OhSewCrafty Blog

• Pattern: by Wendy Bernard, from Knitscene Fall 2008
• Yarn: Moda Dea Bamboo Wool (55/45 blend), color #3920 (Chili Pepper Red), 5.1 balls
• Size/Gauge: 34.75″ size at 5.0 spi on US 7’s, for bust=33″ (1″ neg ease)
• Time to knit: 2 weeks in September 2009

I knit this project from stash yarn, hooray!  However, I liked the yarn so much that I ordered some more to use for another project, so I’m not sure it counts.  (the yarn is discontinued and I scored some at 60% off) Whatever, I digress… 

So, it’s another one for the SKC 3rd quarter knitalong.  The pattern is fine, pretty simple and I had to do some rewriting to account for my row gauge (6.5 per inch vs 5.5).  So I did more rows to obtain the necessary raglan depth, and I distributed the raglan increase rows evenly.  My center cable also has more rows, to maintain the proportions.  I rewrote all the waist shaping to accommodate my body.  What I usually do, for these top down fitted sweaters, is draw a schematic of my body and work from there.  I made the sweater shorter, to avoid the tunic look.  The hem was annoyingly thick and the bottom of the cable flared out, so I frogged it and worked 1×1 ribbing instead.  There were many reports on Rav that the sleeves were tight, so I took a few measurements, did a little math, etc.  It worked out to be about 1 size larger for the sleeves.  To avoid the ruffles-crumpled-in-elbows look, I knit the stockinette portion to the bend of my elbow.  The neck trim and hem were completed with a tubular bind off for 1×1 rib, which was both functional (stretchy) and invisible.  Savannahchik has great directions.

The yarn came from Joann; it’s too bad that Moda Dea is discontinued.  Bamboo Wool is smooth and shiny with about 10 plies tightly twisted; it’s woolly enough for spit-splicing.  I love the fluid drape and saturated color, a dark red color with blue undertones (best represented in the last photo, below).  It had a nice feel while knitting, though I did need to file my nails a few times to avoid snagging the fabric. Plus, the yarn is made up in 80g balls, which means fantastic yardage.   This project didn’t require much anyway- less than 750 yds.  

I love this sweater!  The style is cool, perhaps a bit vintage, the color is festive, and the fit is great.  It’s perfect for fall.