This is the Sigma Tee from summer Knitscene 2011. I used Elsebeth Lavold Hempathy, which is one of my favorite yarns for summer tops. It's very durable and comfortable in warmer weather. I wanted to add some interest to the body of the sweater so I did two rows of dropped double yarn-overs near the hem. The dropped stitch effect is not the same look as the opening from the dropped stitches at the raglan, but I liked the idea of a similar look that adds to the casual style of the sweater.
The neckline finishing is a double layer ribbed section that folds in on the inside and is sewed down at the neckline. That wasn't the original plan. I originally wanted some sort of ribbed collar that folds outward and flares out some, sort of like a narrow mini cowl neckline, but that just wasn't working so I turned the extra fabric to the inside and sewed it down.
This pattern had been in my queue for a while, and I liked it because of those raglan dropped stitches. However, after knitting it, those dropped stitches were a big problem because they caused the raglan area to stretch and grow. It was fine when I first tried on the sweater, but as time went on and the dropped stitches "settled", the underarm upper bust area got bigger and saggier and the sweater gave this look of ginormous bags hanging from my armpits. Not attractive at all. My theory is that the dropped stitches are loose and don't give any body to that area of the sweater. It might have been better with a woolen yarn, but it doesn't work with the plant fiber yarns that can stretch a garment even in the best of circumstances. I tried several fixes and the final solution was to use a crochet hook to add a series of slip stitches all along the purl bumps on the inside to all the stitches that are just outside of the dropped stitches. This tightened everything up and also prevents any further stretching. It's not perfect, but the underarm bags are much smaller andI think they look worse in the photos than in person.
The rest of the sweater has a slightly loose fit that drapes well. Let's hope the raglan area stays put so that I can get some wear out it!
