Introducing: Layout

Ok, so I am not a super-model, ready for the runway in Paris, but I do love my new sweater and had a great photographer {the fabulous Emma} to help me take some pictures of my latest finished project.

Hard to believe that this all started out as a string! And, since I picked a light weight yarn, I thought it would take forever to knit up, but {luckily} it didn't. The only reason I didn't finish earlier is that I had a present to make for a certain birthday girl {pics coming soon}.

I loved the natural colors of the yarn. I really could wear this with anything.

The front and the back have the same shaping at the collar {which I love}.

I wasn't too sure about the size of the sweater right up until I did the gathering. The sweater seemed crazy big and I was worried that I'd have to take it down and redo the top. Once gathered, it fit beautifully.

The collar was made separate as a straight strip and I don't know how the designers made it curve so nicely but I had to force the curve on my collar by crocheting several rows together when I needed the bend. I still got a little pucker, but it is much better than the collar not even laying down at all.

I have always loved how hand-knitted sweaters have such nice lines when the decreases are done. I don't know why the machine knit sweaters don't do the same, it isn't hard and I can't imagine that the machines can't do the nice details. But, I guess that is what you get when you buy vs. making it yourself: the little details.

When I went to crochet the edges, I held the wrong side forward. The straps had a tendency to curl up {even after blocking} and crocheting the edges from the right side only strenghtened the curling tendency. By crocheting on the wrong side, it counter-balenced the natural tendency to curl and really helped flatten out the straps.

I really wished I had used a provential cast on so that I could have joined this more seamlessly. But, I'll never see this while I'm wearing it.

I did try to sew it together as seemlessly as possible, trying a purl version of Kitchener Stitch to sew the start to the end of the collar.

It really didn't take as long as you would think to weave in all those loose ends.

You can see that I used a traveling jogless stripes to change colors. It really is amazing how it works, almost completely seemlessly. But next time, I will be keeping changes of color underneath the arm and starting over every 10 or so changes of color instead of letting it travel across the back because I could still see the slight disturbance in the knitting tension {and, yes, that bothered me}.

I love the inside too, how the color changes and intertwines itself with the previous color. And when you've got color changes every row, the purl side is even prettier.

And the best part about the light-weight yarn that I used...

...is that I can actually wear a little cardigan over it and not die from heat stroke. Not that I would wear the cardigan while walking outside, mind you {that is just crazy talk}. It would be much better to wear the cardigan inside the air conditioned office/home and take it off when risking the heat and bearing the brunt of the sun just to get to the car or store or wherever. But, the point is {yes, there was a point} that the sport-weight yarn gives you have possibilities.

This was the first pattern that I've ever substituted a lighter weight yarn. It was a perfect pattern for it, since there wasn't much shaping {and I added the shaping at the waist} and so there wasn't that much math. And I can't emphasize how much I love being able to use the lighter yarns.

If your sister is in a tearing hurry to go out and cannot catch your eye, she's wearing your best sweater.
~ Pam Brown