a soft spring morning 🙂

Pattern: Mahone Bay Pullover

Yarn: The Wool Barn Cashmere Sock 4-ply (80% super wash merino / 10% cashmere / 10% nylon) – 2 1/2 skeins (383 yds/ea) in color Smitten, knit double-stranded with La Bien Aimee Mohair Silk (70% mohair / 30% silk) – 1 1/2 skeins (547 yds/ea) in color Bois de Rose

Size: M

Needles: US 8s and 7s (ribbing)

Notes: I used a small bit of stash yarn for the CC (unlike the original, I knit the ribbing in MC and used CC only for the garter bump accent).


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Cardigan blues

Pattern: Lunenberg Cardigan – my design, published in By Hand Serial Lookbook No. 9

Yarn: The Wool Barn Cashmere Sock 4-ply (80% super wash merino / 10% cashmere / 10% nylon) – 4 skeins (383 yds/ea) in color Favourite Jeans

Size: M

Needles: US 4s and 3s (ribbing)

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Lunenberg Cardigan

This is one of my patterns from the newest issue of By Hand Serial: Lookbook No. 9. I think it might be my favorite – it is, in my opinion, the perfect wear-anywhere, wear-with-everything, three-season cardigan! Knit in fingering weight yarn, it can take on just about any look you want, showcase any yarn you love, and it’s never too heavy or bulky. I already have a second one on my needles 🙂

Pattern: Lunenberg Cardigan in By Hand Serial: Lookbook No. 9

Yarn: HW Woolworks Hand Dyed Merino (or any fingering weight yarn) – 4 skeins (365 yds/ea)

Size: Medium

Needles: US 4s (and US 3s for ribbing)

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Kapsel Cardigan

I love how this one came out – so soft and snuggly, what a warm and wonderful cardigan! I think it’s likely that the yarn is going to pill – it’s not spun very tightly – but I’m going to enjoy it as long as it lasts 🙂

Pattern: Kapsel Cardigan by Shannon Cook

Yarn: La Bien Aimee Merino Aran (100% superwash merino) – 8 skeins (181 yds/ea) in color Yellow Brick Road

Needles: US 6s

Size: 38″

This was definitely not a quick knit – the all-over textured pattern takes more time, but it’s not a difficult stitch, and it’s fun to see how it develops.


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Winterfell Cardigan

Pattern: Winterfell Cardigan Aran
Yarn: La Bien Aimee Merino Aran – 6 skeins (181 yds/ea) in color Caramel
Size: M2
Needles: US 7s and 6s (ribbing)

I’m so glad I went with what I thought would be a larger size – M2 is supposed to be a finished bust measurement of 42.75″. However, I ended up with only a slight bit of positive ease, and I have a 37″ bust – this definitely didn’t give me almost 6″ of ease! I also knit it several inches longer – around 16″ from armhole to hem. I was hoping for a bit of an oversized cardigan, but I ended up with a nice (but close) fit.

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Illimani Pullover

Trying to get a 13-year-old to be serious during a photoshoot is a fruitless task . . .

I knit this sweater for me, but hated how it looked on – I should have guessed, since bat-wing cropped is not my best look 🙂  I think it’s adorable on her, though.

Pattern:  Turtle Dove

Yar:  Illimani Amelie (56% mulberry silk / 40% baby alpaca / 4% merino) – 5 skeins (164 yds/ea) in color Hunter

Needles:  US 10s and 9s (ribbing)

Size:  M (54.25″)

It’s too bad, because this yarn is so incredibly soft, I’d love to wear it next to my skin!  I bought a SQ’s worth at The Mariner’s Daughter in Nova Scotia, and then really struggled to come up with a pattern that was a good match to the yarn – I think this one is, it just isn’t my style.

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Shades of Alpaca cardigan

This one goes in the “fail” category – I substituted yarn and I thought I got gauge, but it must not have been the case as this came out WAY too small.  I don’t like several of the design elements, as well – too much waist shaping for me, the sleeves don’t fit well at the shoulders (makes me look like a linebacker), and I don’t like how the collar turned out (I like the idea of folding the collar over to make it double-thick, but when I knit the button bands up to the sides of the collar, one side tweaked out really badly and I couldn’t fix it, even with blocking).

