Slinky ribs FO

It seems like this sweater took a long time, but I'm finally done! This is Slinky Ribs from Custom Knits. My yarn is the recommended Elsebeth Lavold Silky Wool.
I ditched my original idea of wearing it as reverse stockinette -- it looked good that way laying on a flat surface but not as good when worn.
I changed the lower ribbing pattern because I thought the V formation might provide a more slimming illusion for my mid-section. I used garter stitch for the bottom rows to prevent rolling. My neckline is done with purl stitches to roll inward. I did not bother with buttonholes -- I just sewed the buttons through all layers. I raised the neckline by almost 2 inches.
I really like the style and fit of this pullover. The biggest disappointment is that I'm stuck wearing a t-shirt under it because this yarn is just too scratchy. I raised the neckline just so that I could wear it standalone, but it's not going to happen. As a skein, the yarn felt okay against my skin. Oh well -- I'm hoping the short sleeves will prevent it from being too warm with the T-shirt underneath.

On the matter of the sleeves, I did not pick up stitches and knit from the armhole. I knit standard set-in sleeves and sewed them on. I'm not fond of the "afterhtought sleeves" technique in the book. I think that picking up stitches will result in sleeves that are too wide because you end up having to pick up enough stitches to cover the armhole. If you look at the schematic for this sweater's smallest size, the short sleeve circumference is 13.75", which is about 2" wider than I like for pullover sleeves. For the Lettuce Coat, I did pick up stitches for the sleeves but the pattern calls for smaller needles to keep the width smaller. The stitches at the top of the arm look a little stretched as a result.

First FO of 2009

Happy New Year, everyone! Here's my first finished object of 2009. It has survived about 1/2 day's wear with no problems. The pattern is the Lettuce Coat from Custom Knits by Wendy Bernard. The yarn is Filtes King Extra Stampato. My version is more a long sweater than a coat -- it's about 25" from shoulder to hem. I also did not do the I-cord on the cuffs with buttons -- I just seamed the cuffs. Buttons on the sleeve bottoms tend to get caught in stuff. My biggest customization was using a wide double-knit button band to solve my gaposis issue with front buttons. My last post talks more about the button band.
This yarn is really nice and soft when worn. It does split quite a bit, which made the brioche rib slow going. Also, because of the loose gauge, if a stitch or two accidentally slipped off the needle, things would quickly unravel and it was hard for me to fix the brioche stitch mishaps with a crochet hook. This resulted in more ripping back than I would have liked. Other than that, the sweater was pretty straightforward knitting. Regarding the sleeves, I picked the stitches up from the armholes as instructed in the pattern, but I knit them flat and seamed them. I really dislike small-diameter circular knitting and simple seams are easy for me.

Ingenue is finished!

The pattern is Ingenue from Custom Knits by Wendy Bernard. The yarn is Fibranatura Mermaid. My main customization is with the sleeve width. I cast on for the smallest size at 116 stitches, but divided them up into 20 stitches per sleeve and 38 for the front and back. This changes the sleeve to body size ratio and I end up with narrower sleeves. I find that loose upper sleeves on a pullover can make my upper body look saggy. Sagginess is not a good thing. I did 18 rounds of increases, but increased only on the body for the last round. The sleeves are tapered and not flared. My sweater is also a little longer -- I did 5 rounds each of decreases and increases and spread them out a little more. I'm thinking this will be a very wearable sweater.