It fits!

Daelyn is finally dry after nearly a week on the racks.  

I haven’t been home much this week so the heater hasn’t been on a lot, and this combined with the cold front Melbourne has been experiencing meant it was a slower blocking process than normal but worth it.

The alpaca/wool blend has behaved itself beautifully, and I’m pleased to report my calculations and mods have worked just as anticipated.   The sleeves are possibly still a little short, but I want to wear it for a day to see if they grow with wear (thanks to Casual Corporate Friday, I was able to wear it to work today so this will be a good test!).  It’s an easy fix if they do need a little extra length, as they are knit top-down and I have about a ¼ of a skein left over.  Actually, I have 1 and ¼ skeins left over.  I can’t believe I managed to get this whole jumper out of less than 4 skeins of the Berroco Ultra Alpaca worsted? 

As a design, this jumper is a bit over-sized for a lovely slouchy fit and carries a little longer length than I normally choose.  I knit the M2 size, which has a finished bust measurement of 41” and gives me 3” of positive ease. Although there’s ease in the chest, there is some very clever use of short rows shaping on the neckline and raglan shaping that ensure the shoulders fit beautifully.  Short rows are also used again at the hem to accommodate the different row gauge of the garter stitch detail on the back which is a clever touch.

Isabell Kraemer is a favourite designer of mine.  She has a simple aesthetic but often adds subtle textural details or clever construction elements that really make her patterns very wearable and stylish. 

The yarn is lovely and soft against the skin and I’m still in love with the colour and texture of it.  I’m wearing it with just a singlet underneath today and not only am I toasty warm, there’s no prickly or irritation.  I love woolly wool, but I am prone to eczema and often find straight wool too prickly to wear next to skin.  I wear it, but I have to make sure there’s cotton layer in-between me and it and sometimes in a worsted weight jumper that’s a bit too warm so this was a welcome discovery this morning as I dressed for work.

This is just a quick lot of photos from my lunch break today, but I'll try to do a proper photoshoot on the weekend so I can show you some of the lovely details of this pattern.  I'm still trying to capture the colour, as you can see.  I will get there, I swear. 

So overall, I’m calling this project a totally success.  Now to plan my next sweater…