Sunday 16 February 2014

Knitting: A Cropped Sweater for Winter

I finished another sweater! (No, I didn't make the skirt.)



Pattern: Andi Satterlund's cropped sweater for winter (which is a free pattern!)

Size: I knitted with 5 mm needles size XS for the bust and size S for the waist. To get size S at the waist, I just did less decreases. The sleeves are also size S - here I picked up a few more stitches.

Yarn: Cascade Yarns Cascade 220 in mystic purple and rose.

Ignore my bad posture...
Construction: The pattern is really straight forward and thanks to the many photographs easy to follow. I only had problems with the scalloping - I actually had to unravel it three times! It was my first time knitting with two colors and after my first attempt, the scalloped part was too tight and I had problems getting the sweater over my bust. On my second try, the tension was alright, but I had made a mistake when knitting the scallops. So I frogged again. Finally, my third attempt turned out perfect :)


Another difficult part for me were the sleeves! The armscye is shaped with short rows and when knitting the first sleeve I somehow miscounted the stitches. I ended up having only half of the required rows - I noticed it only when knitting the second sleeve. So, if you have an eagle eye, you will see that one of my sleeves sits much better on the shoulders than the other. I am only saying that to you :) I am not going to point anybody else towards it! I wet blocked the sweater, which enormously improved the fit of the scallops.

I do have a question though: Do I have to block a wool sweater every time I washed it? Or is it fine, when I just dry it flat?

Scallops! The ribbing looks also much nicer after the blocking!




Do I like it? Wrong question! I absolutely love it!!! The colors are my favorite ones. And the fit is just perfect :) The sweater goes perfectly with high-waisted skirts and even fits over my Hawthorn Shirtdress!

Have I worn it yet? I have! I wore it to work, but nobody noticed. I was a tiny bit disappointed :P But Lescha said it is actually a compliment because the jumper does not look home made :) Yeah, such a nice guy!

Ribbed neckline.


What's next? Winter is not over yet and I am still in knitting mood. I think I need another cardigan to go with my dresses. Next on my project list is the Agatha sweater, also a pattern from Andi - I just love her designs. I have the pattern already and was a bit shocked. I wanted to challenge myself and that's why I went for a lace pattern. But seeing the pattern, I am a bit scared! I will get the wool for my birthday (which is beginning of March).

Another question: The wool will be Cascade yarns. I am getting it in yellow. But I still have some red one at home from my owl sweater. Can I use the the red wool to make a swatch, or is it better to wait for the yellow one that I am actually going to use? I just thought they might behave differently because of bleaching or dyeing? 

What is she doing? I am holding the washing line out of the way :)

17 comments:

  1. This is gorgeous Ela! You are really running away with your knitting at the moment :) It's such a great fit, and those scallops are gorgeous!

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    1. Thanks, Kelly! I have deeply fallen in love with knitting that's why I can't stop :)

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  2. This is so cute! I love it, I'm going to go and check that pattern out right now.

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    1. Thank you :) The pattern is amazing. I only can recommend it! It is a really quick knit because it is a cropped sweater, yeah.

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    2. Quick knits are always good! I wanted to let you know that I've nominated you for a Liebster Award :) http://www.teaandrainbows.com/2014/02/liebster-award.html

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  3. This is perfect! It fits you so well! i can't believe you finished another sweater already... :)

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    1. Thanks Charlie! I think the cold winter is motivating me to knit quickly :P

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  4. That's so cute! You look adorable in your new sweater!

    When you swatch for your new sweater, I would swatch with the yellow yarn. I say this only because I've experienced using different colors of the same yarn and getting different gauges. The bleaching and dying can have an effect, much more than you'd think sometimes!

    Also, when you wash this one, you can just dry it flat, but sort of push it into the shape and size you want it to be as you lay it out :-)

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    1. Thank you Gail! I was actually hoping that you would answer my questions :) (Maybe I can drop you an e-mail next time) Thanks so much! Then I will be patient and wait for the new yarn to arrive! Hm, only two weeks to go! And thanks for the tip with how to treat the sweater after washing. I will try to get one of these dry nets for wool jumpers to dry it on :)

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  5. You're doing well with your knitting at the moment! This is lovely - I liked the pattern when it was released and I like it more now I've seen your version, the colours work well and really suit you. I've got a couple of Andi's patterns on my to-knit list but I need to finish a cardigan that I've been working on for aaaaaages first!

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    1. I enjoy knitting a lot at the moment :) I love the outcomes and it just keeps me motivated. Good luck and loads of motivation for finishing your cardigan! It will be worth it! And might go perfectly with all the dresses you made :)

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  6. I love the scallops, and the fitted waist! Great job! :)

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  7. This is gorgeous, the fit is amazing. Well done for sticking with the scallops, frogging is always frustrating. I agree with Gail re washing this and swatching Agatha - I think this pattern is in my queue!

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    1. Thank you Lynne. Yes the frogging was awful. It actually took me almost two weeks to do it :( But then luckily a friend came around for knitting night :) and she motivated me and had to hear all my swearing ;)

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