Yay for finished knitting projects!
This is the Aiken pullover from Andi Satterlund (aka my faaaavorite knit designer, to whom I should probably just establish a direct deposit of a portion of my paychecks, because, YES). Aiken is everything I love in a knit project – seamless, top down construction, knit in the round on worsted weight yarn, with just a little bit of lace to keep things interesting.
I knit the XS (size range goes up to 3X, whoop whoop), using my normal size 6 needles and this delightfully soft and squishy Debbie Bliss Rialto yarn (oh shit, I just realized this is 100% Merino and here I’ve been telling everyone who will listen that it’s Cashmerino… I’m a lying piece of shit, you guys. But really, it is SOFT). By the way, I LOVE these Debbie Bliss yarns. This is the second sweater I’ve knit up with ’em (the first one being my Cashmerino cowl neck sweater, well, I reckon there’s where I was assuming this one also involved cashmere, ha), and they’re just so lovely and soft with the most beautiful saturated colors.
The Debbie Bliss yarns are kind of expensive, though – around $10+ for a 100 yd skein (compared to Cascade 220, which I think I pay around $11 for a 220 yd skein at my local yarn store) (yes, I know it’s a little cheaper online, but I want to keep my LYS in business, thanks, bye). With that being said – my favorite yarn shop – Haus of Yarn – has an awesome sale at the end of every year where they mark a big chunk of the yarns at half off – and there’s always some Debbie Bliss lurking in the piles. So these skeins were $5 a pop, which made this sweater cost me a very affordable $30. Can’t beat that with a stick!
This pattern is relatively plain – the body and arms are plain stockinette, with 1×1 ribbing at the edges. The neckline is a very simple slash – it’s not finished with ribbing, so it has a soft roll, which I think is very pretty! And then there’s the lace inset, which is mirrored for both the front and back. As far as lace goes, this one is preeetty simple. It’s not super mindless lace like the Myrna – there’s a little more stitchcraft involved. I did have to unpick a couple of rows when I missed a yarn over and thus messed up my count, but it’s not so bad. The good news is that you start at the top, so you get the longest part done first and then progress to less lace knitting as you go down to the tip of the V. Then you combine the whole thing into a tube and knit in endless circles for the rest of the way.
THEN, because there’s no neckline finishing or button bands to contend with – you just block it and wear it! SO gratifying! OMG I love knitting pullovers!
My sweater is worn with about 1″-2″ of negative ease, which is why it’s a little more fitted than the version in Andi’s shop. The lacework surprisingly doesn’t dip as far as I thought it would – I’m not wearing anything under the sweater (well, I mean other than a bra haha), and there’s absolutely no danger of cleavage flashing. That being said, I don’t have much cleavage to begin with sooo that might also have a lot to do with it 🙂 I really like to way it looks with my polka dot trousers, though! I imagine it’ll also look pretty ace with a collared shirt underneath it. And it’s the perfect length for wearing with high-waisted skirts.
(not sure why I basically took the same picture twice. Deal with it?)
Love the back! ♥
It took me a little over 2 months to knit this – which is slow for me, but has also become my new normal, if that makes sense (gone are the days of my luxurious one hour knitting break at the office – I still have an hour to knit, yes, but I’m usually home and DAMMIT I’d rather sew! :)). It was a relatively easy knit, and I think would make a great first sweater pattern if you’re somewhat comfortable with knitting lace.
Full Ravelry notes are here.
That’s all, folks! Right now I’m working on my first pair of socks (I haven’t gotten to turning the heel yet, so I’m going to refrain from commenting on whether or not they’re easy until I get to that point! But so far, the cuff has been easy 🙂 HAHA) – but I’m still dreaming of sweaters! What should I knit next? Would love to do another pullover; I’m a little cardigan’d out at this point 🙂 Looking at Berwick, Ease, Cloudy Sunday (maybe lengthen those sleeves, tho), or Praline – what would you choose? Alternately – what’s on your needles right now?
(Psst! Not a knitter but want some handmade cardigans nonetheless? Don’t forget to enter the Jenna Cardi Giveaway for a chance to win an awesome cardigan sewing pattern PDF! Giveaway ends on Monday morning 😉 )
LLADYBIRD 