I finished knitting my “form” pullover and I love it! It is fantastic!
I love everything about this sweater. It is comfortable, wearable, light as a feather, RED, stylish, shapely, and, oh yes, RED! What is not to love?
The pattern, designed by Lori Versaci, is beautiful. I had some trouble at the start figuring out how to put together the neck bands (which I blogged about here). Lori very kindly responded to my email with a couple of photos, which helped explain the process. Once I got that sorted out, however, and got on my way, this sweater practically knitted itself. I am a pretty slow knitter, and this took me just under 4 weeks – and for two of those, I was practically catatonic with flu and didn’t manage to knit much at all.
The pattern has two length options and two sleeve length options. I choose the longer length and the longer sleeve length. I think the look is very 1960s. I have a collection of Vogue Knitting magazines from the 1960s and many of the sweaters had this kind of a feel to them.
The boat neck collar is one of the cool features of this sweater. Here is a peak at the shoulder:
Other things I love about this are the compound raglan sleeves which are perfectly formed; the armhole depth is perfect, allowing me to move comfortably and naturally and without feeling constricted. The sleeves are roomy but in a way which I think looks chic rather than loose. The A-line shaping in the body is lovely; and the positioning of the increases makes it drape so nicely. Really, I love everything about this pullover.
I don’t have a lot of detail shots, because I am recovering from a bad flu; I gave Doug just 5 minutes to take some photos before I came back inside and collapsed by the fire. It is, however, lovely in every way. (It is also unblocked! And I don’t think it needs any blocking.)
I followed the pattern, EXACTLY, except for two small details: I used German short rows, and I did not do the tubular cast-on or cast-off. I used my standard, every day cast-on and cast-off. Why? Three reasons:
- I am lazy.
- I didn’t think it would really matter much given the mohair which makes for a fuzzy edge in any case.
- I am lazy.
I knit this holding two strands of yarn together. The first is Isager Spinni, a light fingeringweight 100% wool in Red, and the second is Shibui Silk Cloud, a laceweight mohair and silk blend in the colour Tango. I used less than 3.5 skeins of each, which means the whole sweater weighs about 270 grams. Like wearing a cloud!
I knit it with a US7 needle, which resulted in a gauge of 21×30. The pattern calls for 20×32. Lori has two samples on the pattern page – one is knit with 4″ of positive ease and the other with no ease. I was hoping for something in the middle, around 2″ of ease. I could knit a size 42, giving me 1/2″ of ease, or a 46, giving me 4 1/2″ inches. Given that my gauge was a bit off, I knit the size 46 and ended up with 44″ across the chest, a perfect 2 1/2″ of ease.
Because I am sick, I haven’t taken the time to dress it up for the photos, but this will be a fantastic work garment, and will also dress up nicely. (The best I could manage today was a pop of red lipstick and a fantastic coat!)
It has been a long time since I have knit the same sweater twice, but I am already dreaming of another “form”!