Zimmermania

Tuesday, October 24, 2006

Finished Object- Handspun Wave Yoke Sweater

Some details:

handspun wave sweater

handspun wave sweater

handspun wave sweater

handspun wave sweater

*sheep-approved*

The Facts:

Yarn: about 3 oz. of superwash Merino two ply from Spincycle Yarns and about 11 oz. of handspun natural brown 2 ply mystery wool, both DK-ish weight
Pattern: Elizabeth Zimmermann's Seamless Yoke Sweater, as found in Knitting Without Tears, with waist shaping added
Wave Chart: Here you go.
Needles: Size 7 Addi Turbo for magic loop
Gauge: 4.75 sts. per inch
Size: 42" bust (2" of ease)
Started: Not including planning, about Sept. 20, 2006
Finished: October 19, 2006


Thoughts:

This was a simple pleasure to knit. All the fun is in the yarn. The colors in the blue yarn entertained me without pause, and the brown woolly stuff was a total tactile pleasure. It's not baby soft and it's not harsh. It's just right.

The pattern is is about as clean as they come. Cast on in blue, knit a row, then switch to brown and knit in tubes up to the armpits, join together, and decrease to the neck. I decreased pairs of stitches at each side for the waist, then increased at the same rate, resulting in the same stitch count as the beginning. After all the ends were woven in, I went back and picked up from the back of the cast-on edges for the hems in blue, switching back to brown for the final rows. I then tacked down each individual stitch to the inside of the sweater. This took an hour for the body hem, mainly due to the fact that the brown wool sticks to itself like crazy, but it's so stretchy and lovely and without ribbing that it's totally worth it.

Now I've got 2 more similar handspun sweaters brewing in my head. It's too comfy and toasty not to want a few more!

17 Comments:

  • This is so beautiful! I'm very impressed!

    By Blogger Jovilla, at 9:19 AM  

  • It's gorgeous.
    Someday I will knit my handspun instead of collecting it in bags. :)

    By Blogger Jessica, at 9:53 AM  

  • Rhinebeck sheep-approved pic is toooooo funny! Hope you've framed it!

    By Anonymous Anonymous, at 9:54 AM  

  • Absolutely lovely! I LOVE the blue/brown colors and the wave motiv!

    By Blogger Monika, at 10:21 AM  

  • simply beautiful! what an achievement!

    By Blogger spajonas, at 12:20 PM  

  • Simply beautiful. When do we see it being worn?

    By Blogger LornaJay, at 12:49 PM  

  • Thanks, everyone!

    Lornajay, click on the *sheep-approved* link in the post to see it on me. There's another photo here as well.

    By Anonymous Anonymous, at 12:52 PM  

  • That's very beautiful... such an inspiration. I'm doing my first handspun sweater with this project. Just need to finish one sock.

    By Blogger Madame Purl, at 12:59 PM  

  • So beautiful! I love, love, love the colors!

    By Anonymous Anonymous, at 10:06 PM  

  • Absolutely lovely!!

    By Blogger the daily purl, at 9:31 AM  

  • Gorgeous! Really beautiful work.

    By Blogger Sarah / Blue Garter, at 9:36 AM  

  • This is just so lovely! I am a spinner too, but I sure haven't made anything this pretty with my handspun...your pattern is great and Ijust may give it a try! Thanks for sharing. Kim in Ohio

    By Anonymous Anonymous, at 3:50 PM  

  • This IS a great pattern. I think that what you did with the waist is a great idea for today's style!
    ( And lovely wool, also!)
    Congrats!

    By Anonymous Anonymous, at 9:51 PM  

  • What a beautiful sweater! I am SO envious -- I just started spinning a couple of weeks ago and my "yarn" still looks like some sort of Rasta explosion. I hope that someday I might come close to making something as lovely as your sweater.

    By Anonymous Anonymous, at 5:40 AM  

  • I've never really liked yoke style sweaters but I may have to rethink some of my yarning in the future.

    By Blogger Indigo, at 7:33 AM  

  • I absolutely love it. The colors are perfect! (as well as your photos)

    Happy Knitting :)

    By Blogger hakucho, at 1:52 PM  

  • Beautiful! And an excellent spinning job too =)

    By Blogger Toni, at 7:05 PM  

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