Monday, February 23, 2015

The Friendly Fair Isle Sweater





It's been a bit since I blogged, life has been so busy. I'm in dire need of an Olive Update because that little one is changing so much everyday! For now let's just start with an update on my latest knitting project from PurlBee, the friendly fair isle sweater. 






I felt inspired to do this sweater because I loved the pattern. It looked simple with just the right amount of flair (which is how I am dressing myself mostly these days, simple baggy sweaters.) The chunky yarn was also a big selling point because I felt like besides from being comfy and cozy, it wouldn't take me too long to knit (which is always a bonus) and then I could learn new things about knitting sweaters on a faster time table (you know Mothers only have so much time!) 







Look at how beautiful this sweater is inside out! If it wasn't for my visible weave ins I would wear it like this... I might just anyways! (Any tips on more beautiful weave-ins? That is something I should definitely work on.)



Thoughts/Notes on the Sweater

I used the Malabrigo Chunky yarn to make this sweater. It was soft, and hand dyed yarns are always very beautiful. I had a good experience working with it. The pattern calls to use 8 skeins of yarn. I made the medium size, knitted it very tightly, and I only used 6. However, I was very close to using 7 so maybe buy all the yarn and just return the ones that you don't use to be safe (I've learned all these lessons the hard way.) As I mentioned I have this habit of knitting things very tightly. It's a blessing and a curse. When it comes to weaving in colors, it's a curse. I knitted the bottom pattern a little too tightly for my liking, so be weary of that when you are working in your colors to keep it loose, some of this can be remedied when you block after the sweater is finished. Which brings me to my next note, blocking. 






   

If your sweater does not have the perfect fit that you would like, don't worry! There is always blocking. When I completed this sweater the length of the body and arms was a little too short for my liking, and as I mentioned earlier I felt the color stitched area pulled in a little too tightly. I could not remedy the latter problem as much as I would have wanted to, but I was able to make this sweater have the perfect fit for me. The result will also vary based on the material used (synthetic yarn is difficult to block,) but in most cases this should do the trick. Get your material soaking wet. Then ring out the material as much as possible. Roll up your material in a towel and stamp out all excess water (sorry no picture.) Then stretch out your material to desired width. Sometimes it helps to pin the material (especially if you are blocking before you sew.) In my case it didn't make much of a difference. Let the material dry, and there you go! Your perfect sweater! 
P.S. It also really helps to have a cute little blocking partner close by






If you disappear for 5 minutes, she will find you. :) 

Knitting clothes can often be stressful because you have to worry about the fit (trust me I've had my full share of it,) but I would say I think that to date this is the item of clothing I've been the most satisfied with; it didn't take too long, it wasn't too tricky or stressful, and it was such a pretty pattern. I would say that even a beginner could knit this sweater. Don't shy away from anything that helps you learn and grow. 

Happy Knitting!