It was Aran Pullover for me

I saw Katrin's crossed front pullover last year. I love the color, the design, and the whole thing. I had to knit one myself. She kindly purchased a copy of the magazine for me. With Babel Fish as my guide, I tackled this German pattern. As I was not sure if I can wear a green funky top, I started knitting one in my usual color. Things were going rather well for a while and I finished it as well.



This short aran pullover with crossed front bands was knitted with Knit Picks' Andean Silk, and it was meant for me. However, it became quite obvious it was going to be too small for me. I could have ripped the whole thing and re-knit it for a larger size, but I opted to finish as was. I have two DDs and figured one of them can wear it now or later. So, here it is on my DD1. She looks pretty good in it.




I really liked knitting with Andean Silk. It is not rough against the skin and DDs agreed that they have no trouble wearing on their bare skin. Something I need to remember for future projects.

Now that I know how bands and the side panels fit, I began knitting for mine. I ordered a heavier yarn. This time, I am using WEBS’ Sugarloaf. I love this yarn! Springy and spongy texture and feel very soft. Another yarns kids would not mind. Being the second version, I did change the pattern here and there. Instead of casting off reverse stockinet stitches along the back neckline, I added 1 by 1 ribbing before casting off.



Two more sleeves to go!

Something New

To me, that is. Through a Japanese blogger, I learned of an exhibit by Britt-Marie Christoffersson held in Tokyo. Here are some more photos posted by another blogger. Looks so much fun to knit those fabrics. I am very envious of those who took classes.

ps. From the second link above, I learned that the instruction material used in the class is available. It is rather expensive, though.

Cardigan for Father

I had this idea of knitting a cardigan for my father for his 50th anniversary when I was knitting Mother’s shawl and saw this Rowan book for men. Martin Storey’s Reverse Stripe Sweater got my attention. I love stripes but never tried reverse stripes. Using Rowan Felted Tweed in this pattern makes even more interesting fabric. The only problem is Father hates pullovers as they mess up his hair, and he does not wear brown colors. I bought Midnight and several other colors of FT and started knitting samples for him to choose from. Father likes navy blue as I remembered. Together with Midnight, I decided on Treacle as the secondary main color. For the accent I chose dark red, mustard, and orange and let him select one. The color sequence was adjusted slightly so that the accent color is between dark brown Treacle, instead of Midnight. The sample I made is shown below in the order from the left. In case he misunderstand that the purl side is the wrong side, I sewed the samples on a piece of paper, and mailed them off to Japan.



According to my sister who watched my father made the decision, the orange one was out immediately. He was unsure between the remaining two, but the notion that ‘red’ is for young people got the better of him and he decided on mustard yellow. Personally, I would have enjoyed knitting orange version best.

Knitting this cardigan went rather smoothly. First the back and then I moved onto sleeves. Once they were finished, I assembled pieces and tried it on my DH to determine the location of the V-neck. Remembering that Father has a bit of belly, I added two to three inches extra to the front.




One detail shot of front bands.



I use back buttons on knitted cardigans in order to prevent over stretching of the fabric under buttons. Also, note the locations of buttons relative to holes. Do you notice that they are not right in the middle of the hole? They are almost at the top of the holes. When placed in the middle, the left front tends to hang lower than the right as the left front slides down until it is supported by buttons. In a sewing book, you learn how buttons and button holes are positioned relative to each other, and that’s how I know.