FO Friday: Sloane's Weld + La Bien Aimée Raglan

Y'all, I made a fuzzy pink all-stockinette sweater...and I love it.

My stay-at-home knitting hasn't exactly been going at breakneck speed, but my first Social Distancing Sweater is finally an FO: I finished my Cozy Classic Raglan this week! It's also the first thing I've made for myself that hasn't been a design sample since I test-knit the Divide hat for Emily in <checks watch> November 2016. But hey, it only took a few...years, but I did finally start working on some of that selfish knitting I kept saying I was going to do.  And... it was really super.

Top-down raglans are ubiquitous, and by all accounts, here to stay. They have pros and cons (both generally, as a means of sweater construction, and specifically, as to how they fit on different bodies, both of which are a much longer subject). But, when you have the right combination of yarn and pattern AND the schematic measurements work for your particular combination of bust, bicep, and shoulder widths, they're super, and for a lot of newer sweater knitters, a really great introduction to sweater knitting (or, it turns out, a great break from more "complicated" versions of sweater knitting for, um, tired knitwear designers locked in their houses with their small children). This is a pretty straightforward "45 degree" raglan, where you increase every other round at all four "seams," which, at this gauge, happens to work pretty well for me. As in all things, the devil is in the details, and I loved a lot of the choices Jessie Mae made here, including the lifted increases at the raglan seams, and the short row shaping she uses to lower the front neck. 
Fawn + Dawn = Love

I knit this one in our Weld in Fawn (which we still have in stock!) and La Bien Aimée's Silk-Mohair in her "Dawn" colorway, which is a pale pink. Pink isn't usually my deal (though my daughter went through a really serious pink phase at one point), but Dawn is a soft, muted kind of dusk shade, and combining it with Fawn's light heathered oatmeal shades tones it down still a bit more. The overall effect is a little "millennial pink," but the subtle variegations in Aimée's hand-dyed yarn and the natural heathering in ours work really well together to add some subtle visual interest while still meeting my usual "exists in nature or in ready-to-wear" rules for color selection. The fabric is a little fuzzy, but it's incredibly soft, lightweight, and not too too warm. I think it's going to be a great three-season sweater for NorCal.

As I talked about in my last post, I modified the body to add some A-line shaping and slightly lengthen it (I'm making peace with the cropped sweater thing, but...slowly), and I'm thrilled with how they turned out. I ended up with a sweater that has about 6" of ease at the bust, and 10" of ease at the high hip (where this one hits on me—right about at my belt loops, or the center of my hip bones). (Because bodies think size charts are bunk, I have considerably less ease than was specified in the pattern at the bicep, but, that's okay with me: I actually preferred the more fitted sleeve.) I also knit the sleeves flat and seamed them, but that doesn't have any substantive impact on the sweater—I just am a whiner about small-circumference circular knitting, for reasons slightly passing understanding.
A-line shaping accomplished.

The final sweater fits almost exactly like the ready-to-wear sweater I borrowed the mods from, and like the majority of my most-worn sweaters: solidly anchored (not necessarily tight) through the yoke and in the sleeves, and with a little more ease and movement through the body. That kind of A-line fit isn't going to give me the kind of 1950s "Sweater Girl" hourglassiness that a sweater with tapered waist shaping would, but the fit is close enough at the bust that some combination of gravity and strategic underlayers creates the illusion of some kind of curvature to the body, while still being super practical to wear in the actual real life in which I wear sweaters, which involves a lot of moving around. 

Ultimately, I know it sounds like I modded the thing up the wazoo, but what I've done here is take a relatively blank canvas (a simple, stockinette sweater) with great building blocks, and make a few changes to make the fit work better for what I like and feel comfortable wearing—which is part of what is great about knitting! And I followed my own rules about it: because I know that the yoke is where almost all of the complicated engineering of a sweater is, I did that part exactly as written, and I kept my mods to the body of the sweater, where there were considerably fewer moving parts. And, most crucially, I a) swatched carefully ahead of time and b) repeatedly blocked my WIP to check my progress (particularly before I tried it on).

Knitting almost always grows (in both directions) when you block it, and I knew that my target sweater fabric (from my swatch) required some pinning and blooming to achieve. As a result, I knew that trying on an unblocked WIP was going to be misleading and likely to cause me to a) worry and b) call audibles mid-stream (which I try to dissuade people, including myself! from doing). Checking this one as I finished the yoke, as I finished the body, and after finishing the sleeves but before going back to knit the neckline helped me make informed decisions about whether I was on track, which was a major contributor to my #happysweaterface at the end of the project. I'm super happy with the sweater and can't wait to wear it—and I've already cast on my Kuffel, so I seem to have caught the selfish knitting bug, after all!

107 comments

  • Posted on by Robert Morrison
    READ MY REVIEW HOW I WIN $158m CONTACT DR KACHI NOW FOR YOUR OWN LOTTERY WINNING NUMBERS.

