Friday, July 28, 2006

Rowan Polar sweater

I finally finished finishing this sweater! Here it is in its unblocked glory:
Yarn: Rown Polar and Gedifa (?) novelty yarn
Guage: 3 stitches/inch
Needle: #10.5 and #10 Susan Bates circulars

I was commissioned to finish this sweater from the armpit up. I used a 2x1 rib on the shoulders to echo the ribbing at the bottom (folded under in pic) and give some visual interest.

The open-neck cowl is in a 3x2 rib with a contrasting ribbon yarn. A little trick: when you have reached where it should fold over, switch to a larger needle size to it will lay more fluidly (not as bunchy). There is already a natural asymmetry where it opens, but I did some short row shaping to emphasize the pointiness.

Which brings me to one of my favorite knitting techniques: short row shaping! I was able to indulge myself three times in this project -- shoulder seam shaping, cowl point, and.... bustline shaping!
Isn't that absolutely gorgeous! For you busty gals (I wouldn't know..lol), it means no more tummy exposure from a sweater riding up.

A fun project that is making its way to the original knitter!

2 comments:

Anonymous said...

I am always amazed when I see something like this. I already know that I will NEVER knit anything this nice - I think I'm too old to be starting a new hobby - a few scarves, yes, and maybe one day soon I'll finish the knit bag I have on my needles...

It's really beautiful, and I only kept reading after "busty gals" out of curiousity - not any real practical application to myself. :o)

Anonymous said...

looks to me you're a very good knitter. I've started my first sock ever and if 'the fun' carries on (4 needles... madness), I'll have to find myself a one-legged friend because I won't have the stamina to do the other one!

I'll stick to scarves. I like yours by the way.