Hello, how are you today? I’m so excited because it’s finally sweater weather in my locale. I love the time of year that I can bring out all my warm sweaters and scarves and wraps. All my knitted yumminess gets to be displayed. Are you excited about sweater weather? Do you love wrapping up in all your wonderful wooly creations?
A few years ago, I took the plunge and made my first sweater. I used a free pattern Flax by Tin Can Knits.
It was an adventure. It turned out well and wasn’t as hard as I expected. It was fun learning the construction of a sweater by knitting top down without having to sew pieces together. While the sweater turned out well, knitting it did make me realize that gauge is important for any fitted knit. The sweater is a little bigger than I needed but it is still cozy and warm.
I’ve made many sweaters since that first sweater and discovered that I prefer either top down or bottom up in the round sweaters. I am not good at sweaters that are made in separate pieces and sewn together. The first time I tried this method, my sweater was longer in the front than the back and the sleeves almost reached the ground. It was a sweater that was made with bulky yarn and overall, the look in the pattern pictures was great but was not practical for wearing. I’ve only tried that sweater on once since it was finished. Not sure if I have that somewhere or if I frogged it.
I now have a sweater collection of over 20 hand knit sweaters. Last time I counted, I was at 21 but haven’t checked in a few years. I have many that are stored in a plastic bin that I just don’t wear because I wasn’t happy with the fit. Others I’ve just forgotten about. I should really go through them again. There are so many styles and colors that it’s so much fun to make new sweaters every year. I do have some favorite designers such as Andrea Mowry and Caitlin Hunter. There are a lot more, but I love their designs.
Do you love sweater weather? Who are some of your favorite designers? What are some of your favorite patterns?