The Joys of Sweaters
Who would've thought that one little baby cardigan, that I messed up on nonetheless, would drive me to complete my very first adult sized sweater! It's a glorious feeling and a great relief to have finally finished one.
I like to think of myself as an experienced knitter, but I would get so much anxiety when it came to making a sweater. A lot of local knitters always laughed at me because of the lace shawls and socks I would make, but I would freeze up when it came to sweater knitting.
After finally dipping my toes into the joys of sweater making, I am HOOKED! I've found my next sweater I want to make after I finish a hat commission for a coworker.
Let's dive into my sweater experience:
Pattern: On The Beach by Isabell Kraemer
Yarn: Knit Picks Shine Sport
I picked this pattern because it seemed like a very straightforward beginner pattern. No seams, no yokes, or any of the other things that cause extreme panic for me when it comes to sweaters. The yarn choice was because I was looking for something light and with a good drape to coincide with wearing this during warmer weather.
For some reason unbeknownst to me, I am clumsy with cotton based yarn. I don't know what it is, I knit way too loose, I slip on stitches consistently (no matter the needle type). I really do struggle. Using cotton yarn, I have to play with it for a while. Knit an obnoxiously long swatch and then undo and start the pattern. It just takes time for me to get a good tension rhythm going. The color of yarn I have no reason for other than my daughter wanting green, and I gravitated for Steve from "Blue's Clues" without even thinking.
I did struggle to keep the tension. Some places have random loose stitches that I could not quite fix with end weaves. Picking up the sleeve stitches left me with random gaps. I have really got to search for a fix to this for my next sweater. The instructions on this pattern were perfectly outlined for me. I was familiar with all stitches, and the stitch counts at the end of each set of instructions were extremely helpful. This pattern is perfect for not only someone beginning their sweater making adventures, but even a beginner knitter could easily follow this pattern. M1L and M1R were the most complex stitches a beginner would come across.
I kept it simple and followed the pattern. While tempted to add ribbing to the sleeves, bottom, and neckline, I opted to keep it as the pattern said for my first pattern. The one thing I did not do was re-cast the neckline and then cast off again. I can do that at any time, but for now I feel it was simple enough.
Per a fellow Knit Picks Sport Shine user, it was suggested that I give the finished product a good wash, because it sheds quite a bit. I noticed this during the knitting process. It sheds very easily, in odd clumps. While I am very biased in my relationship with cotton based yarn, I just wasn't a fan of the Shine Sport. It drapes beautifully, but heavy. The shedding was just a turn off for me. I feel Knit Picks has better quality cotton yarn than what I ended up with.
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