OK, I did it. On Friday night I did my gauge swatch and consulted my needle stash and made a pattern decision. And on Saturday I cast on. I’m not going to give you a play-by-play or anything, don’t worry, but for those interested here’s what I’ve embarked on.
I only want the very most basic raglan pullover, and I could improvise this from what I learned in Barry Klein’s class, but the one thing we didn’t really get into was neck shaping. I also have Barbara Walker’s classic (awesome) book, “Knitting from the Top,” which I could also go by, but it is 100% theory. And for my first real sweater, I feel like just following a pattern. So I’m going with Jane Richmond’s Classic Raglan Pullover and trying not to divert from it. I want to knit it as written once — adjusting at each step for my desired measurements — and see how it turns out. The pattern is written in a fill-in-the-blanks style, with a measurements chart you consult to get the right stitch/repeat counts. It’s beautifully straightforward — I’d be comfortable with this even if I hadn’t taken that class, etc. So it should be good. It will likely take me an eternity, but it should be good.
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p.s. The yarn is Malabrigo Rios, in Aguas. This is my first time working with Rios and it’s at least as wonderful as the other Malabrigos I’ve worked with. (Which would be Worsted, Chunky and Twist.)
I, for one, would love a play-by-play.
I promise updates at milestones and such.
I love Mal Rios! :)
I’m hoping it wears well — doesn’t start to pill and fade right away or anything. Does it have a nice lifespan?
I have only knit gifts with it so far, so I don’t know about that. I do have a little cardigan in progress for my two year old, though, so we will see how that goes. :)
I have yet to try a top-down project, but it’s on my list. I love the color of your yarn! In fact I have a in-progress short jacket that uses a yarn of a similar color and seeing your photo is inspiring me to go pick up that project!
I’m really choosy about variegated yarns and their use, but I can’t seem to resist a good murky blue-green. This one turns out to have a lot of violet to it, which I didn’t pick up on at all when it was in hanks. But I like the way it’s looking. What’s the jacket you’re working on?
Filati Magazine #39, Model #31 – called the T-Shaped Jacket. It uses a drop stitch pattern and is very simple. I will be perfect for the current weather so I hope to make progress this weekend. I’ll post some pictures if I do! Cheryl
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I’d love to see, Cheryl Marie — I don’t know Filati so will have to Google that.