Finished - Purl Soho sweater version 2!

It's done - finally my first ever jumper/sweater/whatever, never to be unravelled and attempted again!



Don't I look happy about it? It's amazing how much easier it is to smile in these photos when there is actually someone at the camera talking to you (thanks mum! x)

So you might remember that a couple of weeks ago I posted my finished but mediocre version of the Purl Soho Cap Sleeve Lattice sweater, blogged here. I've spent the last couple of weeks serenely unravelling and reuniting the top lattice section, so it has gone from this:

Meh!

To this:
Yay!
I had been planning to use another similar pattern style (The Riverine Pullover) that had a different lace pattern in the top section, but for the life of me I just couldn't work it out! I tried for about 2 hours, and ended up unravelling it about 6 times. Finally I accepted defeat and instead looked up a basic eyelet pattern, and didn't look back. I ended up doing 6 repeats of the eyelet pattern (8 rows made up one repeat) and then used the neckline and shoulder joining technique of the Riverine Pullover to make one crazy little mashup that I am pretty happy with! I will actually wear this in public!



So, thoughts and reflections on knitting this.....
 - Cotton was not the best choice for the lattice - it was too stretchy and maybe would have worked better if I had changed down one or two needle sizes.
- The neckline was a rib of 38 bound off stitches - it is really tight, and I can only just get my head in (this will be a 'do hair and make up after getting dressed' kind of top) - it's fine once it is on but despite binding it off in rib it has zero stretch! I'd suggest rather than 38
 stitches making it maybe 44 or 46.
- I found that at each edge of the neckline bind off the first stitch on each side stretched out heaps (with both versionsactually) - I did a sneaky little tighten up when weaving in the ends but have found a great tutorial here which I will try to remember to use for future neckline bind offs.
- 3 needle bind off for seaming the shoulders was awesome!
- I was glad I added an extra inch of length to the body of the top when I first knitted it - I did the small and you can see it's pretty loose
and only just long enough!

And so I can now officially extend my sewing addiction to knitting! These photos were taken on a quick visit to my parents place in Bendigo - my mum and I had a great arvo. We went to the Bendigo Woollen Mills where I got completely discombobulated looking at their AMAZINGLY huge range of yarns (at such fantastic prices - check them out here) and I was SO disciplined and only bought yarn for one project! Then we went to the equally amazing Modern Love exhibition at the Bendigo Art Gallery - a fabulous collection of more than 50 pieces of designer clothing from the last 40 years including items by Vivien Westwood, Caroline Herrera (divine!), Chloe (gorgeous!), Lanvin (chic!), Valentino (superb!), Versace (tacky!), Alexander McQueen (bizarre!). It was dead quiet, being a Thursday arvo, and we were able to get so close to each piece - I would highly recommend it if you can get to it......



Comments

  1. That looks fantastic and you look so pleased with it! Well done fixing it up perfectly. Ahhhh Bendigo Woollen Mills, I've been eyeing them up on the net myself. You were very well behaved indeed. I wish I had a good yarn supplier nearby, all my ogling is done via a computer screen. I am about a 1/3 of the way through knitting myself a tee, just gotta find the time to finish it. Enjoy your top!

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    1. Thanks! My purchase is destined to be a Cape Cod - I love yours! Look forward to seeing your top!

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  2. Wow - I'm so impressed that you whipped up that lattice portion and were able to figure out a pattern that worked for you - congrats, cause it looks great! And welcome to the wonderful world of knitting. As far as addictions go, this one is a pretty great one to have, and so portable too. On a totally separate note, I spent a year in Oz about a gazillion years ago and love the fact that you used the word “arvo” in this post. It had been so long since I read (heard?) that and it brought back great memories.

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    1. Hi Andrea, thankyou! Haha I'm glad my slack (and completely unconscious) sloppy grammar maker you smile! I'm just so pleased with my top and am wasting hours and hours on Ravelry now!

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  3. Looks fantastic! I'm so glad you were able to rework it to your liking!

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    1. Thanks meg - I'm feeling very smug about it! :)

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  4. Oh, well done! It looks fantastic on you, and so beautifully made too. I think it's just so great that you were able to combine and adapt patterns like that - there's no way I could have done that on my first jumper/sweater/whatever! Enjoy your new addiction :)
    Thanks for mentioning the Bendigo exhibition too - I just saw it advertised and was wondering about it, but you've convinced me!

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    1. Thanks Danielle - it was a bit of a fluke I think! Definitely go and see Modern Love - it's really great!

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  5. daifespulge-Omaha Angie Moore Crack
    chtiginfebour

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