Monday, September 26, 2011

FO: Peterborough


This is Peterborough by Norah Gaughan. I love this sweater. It will be perfect for the cooler fall days. The front and back patterned band feels like I'm wearing a cozy long draped scarf around my neck. The yarn is Filtes King Extra Stampato, a very soft merino wool. I think the yarn has long been discontinued. My sleeves are short because I didn't have enough yarn. I knew from the start that I would be short on yarn so I made the sweater a few inches shorter than the pattern's length, figuring that I would have enough yarn to make 3/4 length sleeves. I underestimated how much yarn the front lacy cables required and still ended up short on yarn. Hence, my sleeves are just above the elbow. After the body of the sweater was finished, I had one ball of yarn left for each sleeve. I did a provisional cast-on for each sleeve, knitting about one inch before doing the cap, and then picked up the stitches and knit until I ran out of yarn.

I made the front panel cables mirror images of each other. I did not see that stated in the pattern instructions, but I think it looks better than way, especially since I am fastening the sweater at one central point. The symmetry also looks better in the back where bands join together. I omitted the waist ribbing. I think I prefer the look of one sleek sheet of stockinette. On the front bands, I slipped the first stitch. For the bottom ribbing, I just used the same needle size and cast on the same number of stitches as the body instead of doing a finer gauge with narrower ribbing. I was too lazy to do the latter.

7 comments:

Ellen Bloom said...

The cabling is FANTASTIC, Betty! It really looks good on you too. I like the 3/4 sleeves.

knitseashore said...

Wow! That is what they call a "statement" sweater, LOL. The cables and shaping really stand out and I love the way you've styled it. I agree that mirror images work best for patterns; I don't like it when things don't match up like that.

Anonymous said...

I actually like the shorter sleeves on petite figures. Maybe because with my short arms, I am always pushing up those sleeves. And it's a beautiful pattern. Looks like you will have a lot of fun wearing it.
Chloe

soknitpicky said...

I agree about making cables mirror images. Fantastic job! We like the same sweaters, but you actually get way more of them made, LOL!

gay said...

oh my gosh this is so beautiful!

Claudia Bugh said...

This is such a gorgeous sweater!!!! Love it layered ~ it really suits your style that way and I don't think it would have been as dramatic with typical long sleeves. It's much too nice to wear to walk the dog of course, but it sure would be a great sweater to wear with boots on a walk ~ enjoy :)

robin said...

I adore that! It's the first time I've seen that pattern too. It really looks great on you.