FO Friday: Meghan's Kuffel

Meghan's FO: Kuffel by Alexis Winslow

Wow. It's been a crazy few weeks, right? Life has changed for all of us dramatically, but, at least for myself, I'm settling into this new normal, which includes A LOT more knitting time. That being said, I finished my Kuffel in record time! 

(Fini!! In case anyone is wondering: H+M Airy Shirt Dress, H+M High Waist Jeggings, Buffalo Wool Co. Outback, Frye Boots via Buffalo Exchange Denver)

Guess what? I love it! As I said in my last blog post, this was the first time I've had the pleasure to knit with our charcoal in Forge, our natural dark gray, and it is SO soft. I don't know why this has come as a surprise, as all of our yarns are soft, but achieving this softness level using dark natural fibers (which are often naturally coarser than lighter fibers) has delighted me to no end. 

In fact, I've been wearing my Kuffel with my PJs because it's so cozy, and last night I fell asleep with it on! In all my years of knitting sweaters for myself I can honestly say this is the first time I've slept in one of my hand knits. 

(The #happysweaterface of someone happy to be *outside* in her new sweater!)

Kuffel is perfect for this time of year. Many of my existing hand knits are for Winter with a capital W, which means they are long, dense, and have cowl necks. They are super cozy for bone chilling cold weather, but during "lighter" winter, spring, and autumn months, having a few solid sweaters that play well with temps in the 40s - 50s is a real treat.

MODS: THE SHORT ROW HEM  

This is the first time I've really been able to show you the short rows at the hem in all their glory. I'm so glad I added these to mine to create a high/low hem. I think they complement the short row shaping for the neckline, which already exists in the pattern, and allows the sweater to cover my bum, which often gets chilly hanging out on its own. 

Without giving away the farm, here are the few easy steps I took to add short rows to my hem (I made Size 58" [147.5 cm]): 

1. I worked to my desired front length, which ended up being a few inches shorter than the pattern recommended. 

2. The BOR marker is already placed at the side underarm, so I divided my total number of sts in half, and placed another marker at the opposite underarm to mark the halfway point.

3. To add the 3" [7.5 cm] of length to the back, I needed to do a little math. According to the row gauge, I needed 21 more rows on the back and sides to achieve the look I was going for, so I rounded up to 22 short rows. Because short rows are worked in pairs, I divided by two to get 11 pairs of short rows. 

4. To create the pretty "swoop" I wanted across the back and down the sides, I wanted my short rows to wrap a little ways around the front of the sweater, with the majority of the turning points located on the back. With 11 turning points per side, I placed three of them in front of my BOR and side seam markers, and the rest evenly spaced along the back side. I wanted the short row turning points to cover about a quarter of the existing stitches on my needles (around 72 in my case), and spacing them evenly, wanted to space them about 6 stitches apart (72 divided by 11 is 6.5, so I rounded down).

5. Then I went to town! I worked my German Short Rows, and then worked one row even, working together the Double Stitch with their stitch. Then I worked the hem as instructed in the pattern. 

Voila! It's that easy to place short rows in your hand knits. It's an easy modification that can make a huge difference at the bust or at the hem of any garment! 

Of course, it's just fine to leave Kuffel as it is, as so many people have and it looks fantastic! So many people have made or are making Kuffel we're having a Kuffel party online. If you're making one, or planning to make one, tag us on Instagram @hudsonandwestco using the hashtag #kuffelpullover.

(The overarching theme of my life seems to be "NYer goes West and Back Again.")

In the meantime, I've already picked out my next project, The Throwover by Andrea Mowry. I'm using Forge in Midnight and I ordered Spincycle Dream State in Mississippi Marsala and Salty Dog from our new stockist Tolt Yarn and Wool. Stay tuned for a new WIP Wednesday post soon! 

Stay safe and healthy, everyone! ❤️

Meghan