Pattern:  White Pepper Cardigan by Alicia Plummer
Yarn:  Hinterland Range (50% alpaca / 50% wool) – four skeins in Maple, with partial skeins in Honey and Snow for the sleeve striping
Needles:  US 8s (I tried going up a size to get bigger gauge, but it made the fabric too open and floppy)
Size:  41″

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Dunes Dolman Cardigan – made for beach walking

 

I recently finished knitting one of Brooklyn Tweed’s new patterns; I liked the focus on texture and the unique shaping of this piece.  It took a while – the stitch pattern calls for a K1 P1 rib every other row – but the FO is beautiful and wearable.  My only hesitation is that the fabric produced by this yarn, while very soft and lovely to wear, feels somewhat fragile, as if it may stretch under the weight of the garment (even though it’s got a little nylon in the fiber).  I was very careful when wet blocking it, because it could have easily stretched way out of shape, and I even tossed it in the dryer for 20 minutes at the end to tighten everything up a little.  The sweater is already a little on the long side, so I’d prefer that it not stretch any further!

I went with the second smallest size – not my usual size range, but even though this garment calls for a lot of positive ease, anything larger seemed just gigantic.  I’m glad I chose the size I did, as this piece is already pretty oversized all over – any bigger and it would have felt like draping on an overcoat.

Pattern:  Dunes Dolman Cardigan

Yarn:  Magpie Fibers Swanky DK (80% superwash merino / 10% cashmere / 10% nylon) – 5 skeins (250 yds/ea) in Pretty in Pink

Needles:  US 6s and US 4s (for ribbing)

Size:  46″

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The Dog Walker

A great basic – I love this grey color, it’s warm and cozy, goes with everything, and a flattering fit.  Plus, it knit up in just five days!  The yarn is 100% yak and it feels really wonderful – like alpaca, but without so much drape and stretch.

Pattern:  The Dog Walker

Yarn:  The Plucky Knitter Yakkity Aran (100% yak) – 6 skeins (160 yds/ea) in color Peppercorn

Needles:  US 10s and US 8s (for broken ribbing)

Size:  42″ (I was worried that this would be too big, but the pattern recommended 6-8″ of ease, and this would have given me about 4″ – I don’t actually think it gave me that much ease, so I’m glad I went with this size!)

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Willapa Cardigan

The perfect go-anywhere, where-with-anything cardigan!  I think that Fossil is the perfect neutral, and because it’s knit in Loft, it’s lightweight enough to be worn year-round, and feels light as a feather.

Pattern:  Willapa Cardigan

Yarn:  Brooklyn Tweed Loft in color Fossil (7 skeins)

Size:  38-40″

Needles:  US 5s

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Knitting with Peerie

I finished this in a week – lots of car knitting on the way to vacation! – as a test knit for Jenn Steingass of Knit.Love.Wool.  I used Brooklyn Tweed’s new fingering weight yarn Peerie, and love how it knits up at a looser gauge – the resulting fabric is very soft but light.  I’m not as crazy about the color as I was when I bought the skeins – I would have preferred something more summery in retrospect, especially since I opted for the short-sleeve version.

Pattern:  Anaashah by Knit.Love.Wool

Yarn:  Brooklyn Tweed’s Peerie (100% domestic merino) – 5 skeins (210 yds/ea) in Gingersnap and one skein in Muslin

Needles:  US 5s (I used US 3s for the sleeve ribbing, but stuck with US 5s for the bottom hem ribbing)

Size:  C (finished bust of 43″, which should have given me over 5″ of positive ease, but I think I ended up with a lot less than that)

Also, be warned – this yarn REALLY stretches when it’s blocked!  I think it grew by at least 3″ – so much so that it went from a fairly short fit (15″ from armpit to hem) to overly long (at least 17″, maybe longer).  It bothers me enough that I’m going to re-block it and be more careful this time about setting the length.Pin It

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