A Finished Object – “Simplest Sweater” Knitted Pattern

I finished this sweater in no time flat! Practically. And loved every minute of it.

PATTERN: Simplest Sweater on Ravelry.

YARN: 3 skeins of my Superwash Merino Wool in Worsted Weight, colorway Milky Way Galaxy. It might be sold out by the time you read this, but check back often as I list new colors every few days!

NEEDLES: US Size 10 for the body, US Size 9 for the sleeves.

MODIFICATIONS:

•I opted for 1×1 ribbing instead of letting the edges curl like the pattern called for. I don’t usually like that curled look, so just did a few rows of k1,p1 around. I’m learning also I prefer a twisted rib (where you knit into the back of the stitch to “twist” it and create a tighter ribbing..I don’t really like the look of the “big” ribbing I did on this sweater. It just feels a little chunky to me. Also, I wish I had gone down to smaller needles to do the ribbing… live and learn).

•Also, I ignored the pattern for the sleeves and just kept knitting, trying it on, knitting, trying it on, thus creating sleeves that fit perfectly.

NOTES: 

• The size I made was the 34, which was free. I think you have to purchase any other size. It’s currently just $1.99. I never mind paying for patterns because it provides money for the designers and lemme tell ya, designing is a LOT of work. Yeesh.

• This was a super quick knit. A beginner could totally do it and love it. It’s just stockinette stitch really with some increases. Not sure how to do the make ones the pattern calls for? Here’s a link that might help.

•This is knit from the top down, you take off some stitches for the sleeves, and then once finished with the body, you go back and pick up the sleeves one at a time and work those. Easy. A pretty standard top-down hand-knit sweater pattern.

•This yarn stretches upon blocking (wetting and pinning into place to dry) so keep that in mind. DO a gauge swatch first, BLOCK IT and make sure you know how many stitches per inch you get. This is so crucial, or you’ll end up with a sweater that’s the wrong size and all that work will be lost. Unless you have a big family and you’ve got somebody in every size. Then someone can wear it!

•I wore it Sunday and it’s already down into the 50’s here and my arms were cold. Yikes. I think I will start doing 7/8th sleeves instead of 3/4.

•I REALLY, really wish I had shaped the body more. My waist is my best feature and I just pretty much knit straight down instead of tapering it in. Boo. But I blocked it to stretch it out longer, and it looks okay.

All in all, the pattern is GREAT. I learned some things I’ll do for my next pullover, like the twisted ribbing for the edges, shape the waist more, etc. But I will wear this! And I LOVEEE the color.

You can see the extra fabric here, which bunches up if I don’t pull the sweater down:

OKAY! In other news… I am still a busy bee with wedding plans. It’s in a couple months, and I just realized today that a designer dress can take 4-6 months to arrive. YIKES! So much for that. I don’t have that kind of time.

But I was drooling over, gushing, gaping, gasping at eye-balling this dress (and yes, Tim has seen it already… I know that’s not traditional but I don’t care because he’s the fashion and photography expert and I know very little about this kind of thing and I’d rather he at least say yay or nay):

Is it not GORGEOUS!? I think so. It’s the Juliette dress by Maggie Sottero. DROOOOOL. At first I was going for a SUPER simple dress, as it’s going to be on the beach. But then I thought, why not get something gorgeous and sumptuous if that’s what I really want? So I’ll keep you updated.

I probably won’t end up getting this exact one, though, as I can’t seem to find it anywhere for IMMEDIATE purchase.

I am wanting to literally have everything done, planned, paid for, ready in 1 month. YAY! Sounds good anyways.

We’ll see how it goes.

But… I’ve also already contacted 10 different wedding planners in Hawaii, have almost decided that I want to be on the Big Island, but possibly Maui, and it’s probably going to be all white. Woo hoo! Maybe with some black if I CAN get this dress.

I just can’t thank you enough for the help and comments on my last blog post, crying out for help. It made ALLLL the difference, really!

My Next Project:

I’m nearly finished with my next project, the Shapely Boyfriend Cardigan by Stefanie Japel:

It just needs the ribbing worked around the collar and front and then I’ll do another post telling you all about it!

Okay, well, have a good one!  I hope you enjoy this day for all it has to offer. 😀

XOXOXO

Chandi