Polwarth in Polwarth

As promised, it's done -- and I love it!

Pattern: Polwarth by Ysolda Teague, size 37.5" bust
Yarn: handspun Polwarth from Southern Cross Fibre, colorway Plot Twist; approximately 1,036 yards used
Needles: US 2 (2.75 mm) and US 3 (3.25 mm)
Started/Completed: December 22, 2024/January 31, 2025

I could not be more delighted with how this sweater turned out. I'd been planning to knit it for several years, probably since I finished spinning the yarn back in 2019 (I couldn't resist the idea of knitting a pattern called Polwarth in Polwarth yarn), and I finally decided that our recent winter vacation was time. It was a good thing that I started it while on vacation because the yoke of this sweater ended up being a lot more involved than I realized. In addition to variable rates of increases (which result in that lovely curve), the brioche detail at the top front is different every round, so I needed my full attention and focus.

When I swatched for this sweater, I could not quite get gauge, likely because handspun doesn't always neatly fall into commercial yarn weight categories. I did a little math, though, and found that at the gauge I was getting with US 3 needles, I could get my desired fit by following the second size in the pattern. For lighter-weight sweaters knit with fingering/sport, I like a little positive ease in the body and a more fitted sleeve, and that's precisely what I got. In these photos, I am wearing a long-sleeved t-shirt underneath (which is how I wear my sweaters in general), and you can see that I've still got a little room. Even though the math was telling me that's how it would work out, I'm still relieved that it did; gauge is such a fickle thing, and we all know how often swatches lie.

The colors are off here, but you can see that lovely increase line.

Knitting with handspun requires ceding some control because inevitably your sleeves are not going to match the body or each other -- that's just the nature of the beast. But I'm pretty happy with how the colors played out here. When I spun the yarn, a traditional three-ply, I planned for the variegation by splitting up the fiber into lots of small bundles (you can see them here) and spinning them at random. Then, when knitting the sweater, I alternated skein every round for most of it, using one skein only when it would be awkward to alternate, such as working the short rows at the neckline. I've found over the years that all yarn spun from dyed fiber, even if it's dyed just one color, tends to stripe, and you can see that happened here. I found it fascinating that certain colors seemed to concentrate despite the complete randomness of the spinning.

I wore the sweater yesterday and was so comfortable and cozy, and I know I'm going to be wearing it a ton on those days when it's chilly but not so frigid that I need something heavier. I really could not be happier with it!