The First Sweater

After reading through Jacqueline Fee’s “The Sweater Workshop,” I decided it was time to take the plunge and actually knit a sweater. Sometimes I feel like such a beginner in this craft, but more on that later. Because I wanted to tackle a few “firsts” with this first sweater, it’s also the first cable work and the first dyeing that I’ve ever done – and the first sweater of my own design! It’s also marks the first ball I’ve ever wound with a swift and ball-winder. I love winding balls from hanks. 🙂

There’s only one cable up the front. Simple, elegant. There’s a hem at the bottom of the body, and the sleeves will have very long ribbing and then plain stockinette up to the underarm. The construction is raglan sleeves knit in the round, so it’s miles of stockinette stitch. I’ve heard some people speak out against the stockinette stitch sweater. They say it’s boring. I’m not bothered by it. I guess this is my visiting with friends or watching EastEnders project. Besides, the repetitive motion of the knit stitch feels so good.

The yarn is KnitPicks Bare Merino Wool yarn in a DK weight. DK = more stockinette! I like the yarn. It’s soft, and once it’s wound into a center-pull ball, it’s unwinds very nicely, down to the last inch. It splits a little, but let’s blame that on my penchant for looking away from my knitting while working. Still haven’t mastered that, although it’s getting better. Reading while knitting is pretty exhilarating for a multi-tasking chickie like me.

My first swatch was on size 5 needles, and the fabric was just too stiff. The second swatch, on sixes, has a nice drape and the cable still has good definition. Here are some photos that take you from the arrival of the yarn, up to the knitting progress as of today:

First Sweater

Bare superwash and Jaquard dyes from KnitPicks.com.

First Sweater

Winding up the first ball.

First Sweater

All wound up.

First Sweater

And away we go!

First Sweater

Much progress.

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