It’s done! It’s Finally Done! (insert maniacal laughter here)
After trying this sweater at much too small a gauge for my patience level, I ripped and restarted. The pattern is awesome and it creates such a flattering fit! Especially for a man, I think. The lines created by the ingenious shoulder saddle really accent a man’s arms and chest, in my opinion.
Pattern: Seamless Hybrid
Source: Knitting Without Tears by Elizabeth Zimmermann
Yarn: Cascade Eco + wool, just barely less than 3 skeins (~1400 yards)
Needles: Sizes 8 & 10US
Started Jan 26 and Finished Feb 22, 2008. The reason it took me as long as it did can be summed up in one word: Fear. I wasn’t entirely sure I could pull off a successful sweater without any hitches and so avoided knitting on it occasionally. (Yeah, that avoidance sure is a crazy thing) I’m so glad I decided to finish it, and even more happy that the hubby is happy with his new sweater. I may get adventurous later on and shorten the sleeves… This is the second time I’ve made the hub a sweater with arms that are too long… what does that mean?
I opted to use the same color for the hems rather than the contrast only because I’m cheap. Honestly. I adore how the hems look when a different color is used, but I didn’t have a suitably-gauged alternate color in my stash and didn’t want to spend $18 for one hank of the Eco+ just for the hems. Perhaps I shouldn’t have been so cheap, but the hubby is happy with the end product and that’s really all that matters, right?
The only complaint I have now that the hubby has tried this on after blocking is this: The front of the sweater is ‘pouching’ out in the front, rising up a bit instead of laying flat on the body. I’m not sure why this happened and it’s not a huge big deal, but it’s kinda irritating.
(I need to correct the little holes there in the neckline, as well)
I’m still chugging along on the Big Bad Baby Blanket and have also started a little gift knit for a friend’s daughter. With luck, I’ll have more FO posts in the coming weeks.
Oh, I almost forgot… Remember the Central Park Hoodie from last year? Well, I do… I love that sweater, but it always seemed to be falling off toward my back because of the weight of the hood, so I finally sewed a zipper in. It’s not seamstress-quality, but it’s not too bad and it certainly does the job!
Think I’ll have to bite the bullet and knit DH something like this. You’re right about the shaping. Perfect for the male shape.
Having made a few for myself as well, it’s nice for the feminine form, as well. In fact, the shoulder straps are very flattering on the shoulders, perfect for anyone with narrow shoulders or sloping shoulders, those poor souls who look silly in raglans.
Wow, your husband’s sweater came out great! I really want to try that Eco + someday, it looks so nice and I love the monster hanks. I also love the zipper in the CPH! I really want to make that one of these days!
Great job on the sweater Stacee. I’m gonna add this to my queue.
WOW! It looks fantastic!
what yarn are you using for the Central Park Hoodie?
Is nice.
Michelle
Wow! I like the saddle shoulder — I must get around to knitting one of those sometime! I think sometimes short rows help make the back longer so that it doesn’t pouch. You do a few extra rows around the back neckline so the back is higher than the front. You could try to block the back higher to keep it from pouching, if it really bothers you.
And you’ve got courage! I’ve been scared of sewing a zipper into knitwear (or anything else, for that matter) for years….
Saw this on Zimmermania – it looks fantastic! Great job on the zipper too!
That looks really wonderful. The yarn is perfect.
WOW! You GO GIRL! The sweater is BEAUTIFUL! And you figured out how to do the zipper! YAY!! Gorgeous sweater! Can’t wait to see more FOs!!
Central Park Hoodie!? I’m going to search your blog for pictures!!
Also, the pooching may be the yarn. Is it superwash? Yarn Harlot had some trouble with a wool sweater with superwash wool. It got worse when she got it wet. Just a thought.
BUT it looks awesome regardless! I love the look of the back shoulders!
Love a man in saddle shoulders. It is just so flattering! And ‘man blue’! He will wear it for years. Nice job.