One Year Gestational Period Sweater

I finished knitting a sweater! I started this sweater last year, before I went back to work, so it basically took an entire year! I learned a lot from knitting this sweater though – how to knit a cardigan top down, how to make waves, how to make button holes. It really shouldnt have taken that long but I only knitted in the car or 1 to 2 rows before sleeping until the last month of it when I was very motivated to finished it before it gets too warm. I’ve been wearing it almost every day since then – it goes very well with cropped pants or an A line skirt!

I used a little over 5 balls of ecocloud wool from Cascade that I found in Green Yarn Planet, so it wasnt the cheapest sweater. But the yard is spun in a pretty special manner such that its all interwoved, so I hope it will last a long time! It is also very very elastic – this sweater can stretch quite a bit if I try, but bounces back right away! Now I see why people say that wool is much easier on your hands than cotton, which is not as stretchy and more tiring for your hands to knit.

I used Levenwick pattern that I found on Ravelry. The instructions were very clear and the only changes I made was to skip a few rows to make the sweater slightly shorter for myself. It still turned out longer than I thought it would though!

Excess fabric in the back means I didnt make the hip wie enough and waist small enough? or is it excess vertical fabric? oh well, its not too much!

The buttons are salvaged from the very first jacket/coat I made back in 2007. I have been better at letting go my past creations that are just learning mistakes now!

I wear it buttoned up, except the first button or the last, depending on my mood 🙂

This pattern uses the “wrong” side of stockinette stitch, which means the sweater curls in a little at the ends, despite the i-cord finish. I love the texture of the wrong side, but the curl in is a bit annoying, perhaps it will go away with wear.

I hope you like this sweater as much as I do! I am thrilled to have my first  hand knit sweater that I’ve worn out of the house for more than 10 times!