Today's Yarn

For someone who's doing a craft series that requires her to make a bunch of sweaters, I sure do give into the strangest impulse purchases.

Yesterday I made a brief excursion to Ewe Knit - to show my friend! It was a public service expedition! - and, in the process of facilitating her next project, discovered this very sample:

Rondeur by RoxanneZYG

BTW, I finally figured out that Ravelry doesn't seem to want to interface with Blogger, which is why I can't link to specific Ravelry projects in this post. I have, however, favourited this on my Ravelry page.

The top-down, knit-in-the-round pattern is available on Knitty.com, for free but now that my link feature is messed up in this post, I can't give you a quick button to get there.

This photo doesn't show the sweater off to its best advantage. It's actually got fantastic shaping. Just the kind that highlights one's hourglass proportions. Check out the waist decreases. As it happens, I was able to measure this baby AND try it on. This photo shows the size 30 (aka small) and it fit well. Maybe even a bit loosely (though the silk-blend purple yarn used had more drape than the brand I bought to make it):

This is DK-weight Zara by Filatura di Crosa yarn, a superwash pure merino (am I incapable of leaving the treated yarns alone???) that feels lusciously soft but that knits up without too much drape. (I know, I touched a sample project made from it.) It's in cherry (colourway 1940), a kind of soft fuchsia that a) cheers me up and b) will look very sassy in a knitted t-shirt.

The plus of this free pattern is that it really doesn't take much yarn. The small calls for about 500 yards which amounted to 50 bucks-worth at my LYS. Very affordable, y'all who knit sweaters will concur. It doesn't get much cheaper than that. The reviews are very positive.

Note: the instructions advise that the sweater is designed for 0-3 inches of negative ease. That's high on drugs. I tried on the 30 (7ish inches of negative ease) and I wouldn't go any larger. Depending on how this knits up, I may add a couple of extra bust stitches under the armhole, just to give a bit more space for my chest, but I would swim in the 34. I'm starting to realize that knitters don't really work from the same premise of negative ease that sewists do.

So, I'm curious to know what you think of this sweater. Have you made it? Would you make it?

PS: I'm not forgetting the fingering-weight garment (last project of the GTS series). I've actually got the most exciting yarn ever to work with on this one. Mind you, that slim, slim wool is probably going to knit up on US2 needles and, even if it's a little sweater, it's gonna take some time. The Rondeur will probably knit on a size 4 needle - this seems to be the needle size I use for everything, regardless of what instructions recommend (it's the size at which I get gauge), and the yarn is easily 2x as bulky as the fingering. Point is, any potential challenges aside, the Rondeur will come together much more quickly than the fingering-weight sweater (to be chosen soon with all of your feedback). Can't say which I'll make first, whether responsible crafting will win out over the impulse project.

PPS: The next sewing project I intend to make - along with S, my fitting friend - will be another tailored suit jacket (different pattern, needless to say). I haven't written about this because it takes a kind of energy to plan and begin that I do not have right now. Just want you to be aware that there is substantial winter sewing in the cards, and lots to talk about as soon as I'm up to it. I don't want to run any risks of abandoning a project I'm too frazzled to take on. Also, I'm notoriously bad at managing my energy. I have to find some way to DO LESS right now and be ok with it. However, that doesn't mean we can't start to think about it in the abstract coming soon.