I Am Loving This Sweater

I am loving this sweater.

I have been collecting cream colored yarns for the last two years and I am having so much fun working with each and every one of them. There is probably enough yarn here for two sweaters, a couple of hats, maybe a scarf and a pair of fingerless gloves so I wouldn't really call it a stash buster.... but I digress. Anyway, I have finished all my increases and I am ready to just knit, knit, knit. This is the really fun part. No shaping to keep track of so the knitting is easy. The only thing I have to decide is which yarn to use next and do I need to add something different. Oh yes, there's still time to shop for more variety. Maybe something with a little bling. Bling is always good. Anyway, enough about me. Let's talk about you.

How's your sweater coming along?

In my last blog I talked about how to select the right yarns from your stash and I left you all rummaging through your your Rubbermaid containers. Now that you have all of your materials at hand it is time to start knitting. I would suggest starting with your base yarn. This yarn is the one that will be used throughout your sweater and is usually a sturdy, relatively plain worsted weight yarn that will hold up to finishing around the neck. The other reason that I suggest starting with the base yarn is that it is perfect for checking gauge. So after you have worked a few inches of the pattern you should stop and check your gauge and make any necessary adjustments. If you need to adjust your needle size I would suggest checking your gauge again after a few more inches.

The next big step is trying it on for size. After I completed all the increases and put my sleeve stitches on a holder I was ready for a fitting. This requires knitting half the stitches onto a second needle so that you can easily fit the garment over your head without loosing stitches.
If you are satisfied with the fit then you are ready to knit, knit, knit. If not, better to make changes now than to give away the sweater later.

Now you're ready for the fun part. I know that this part will be hard for some of you. You will want to know how many rows of this and how many rows of that. What is the formula? Try not to be too obsessive. Try not to over plan. Try not to plan at all. Just know that in the end it is going to be beautiful and just enjoy the process.

I'll see you when the body of my sweater is complete. Until then, Happy Knitting!

P.S. Please don't leave all those tails til the end. Work them in as you go or better yet 'spit splice' when ever possible.