Sugar Plum Pullover

Presenting my first finished sweater of 2006. I call it the Sugar Plum Pullover. Vogue Knitting Fall '02 creatively named it "Number 25". Designed by Adrienne Vittadini.

Details:

Yarn: Cotton-Ease color Sugar Plum. Less than 5 skeins.

Knit using #5 Bryspun circulars (2 different lengths, both of which broke at the join during the knitting of this sweater.) Switched to addi's when the Bryspuns broke, and used bamboo dpns for the sleeves.

Changes: I knit it in the round, instead of knitting the separate pieces flat and sewing them together. It went a lot faster this way, but if I were to do it again, I would knit it flat, for 2 reasons. First, the decreases were complicated at the yoke, and if I were just concentrating on one piece at a time, it would have been easier to keep track of the decreases. Second, I think the seams in a cotton garment give it structure, and would help keep it from stretching and growing. This sweater fits well now, so I don't know yet what a lot of wearing will do to the stretch factor.

I also changed the cable, as you read in my last post.




















I love the hem detail, and will use this again for sure. All the hems directions I have seen so far include a purled turning row. It makes a little line at the bottom of the hem, which I don't always care for. This is a tiny 5 row hem, with no turning row. I believe the pattern instructed you to sew the hem up afterward, but I knitted it like this:

Cast on with waste yarn. It helps if you use a thinner, smooth yarn. Knit a few rows. Change to your sweater yarn. Knit five rows. Carefully unpick the waste yarn and put those first row live stitches onto a different needle. Knit the next row by knitting 2 together, all the way around, one stitch from the first row and one stitch from your current row needle.

That K2T row is a little tedious, but it makes a perfect hem, and no extra sewing up later. When you have done this, you can knit away, and your hem is done! With the sewing, you have to be careful to get one stitch per one stitch, and make sure you stay in the same row, so your hem will be even. The knit way, it automatically matches the stitches up perfectly, so your hem is perfect.















*Thank you Melody, for taking the pictures!