Project MIL: Pattern Notes

Me and my fabulous MIL reunited with her favorite sweater.

Project MIL
MindofWinter Reconstruction,
Knit with (barely) eight skeins (98 yards/skein) of Rowan All Season's Cotton (60% Cotton/40% Acrylic) in color 178 "Organic", on Marnie's "Little Knitter" and by hand on size US7 Addi Turbo Circulars.
Gauge: 16 sts and 24 rows per 4 inches.
Size: 41" chest and 20.5" length in final finished garnment.

The Pattern
This sweater is a reconstruction that I worked up the pattern for over Christmas, based on my MIL's favorite sweater. I lucked out, because the sweater was in a large gauge for a machine knit, in a fabric that had the same fiber content and characteristics as Rowan All Season's Cotton. There are many commercial sweaters out there that are beautiful but hard to reproduce. This isn't one of them. It has some very pretty details and some clever shaping, but all of these features are readily apparent, so re-creating them wasn't difficult. I could have very easily knit the entire piece by hand (it probably would have been faster in this case!), but I planned to make it for my MIL many times, and I also wanted a fairly straight-forward pattern to use to try out Marnie's knitting machine, so instead I did about 50% of the work by hand and the other 50% by machine.

The original sweater, laid out for planning at Christmas.

The reconstruction, slightly different, but the fit is true.

This was my very first machine-knitting project, and it went really, really well until I decided that the short rows the machine created looked like poo and ripped out the front and back pieces. In itself, this would not have been such an ordeal, but because I only came to my decision after binding off, seaming and crocheting the edges, it was a bit of work. I reworked the pieces with decreases instead of short rows, but my machine tension still wasn't great from about the neckline up, so ultimately I decided to handknit the tops of both pieces.

When we left for Hawaii, I had all of the pieces in a bag with the sleeves bound off, and the partial front and partial back secured with waste yarn. I was somewhat nervous about finishing, because I wasn't absolutely sure I could match the machine's gauge, and I was afraid that the handknit section would look wonky. It is one thing to do a ribbing edge by hand and a stockinette body by machine, and it is another entirely to switch between the two in the middle of a long plane of stockinette. Blessedly, it all worked out, most likely due to my inexperience on the machine and my experience with handknitting. I am still shocked that this little manuever worked.

The original sleeve with full fashioning.I was able to finish the body pieces, bind off, seam, crochet the edges and steam the piece in time to present it to my MIL on our last day in Hawaii. She was thrilled and showed the sweater to anyone and everyone who might be remotely interested, and insisted on wearing it to dinner with her new necklace - also a beloved possession. If she had been a knitter herself she could not have done a better job of making me feel appreciated and making every single bit of the effort that I put into that sweater worthwhile, and I love her for that. So much so, in fact, that I would still be willing to make five more of these sweaters (as promised) if that was what she most wanted. I think she would still like to have a few more and I am sure that I will produce a few in varying colors here and there for birthdays, but what she really wants next is a River Stole. I think you know what I'll be knitting for Christmas.

Techniques:
This sweater incorporated many interesting shaping and full-fashioning details. I used the shaping for the shoulders, which included increases to broaden them for a swimmer's form. I intended to use the full-fashioning as well, but because you see the wrong side on the knitting machine, I kinda goofed up, so the fashioning is not as exciting as in the original. The big technique that I used was a single crochet border (something I've done often), done in a 2:3 ratio (two crochet loops for every three knit stitches) (something I've never done before). It was pretty cool to have it work out, and the result is nice. It pulls the knit in a little to give a bit of puff to the edges.

The reconstructed sleeve
with a little less fashioning.Finishing:
I would have loved to have had the luxury (time) to wet-block this piece, but with the constraints I was working under, I had to resort to steaming it. I had the foresight to bring along a little $15 hand-held steamer that I got at walgreens years ago, and it did the trick. I hung Project MIL on a hanger on the door of the closet in our cabin and let the steamer get to the point where it was really bubbling along, and then I steamed the sweater very meticulously and slowly, letting the steam seep into every inch of the fabric before moving on. It definitely removed any wrinkles and evened out the stitching, although a wet-blocking would have given a more professional result. If you need to resort to steaming, even with a cheapy steamer, know that it can be done.

Impressions of Rowan's All Season's Cotton:
Rowan All Season's Cotton is a yarn that I return to again and again and again. It's not a yarn that makes me go crazy with need when I see it on the shelf - it's more of a standard, like Karabella Aurora 8 or Rowan Wool Cotton. This isn't the prized yarn that sits in my stash unused because it's beautiful but doesn't go with anything. It's the yarn that goes with everything that I purchase in bulk when I have a design idea. Two of the four things I made with it are original designs, and a third is a reconstruction which required designing. It's a perfect blank canvas that will wear well, drape well, and give great stitch definition.

Possible substitute yarns:
There isn't an adequate substitute for All Season's Cotton in my book. This is one of my favorite yarns. You could use GGH Samoa, but it just isn't quite as nice.