Thursday, November 3, 2022

Erin's Day Dreams Sweater

I had planned to knit an Erin Cardigan from Vintage Modern Knits, but I just could not work up enough interest in the design. That was especially troubling since I had bought the specific yarn required by the pattern, a blend of wool, cotton, linen, flax and soy silk from one of my favorite yarn companies, The Fibre Company, in one of favorite shades of my favorite color, green. I have knit a sweater from the book before and thus was familiar with the lovely cable patterns. Maybe too familar and thus disinterested? Then I remembered that I have long wanted to knit a Day Dreams sweater from an old issue of Cast On. It is knit in green dk weight cotton. Erin is knit in a sport weight. Combining the two patterns, with the challenges entailed, increased my interest enough to result in a cast on on New Year's Day.

Although it would have fit better in the small size, the medium was a safer choice, with the loose slouchy look that is more on trend. However, the design of the small size, featuring ribbing around the armholes, was much nicer than the additional cables the larger sizes required. To achieve a similar look in the medium size, I changed the cable pattern, keeping the double ribs and adding two more ribs by decreasing the cable away. Four ribs total was probably too many, or maybe the loose fabric around the arms is due to the yarn. The general rule is that an oversize sweater needs tighter sleeves. Since I did not modify the armholes and the sleeves to allow for that, this sweater has both oversize sleeves and oversize body. The sleeves could be shorter, the body longer. Since there's a skein of yarn left over, I can change that. But I am happy with it, glad it is a pullover, glad the cotton content makes it a comfortable fall wear. The color is nice, the cables of the Erin design and the Day Dream design work well together.
I am wearing it with one of the fold-over waist skirts I made last winter. I blogged this skirt design earlier, minus the following details. The skirt used 1 yard of Robert Kaufman cotton fleece in cedar (deep green). That fabric came from The Confident Stitch in Montana, for $12. Although it is listed as french terry fleece, it is more fleece than terry. Combined with 3/4 yard of olive green ribbed knit from Hobby Lobby. It did not take the full 3/4 yard--some of the ribbed knit was used for pocket fronts for another skirt. The ribbed knit is like all the other from HL, in poly, total $4. The drawstring is some cute cotton twill tape with bees on it from Hobby Lobby. It is a great skirt for the cooling Fall weather.

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