striped linen baby sweater
August 8, 2013
I am lucky as can be to have the most adorable nephew. This spring I was inspired to make something for him to wear. I was traveling in a hot climate, and the only yarn I wanted to work with was linen. This sweater design came up in my mind. The Striped Linen Baby Sweater pattern is available for sale on Ravelry.com through this link.
The construction is simple. The front and back are knit separately. This was done to give a little more structure to the sweater body. For this reason, I do love seams and well sewn mattress stitch.
The sleeves are picked up and knit from the body out. (There is less selvage at the armhole that way!) When I sewed the bottom of the sleeve to the shirt, I picked up as little material as possible to eliminate bulk.
The first time around I didn’t add buttonholes, but when we tried the sweater on several children, the neck seemed a little too loose.
The buttonholes give the neck opening a little more stability. The neck is also shaped using short rows. This creates a gentle curve. Linen tends to be sturdy and a little stiff. To keep the neck and sleeve edges flexible, I cast off using Elizabeth Zimmerman’s Sewn Casting-Off.
a silk sweater for cooler weather
May 7, 2012
I made this sweater thinking that I would be needing a simple sweater while visiting Thailand. The temperature has been so so hot! I have only used a sweater when traveling in cars, taxis, buses, airplanes, etc. So this sweater is finished, and will probably wait until I am in a slightly cooler climate to be worn.
But it turned out well! I adapted the pattern from a Jo Sharp cardigan that I like. I took out the waist shaping and added a garter border around the front, and ribbing on the bottom.
The yarn is beautiful Silken Straw, by Alchemy yarns. Each strand is made up of many tiny threads pressed together and dyed. When the garment is washed and blocked, the material softens, and takes on a beautiful drape. Each skein is hand dyed, and so there can be a bit of variation from skein to skein. To help balance the color, I kept changing the balls of yarn as I moved from piece to piece.
Also, I knit the back of the sweater using two skeins of yarn at the same time. One for the right side, and one for the left. This created a seam up the middle, and I liked the division of color. It was especially interesting in the upper back when the yarn began to pool in different ways.
teal sweater day nine
February 25, 2011
teal sweater day five
February 21, 2011
living in the woods and making stuff 