Blue Sweater is Officially a FO

I loved this yarn when I saw it at the Knit and Crochet Show in Northern California a few years ago: Lisa Souza's Sock Merino and Kid Mohair. Lisa suggested that I knit the two yarns together for a sweater, which was a great idea. My friend Marissa bought the same yarn combo in a beautiful green. After the fact, we both wish we swapped colors, but now that I'm finished, I'm happy with the blue.

The pattern is the T Shirt Sweater from Ella Rae Book One:


T Shirt Pattern


Pattern Book

The pattern was easy. The front was fast to knit, but I made some adjustments. Of course, I never wrote the adjustments down, so when it came to knitting the back, I stopped at where I knew the adjustments began and stuffed the whole thing in a bag for "later."

Well, "later" turned out to be almost two years. I finally picked this back up again a few months ago and was determined to figure out what adjustments I made and to repeat them on the back.

This was the first sweater I had to seem together. (The two previous completed sweaters were top downs with no seems.)


Damp sweater waiting for blocking

Knitty.com helped a bunch with their articles on mattress stitch and shoulder seeming.

I also used blocking wires for the first time. While a total PITA to put the wires through the knitted fabric, the edges dried nice and straight, vs. the scalloped way they normally dry when just using pins.


Drying on the blocking board


Overall, I'm pleased with the results. The waist shaping is a little too high on my body vs. where my waist really starts to shape, but a little steaming might fix that.


Blue Sweater completed

Since I've started knitting, I've been on the lookout for the "perfect simple sweater" pattern that I would make a few times in different colors with various changes to neckline and sleeve and bottom stitches. This pattern is a good base for my perfect sweater. With a little reworking of the waist shaping, I'd definitely refer to it the next time I start a sweater.