A handspun, handknit sweater
I love spinning, and took up spinning pretty quickly after I started knitting. This is the first time I’ve ever spun enough yarn for a sweater though.
And while, I probably won’t turn into a knitter who knits exclusively with handspun yarn, going from fiber -> yarn -> sweater was pretty damn amazing.
This is a sweater knit entirely out of handspun yarn. Yesterday I wrote about the process of spinning the yarn, now details about the sweater itself.
MATERIALS:
Yarn
– 250 yards (228.5 m) – 2 oz (56.5 g) – handspun heavy lace weight grey BFL
– 250 yards (228.5 m) – 3 oz (85 g) – handspun heavy lace weight alpaca
– 500 yards (457 m) – 9 oz (255 g) – handspun worsted weight alpaca
All the yarn are super basic two ply yarns – the lace weights are much more even than the worsted weight, mostly because I’m more comfortable spinning lace weights, but also because the worsted weight was my first experience spinning on a Hansen miniSpinner (it was amazing).
Needles
– US #6s (4.00 mm) circular needles for the lace weight
– US #10s (6.00 mm) circular needles for the worsted weight
PATTERN:
A basic top down raglan pullover, with short row shaping at the back of the neck, to help keep the neckline from pulling up. I striped the two lace weight for the yoke, the bottom half of the sleeves, and a bit around the bottom hem. Then I used the worsted for the main body, and the sleeves.
I wanted a pattern that was simple enough to let the yarn shine, and was flexible enough that if I started running out of yarn I had options.
WHAT WORKED WELL:
I just had enough yarn, and I loved knitting an entire sweater out of handspun yarn, though I can’t say it’s something I’d do all the time. Grace does it a lot – and I don’t know how she does it.
This is the first sweater I’ve finished that includes short row shaping for the back of the neck, and I have to say I really like it – I’m playing around with it in the purple yoked sweater I’m currently working on, and it’s probably a feature I’ll be adding it to most of my future sweaters.
WHAT I’D DO DIFFERENTLY:
I’m not sure I’d do anything differently per say, but this is the third top down raglan sweater I’ve finished and I don’t love all of the excess material it produces at the underarm. That material under the yarn ends up bunching weirdly – which I’m not a fan of.
So, I think I’ll lay off the raglan shaping for awhile and explore other types of sweater yoke shaping. I really, really love yoked sweaters (like my boring black sweater & handknit sweater dress), and I want to try some more sweaters with set in sleeves (the Moonstruck Cardigan had sewn in set-in sleeves, and my Versio sweater had seamless set-in sleeves). I’m interested in experimenting some more with seamless set in sleeves – Andi Satterlund’s guide to seamless set-in sleeve sweaters looks interesting.
It’s the halfway point! – The Self-Made Wardrobe Week 26
The Self-Made Wardrobe is a project where I only wear garments I’ve made.
It’s sort of a year long experiment in getting dressed without clothing labels.
DAY 176 – JANUARY 23rd
The First of Many Archer Button Up Shirts
Black Tank Top
Birds & Wheels Flare Skirt
Black Tights
Bead Crochet Bracelet
Various Rings
This week marks the halfway point of the project! Yay!!!!
I’m thinking now that I’m halfway into this self-made wardrobe year, maybe I should finally come up with some sort of plan for building my wardrobe.
But then again, I’ve mostly been winging it so far – and for the most part that has worked out (minus the lack of pants…) – so maybe I’ll just keep winging it for the next 26 weeks.
To plan, or not to plan? That is the question (at least for the moment.)
DAY 177 – JANUARY 24th
Moonstruck Cardigan
The First of Many Archer Button Up Shirts
Black Tank Top
Graphic Silk Circle Skirt
Black Tights
Brown Boots
Various Rings
Continuing along “to plan, or not to plan” this week got properly cold & snowy, and I’m realizing that I don’t have a great number of layering pieces. Most of my sweaters work better on their own (instead of over or under other pieces), which is kind of annoying because it is making layering tricky. So, I want to keep this in mind for the next couple sweaters.
DAY 178 – JANUARY 25th
Not-So-Straightforward Basic Purple Sweater
Black Tank Top
Black Maxi Skirt with a Slit
Black Tights
Brown Boots
Robot Necklace
Various Rings
Of course, the not-so-straightforward basic purple sweater being the exception to my lack of layer-able sweaters.
And yet.
I still prefer wearing this sweater on it’s own. So maybe the issue has less to do with my sweaters not being good for layering, and more to do with me disliking layering sweaters…
DAY 179 – JANUARY 26th
Deconstructed Black Sweater
Boring Black Sweater
Black Tank Top
Pirate Skirt
Black Tights
Black Knee High Boots
Long Necklace
Various Rings
Because what else would you wear in a snowstorm/blizzard/thing?
To be fair I am wearing 2 pairs of tights (one of which is wool), plus added 2 scarves, mittens and a my giant alpaca coat on top of it all (with a hat in my bag).
So I was plenty warm, and this skirt does look pretty good (if entirely unpractical) blowing around in a snowstorm.
DAY 180 – JANUARY 27th
Hand-knit Sweater Dress
Black Tank Top
Black Tights
Various Rings
And then the next day (Tuesday) I hid inside all day, with lots of tea & knitting.
DAY 181 – JANUARY 28th
Deconstructed Black Sweater
Not-So-Straightforward Basic Purple Sweater
Black Tank Top
Graphic Silk Circle Skirt
Black Leggings
Brown Boots
Various Rings
The best sweater I have for layering on top of other sweaters is this deconstructed, sewn, sweater – maybe my wardrobe plan should include another one or two sewn sweaters – because (unlike in knitting) sewing over-sized sweaters isn’t actually that much more work than sewing close fitting sweaters.
DAY 182 – JANUARY 29th
The First of Many Archer Button Up Shirt
Black Scarf
Black Tank Top
Black Maxi Skirt with a Slit
Black Tights
Brown Boots
Various Rings
This is actually not what I ended up wearing yesterday. After I took this photo (which I always try and do right before I leave the apartment) I changed into my Versio Sweater, and wore that instead, since I was already running a little late I didn’t have time to take a new photo. Oops.
a snowstorm, some knitting, and 1800 yards of thread
Each Wednesday, I post little snippets about what’s happening, and what I’m working on.
First off, the obligatory snowy photo. We got a decent amount of snow (more than ended up on the fire escape) – not nearly as much as other people though.
My snowstorm project of choice was the shawl I’m working on. Which included dropping down and re-knitting part of it when I didn’t follow my own pattern.
And more bead crochet bracelets.
Prior to the blizzard, over the weekend & into Monday, I was sewing a bunch of gigantic pieced together drops for a theater project. The project has already emptied 7 spools of thread (2 not pictured), for a total of 1800 yards of thread – and it’s not finished yet…
