At Long Last

Grignasco V-neck View 1

It took me a while but I finally finished the Grignasco Nature V-neck sweater, YAY!

It feels as though a weight has been lifted, the burden has passed…

Here is an overview of my first attempt, using the free Lion Brand pattern:

I was making great progress, or at least I thought I was?  I completed the front and back, then seamed the shoulders and attached the V neck.  After working their version of the sleeve, I noticed it was way too big to fit into the armhole?  It was about 2″ bigger than it should have been.  I decided to not give up on this pattern and tried re-working the sleeve cap so it would fit better, making it the proper dimensions (from the ealier post, remember)?  Then, I discovered there was ANOTHER problem!  After I attached the sleeve and tried the sweater on, the shoulder width was WAY TOO wide (it was ‘drooping’ about 2” over each shoulder and looked really bad)!  I wish I had a picture to show you?  I think that with this type of sweater construction, the shoulder width is very critical?  Since I haven’t made many sweaters (this was my second sweater), I just made it too big for my shoulders.  Darn!  So after a few hours of sadness and despair, I wasted no time and took out my aggression on the sweater, ripping back the whole thing (cursing)!  It took 2 days to individually wrap each section of yarn into small bundles and launder them.

My Second Attempt:

I found the ‘knitter’s handy book of patterns’, they have a much better size range and better construction (esp. the sleeve caps) than the lion brand pattern.  The shoulder measurements and sleeve caps were perfect (I picked the long sleeve v-neck in the 46″ circumference).  All pieces were successfully blocked and seamed to the correct measurements, thank goodness!  I was a little fussy about the top of the sleeve cap, it had jagged little areas where the bind offs occurred?  So, I decided to re-knit the sleeve caps with short row shaping and it made the seam much less bulky.  The only other modification I did was adding to the arm length.  I need a little extra to pull over my hands when it get’s really cold (in the photos I have folded up the cuff so you can see my hands).

I think my favorite part of the project was completing the side seams, using the mattress stitch to seam up one whole side at a time?  It was very satisfying to see the pieces come together so neatly.  I took Rene’s advice for finishing and it was much easier to line up and seam the pieces using her tips.  I’m not sure if you can tell, but I’m wearing shorts in this photo!  It’s hot here in Kent (like 78 today) and the beads of sweat were beginning to form at the photo shoot, so this sweater will definately be safe in the dresser until Autumn.

Although there was drama at the beginning, I have to admit it was a great learning experience.

I am so ready for something simple though!  Like maybe a brightly colored kerchief or scarf?  Perhaps using a nice bamboo yarn, just in time for summer?

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Published:
June 3, 2007 / 7:54 pm
Category:
Knits
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