As I should have known, blocking made a definite difference; the sweater is the proper size and the curves are much smoother. Still not quite as cute as on the original model, and the issues I note below still stand, but I’m much happier with it. Now that I'm done, I'm not completely thrilled. Cute as this sweater is on a slim, small-chested woman, it doesn't work as well on a rounder big-breasted one (at least, not this one ;-) ). Part of the problem is the proportions - and I should have thought about this before I knit it. Because the pattern uses percentages, I ended up with shoulders that were way too wide; the pattern assumes that my shoulders widen at the same rate as my chest, but my shoulders are not the same magnitude wider than the original model that my chest is. And the curve doesn’t lie as nicely over my wider hips. But I do like the sweater; it’s comfortable and warm, and I love the yarn (color and feel).

Lessons learned:

1. The pattern does not say this explicitly, but when you get your nipple-to-nipple measurement, you need to subtract the 4” mentioned for the border before calculating your stitches.
2. Because I’d screwed up #1 and had to frog completely, I altered the pattern to knit top down seamlessly. I started with a provisional cast on for the calculated back stitches and knit to the bottom of the armholes, then put the calculated # of shoulder stitches back on the needle and knit both fronts. Then I joined and knit down to where I wanted the curve to start (I determined this by figuring out how many rows I’d need for the curve, how long that would be, then adding 2” for the border; since I knew where I wanted the sweater to end, I just measured up from there to figure out where to start the curve). The curve was knit with decreases.
3. I’d tried knitting the curve without the slipped stitches, to make the picking up of stitches for the border easier, but that caused the curve to pucker some, so I left the slipped stitches in the 2nd time around.
4. If I was going to knit this again, I’d make the shoulders narrower, as if I was doing set in sleeves, and then increase at the bottom or the armhole.
5. Also if I was going to do this again, I’d probably knit it longer to help the curve lie smoother; because it hits me where my hip widens, it bunches a bit. It should block longer; I’m not sure if it’ll be long enough. But in this case, I wanted a shorter sweater, so I like the length, just not the curve.

I’m going to Camp Loopy!

May 27, 2012, 7:07am: Cast on!

May 27: It was a busy day at Camp Loopy - we started our camp with wine tasting in Yakima Valley, WA. We were on the road early, visited several wineries, and finished the day with a few beers at a local Yakima grill.

May 28: Our second day of camp was a travel day - we managed a few more wineries, but then it was bumper-to-bumper traffic and a very late night ride home, complete with ferry ride..

May 29: Can someone please pass the s’mores?

While perusing other projects, I found one that noted that in order for the cardigan to fit properly, you needed to subtract the 4” from the border from the measurement you take in order to calculate your stitch numbers. The pattern, unfortunately, never says that explicitly, and I failed to infer it. And I’ve already knit through all the increases. Hence the yarn balls and a beer.

So, since I had to frog the entire thing anyway, I’m making some modifications I thought about wanting to do as I was knitting. First, I’m going to reverse the pattern and knit it top down - I’ll cast on the back stitches with a provisional cast on and knit to the bottom of the armholes, then pick up the 2 fronts and knit them the same distance and join. For the curve, I’ll figure out where to start it based on my row gauge, and then will shape the curve with short rows instead of decreases.

May 30: Quiet day at Camp today; just went to the playground. All the kids at Camp were quite interested in my work.

Jun 1: Tennis Night at Camp Loopy went late - John Isner had another of his 5th set marathons, so I was able to get lots of knitting done.

Jun 3: Woohoo! It took longer than it did the first time around, but I’m finally back to where I was when I had to frog…yarn-usage-wise, since I’m now knitting top down. I’ve got the back and right front knit to the bottom of the armholes. The fronts go quick, since they’re so narrow.

Jun 5: Today, Camp Loopy went to the doctor! I almost didn’t take my project with me, although I was going to have a long wait, because I had work knitting to do. Well, getting seen 45 min after my scheduled appointment time meant I had time to camp! The nurse commented on my nice (low) blood pressure, despite my wait. Camp Loopy is good for your health!

Jun 7: Gymnastics day at Camp Loopy! Fortunately, my daughter does the gymnastics and I do the knitting. This is the first picture where you can get a good idea of my progress because you can actually see the armholes. I’ve reached the decreases for the curve in back - I’ve decided to keep it simple and do those instead of the short rows I’d been toying with.

Jun 8: First modeled shot! (Not very flattering, I’m afraid.) It’s hard to get a good idea of the shape of the sweater with none of the border added because of the fabric rolling, but I think the curve is going to look very good. Nice part of knitting top down - I’ve got the live stitches at the back of the neck, same as the original, but also the live stitches at the bottom, which means less stitches to pick up.

Jun 9: Massage day at Camp Loopy! I love being able to get into a relaxed state even before my massage by knitting in the quiet room. It always fascinates anyone else who’s there waiting, although they try to pretend they’re not staring.

Jun 17: It’s been a quite last week or so at camp, though I’ve been knitting, but last night I finished up while at the races (sorta)!