Fernet Branca for Chuck
Oh my goodness, this was a slog! But in the end, Chuck's happy with his finished sweater (at long last finished), so I'm happy.
My husband chose this sweater based on a shop model. He loved the design and the color. So, I bought yarn for HIS size. This was when we were in Ellensburg for Yarnfolk's tenth anniversary (they just celebrated their 12th). The pattern is Fernet Branca by Baby Cocktails (Thea Colman). The yarn is Bluesky Woolstok worsted yarn in a beautiful dark blue called Midnight Sea. The pattern shows a woman wearing the sweater, but it's straight and simple in shape, so I thought I could pretty easily knit it to fit him.
I didn't start knitting it right away. When I did, my gauge swatches at the pattern's gauge looked way too loose and a bit holey. This didn't seem like a good idea for a large man's sweater. So I used smaller (and smaller) needles till I got a gauge I liked for this yarn. And then realized that I would have to adapt by knitting a larger size (or really, just more stitches) to get the size I needed. Now, I didn't have enough yarn. After searching for the same dye lot (and failing), I realized I needed to buy 5 skeins and save the four I had for another project.
Then, after knitting six inches into the body, I realized it wasn't going to be big enough. So I recalculated and started an even bigger size.
I was basing my calculations on a sweater he liked, but somehow, other than getting the sleeve length right, my calculations were a fail. BECAUSE the sweater ended up about 3 inches too long.
After mulling for about a week, I decided to surgically alter this sweater. You can see a simpler example of what I did here. (Below I'm trying to put stitches on a needle before I cut.) It ended up working better to clip a thread and carefully reveal a row of stitches (on the "top") and then rip down to just above the ribbing and pick up those stitches.
I cut and then grafted so I didn't mess up the way the ribbing flows into the cable. Most of the way, the grafting was straightforward stockinette, but I did have to read my knitting to graft the ribbed cables. This didn't turn out perfectly. However only a careful look would reveal what happened. 
More successfully, I altered the "shallow" neckline of the pattern to a more traditional crew neck. and that turned out well.
Fernet Branca
- designed by Thea Colman
- Five 150g skeins Bluesky Woolstok yarn, color 1317 Midnight Sea 100% fine highland wool
- On US 6 needles
- Ravelry link
All that work was well worth it because it looks fantastic and like it's a perfect fit! Subbing a different yarn is always a bit of a crapshoot -- heck, even using the same yarn as the designer can be an issue because gauge is so individual!
ReplyDeleteThat is a gorgeous sweater that really fits well! With your struggles, gauge, yarn, length, and necessary surgery, I would call this a real labor of love. But ultimately a very successful one!
ReplyDeleteOh, Pam. You are a Knitting HERO! It is such an undertaking to knit a man-sweater. But to fix fit-issues multiple times -- and even POST-finish -- well. You deserve a special award of some sort. It's a gorgeous sweater - and it looks just great on Chuck. Nicely done. THAT is perseverance! (And love.)
ReplyDeleteWhat an inspiration you are! I would probably have quit at the yarn acquisition stage, but have learned from your experience the importance of almost fighting for the right gauge. Sometimes I don’t go down far enough in needle size. Good job!!
ReplyDeleteThanks!
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