Totally Different

Remember last week, when I told you I'd finished my sweater but that the weather had gotten so warm that I didn't think I'd have a chance to wear it until the fall? I think the universe must have heard me, because we had a frost advisory this weekend, and yesterday it was chilly enough that I could actually wear my sweater without overheating. I took the opportunity to have my Official Photographer take some glamour shots.

Pattern: Bereket (Ravelry link) by Ainur Berkimbayeva, size 1 (to fit 35 in. bust)
Yarn: my handspun Rambouillet, spun back in the summer of 2020! -- I used approximately 958 yards
Needles: US 5 (3.75 mm)

Started/Completed: March 9/April 17

Mods: lengthened the body

This sweater was unlike any I have knit before, and I'm really not sure why I was so drawn to the pattern, but once I saw it on Instagram on Ainur's feed, I couldn't stop thinking about it. And though I'd originally intended to use this yarn in something else, I quickly realized that it was perfect for this sweater. Although I spun the yarn back in 2020, it actually first came into my stash in the form of half a fleece way back in 2012. At some point I'd sent it to a mill to be processed and got it back as roving, so it became a great excuse to get better at my long draw. And it has a fuzzy, nubby texture that I think works really well with the texture of the stitch patterns.

This sweater is knit side to side, from one sleeve cuff to the other. The stockinette portions of the sleeves are knit in the round, and then once you start the textured sections, you're working back and forth. Those textured sections include garter stitch, eyelets, and what Ainur calls bobbles but what I'd call welts -- working back and forth over a small number of stitches, then creating a sort of pleat by picking up a loop on the wrong side of the work at the base of the tab of fabric and knitting it together with the stitch on the needle to join. The triangular sections in the middle use a lot of short rows; I ended up using German short rows because I didn't like the look of the traditional wrap and turn. Once the second cuff is finished, you pick up stitches for both the neckline and the hem and work twisted ribbing. 

As far as level of difficulty goes, I think most of it lies in the unusual construction. But the pattern is great for leading you through. In addition to having line-by-line instructions, Ainur has schematics all through the pattern that show you exactly what part you're working on that look like this:

This shows you that you're working on the textured front section (what's in the darker brown), and the lighter brown shading shows you've what you've completed. This is the first time I've seen something like this in a pattern, and I think it's a brilliant way to make things extremely clear for the knitter, even when the construction is more conventional.

My only modification to this pattern was to add more ribbing to the body. Ainur calls for about an inch of twisted ribbing on the lower hem before the bind off, but that was just too cropped for me. I think this is likely because I was working a size smaller than what was recommended, so my sweater ended up smaller overall. She intended it to be an oversized cropped pullover, and each size in the pattern is specified for a range of bust sizes. For my full bust, I should have knit the second size, but I didn't want this to be that big on me, so I knit the smallest size. This was partially because I thought I was going to be cutting it close on my yarn, but I ended up using much, much less than specified, so I had plenty to add some length. I've got about 4.5 inches of twisted ribbing on the bottom, and it hits me right at my hip (the t-shirt I'm wearing underneath in the photos is a bit big on me). This sizing choice is also why the sleeves end a lot higher on me than on others you'll see if you look at projects on Ravelry. But I'm totally happy with how this fits, and it's actually just right for a cool (but not cold) early spring day. All the same, I'll be happy to not wear this again until fall!

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This week is going to be a busy one, especially the first couple of days. Passover starts tonight, and we are hosting Seder for 19 (including the baby nephews). I'm going to do my best to keep up with my usual blog schedule, including Thursday's poetry post, but please bear with me if my posts are shorter than usual and/or if it takes me a bit longer than usual to reply to comments!