It’s about time I tell you about this sweater! It’s finished and I’m thrilled that it’s still cool enough that I can wear it comfortably.
The pattern (in case you haven’t been following along) is the Smocked Cable Coat, published in Vogue Knitting. The yarn is Madelinetosh Vintage in color Mourning Dove. I knit it on US6/4mm needles. The back and fronts were knit flat and seamed. The sleeves were knit in the round and then sewn in.
I fell in love with this pattern as soon as I saw it and it seemed the perfect match for this yarn. I wear a lot of blue and I will definitely get a lot of wear out of this sweater! It really sucked up a lot of yarn though. I used 9 skeins for this thing and normally 7 would be enough for a sweater for me. The bottom is really full and skirt-like and all the cables make it thick and warm at the back.
It might look a little big on me, and I might have gotten away making it a size smaller, but I want to be able to wear it as a winter sweater with something substantial under it, so this is fine. I also purposely made the sleeves this long. They are kind of a ruffled look at the bottom and I liked them longer.
All in all it was a really fast, fun knit. I highly recommend the pattern. Be sure to check for errata though as there were mistakes in the printed version.
Here’s a photo of me sewing up the shoulder seam. Unlike a lot of people, I really don’t mind sewing up garments. Maybe that’s because I’ve done it a lot and I know quite well how to do it. There’s no guesswork. And a good seam is a beautiful thing, strong and functional. You can’t even see where my side seams are, if I’m allowed to brag a little.
I’ll have more news about sweater construction, seams, finishing and all that in a later blog post. I have some exciting news to report but it’s a little early to start blowing horns.
Anyway, you can bet I’ll be wearing this sweater every chance I get before it gets too warm outside.