    I was a gas station truck driver and I always playing the SUPER LOTTO GAME, I’m here to express my gratitude for the wonderful thing that Dr Kachi did for me, Have anybody hear of the professional great spell caster who help people to win Lottery and clear all your debt and buy yourself a home and also have a comfortable life living. Dr Kachi Lottery spell casting is wonders and works very fast. He helped me with lucky numbers to win a big money that changed my life and my family. Recently i won, ONE HUNDRED AND FIFTY EIGHT MILLIONS DOLLARS, A Super Lotto ticket I bought in Oxnard Liquor Store, I am so grateful to meet Dr Kachi on internet for helping me to win the lottery and if you also need his help, email him at: drkachispellcast@gmail.com and he will also help you as well to win and make you happy like me today. Text number OR Call: +1 (209) 893-8075  visit his Website, https://drkachispellcaster.wixsite.com/my-site

  • Posted on by Olivia Linda

    How Can I Contact a legit cryptocurrency recovery company? Employ-OPTIMISTIC HACKER GAIUS

    Have you given up on ever being able to get your stolen bitcoin back from con artists? I am pleased to inform you that you may definitely get your wallet back. But to do this, you need the knowledge of OPTIMISTIC HACKER GAIU and his group. I had given up on ever making money from cryptocurrency trading after losing about $890.00k to a dishonest broker. However, I later came across HACKER GAIUS, a remarkable recovery hacker, who helped me get my lost bitcoins back.you can reach them out

    Website… http://optimistichackergaius.com

    WhatsApp: +44 7376 740569

    Telegram.. t.me/OPTIMISTICHACKERGAIUSS

    Email.. support@optimistichackergaius.com

  • Posted on by Callum Beasly
    Is my iPhone hacked or bugged? [GrayHat Hacks Review] Remove spyware

    A few weeks ago, I had noticed my wife acting increasingly suspicious and secretive, and it was as if she knew my every move. I realized that my laptop had become annoyingly slow and would randomly redirect me to unfamiliar websites on its own. My phone would sometimes light up with notifications that I hadn’t received. I’m not the most tech-savvy person, but even I knew that something was off. That’s when I stumbled upon the term ‘spyware’ and the horrifying reality of how it could be used to invade someone’s privacy.
    Desperate to know the truth, I found myself in a dark corner of the internet, searching for a way to get to the bottom of my suspicions. That’s when I came across a review for GrayHat Hacks Contractor, a team of ethical hackers well versed in hacking and spywares. I sent them an email detailing my situation and the signs that had led me to suspect my wife. To my surprise, they responded within minutes, offering a free consultation and assuring me of their confidentiality.
    They explained their process and the tools they would use to scan my devices for any signs of intrusion. They were incredibly thorough, explaining the different types of spyware that could be planted and the ways they could be hidden. The actual process of detection and removal was done remotely. They provided clear, step-by-step instructions on how to give them secure access to my iPhone and laptop.
    The results were shocking. Within a few hours, they had found and removed not one, but multiple instances of spyware on both my phone and computer. The extent of the violation was staggering. My wife had been tracking my location, reading my messages, and even listening in on my calls. I was devastated, not just because of the betrayal, but because I had been living under constant surveillance in what I had thought was a sanctuary of privacy.
    Armed with the evidence, I approached my wife with a heavy heart. Through tears and anger, she admitted to installing the spyware, driven by her own insecurities and suspicions. She confessed to an affair that had been going on while I was away on business, a classic case of projection. Turns out that she was the one that was cheating. GrayHat Hacks Contractor not only removed the spywares but also taught me how to protect my devices and privacy in the future.
    Our relationship is now a work in progress, filled with healing and rebuilding trust. The pain of her infidelity still lingers, but with the truth out in the open, we can begin to move forward. If you ever find yourself in a situation where you suspect your privacy is being invaded, I urge you to consider contacting GrayHat Hacks Contractor.
    You can contact them for a consultation through email at grayhathacks@contractor.net or reach out via WhatsApp at +1 (843) 368-3015.

  • Posted on by Natasha Thompson
    My name is Natasha Thompson from the USA/Texas.. Am so overwhelmed with gratitude to let the world know how Dr Kachi, the great spell caster changed my life for good. It all started when I lost my job and I was down financially and emotionally because I couldn’t be able provide for my two kids and staying home all day Jobless it’s not easy until I was checking on the internet when I saw a series of testimonies hearing people winning the Powerball lottery, I didn’t believed, but being poor no job you have no option. I gave it a try and I contacted Dr Kachi who told me what i have to do before I can become a big lottery winner and I accepted. He made special prayers for me in his temple and gave me the required numbers to play the lottery game and when I used the numbers to play it, I won a massive $344.6 million Powerball jackpot. I was so happy and I choose to review my winning in any platform, I would love other people to seek help from Dr Kachi through Text and Call: +1 (209) 893-8075 or email drkachispellcast@gmail.com by his website: https://drkachispellcaster.wixsite.com/my-site
  • Posted on by john

    Do you need an xmas loan? we give out loans to interested customer that are seeking for loans to improve their businesses, we can assist you with a loan up to €15 Million euros. we offer loans at 3% interest rate. email us today

    johnohunyon43@gmail.com

Leave a comment

All blog comments are checked prior to publishing
You have successfully subscribed!