Week Two: Jasper Diamond Hoodie

Like the sleeves of the Jasper Diamond Hoodie, the hood is worked flat. Kristen Rengren, the designer, recommends moving up a needle size to knit the hood. However, I am a very tight knitter and prefer my projects to look as though they were knit by a machine rather than a human being. Therefore, I stuck with the pair of U.S. Size 4 needles, and combined a third strand of yarn -- Anzula Breeze -- to ensure the hood would be the correct size and shape.

One skein of Breeze in the colorway Hyacinth wound into one center-pull ball. 

I am really pleased with the texture and subtle color changes of Breeze and Haiku knit together. 

Breeze is a blend of 65 percent silk and 35 percent linen, it will, more often than not, appear more muted in color after being dyed. Whereas, Haiku -- 70 percent Superwash Merino, 20 percent Bamboo, 10 percent Nylon -- will appear much more vivid in color.

Progress: Hood knit and grafted. 

The hood is shaped using short rows and grafted together using the Kitchener Stitch. If you are new to the Kitchener Stitch, as I was, you may want to check out the WEBS YouTube video tutorial 'How to Kitchener Stitch.'

Thanks for reading.

Sincerely,

The Girl Who Labels

Halfway through the month, half a sleeve knit

My knitting would be going along much more quickly if I wasn't stopping every few rows to try on my sleeve. It just fits so perfectly! 

I'm finding Maeve to be an ideal pattern for my first garment. I am able to try it on at most points of its creation, so I will be able to make any modifications necessary without needing much in the way of experience or calculation. Holding the Breeze and Oasis together is creating the most amazing, luscious fabric. At this gauge the fabric is pleasantly dense without being too heavy, and will only become softer with time. 

As promised in my earlier post, I'm embracing the imperfection of handmade. I did not rip my cuff out for the fourth (fifth?) time to fix the garter stitch; I went forward with the pattern and kept adding more knit rows between the purl rows instead.

Maeve was the perfect choice for my first sweater. What pattern and yarn did you choose for your first sweater? Was it a good choice? Visit our Ravelry group for more discussion!