Another finish

My jumper is finished, I used Drops Baby Merino 4ply and knitted in the round, the pattern was for DK, but I managed to size it correct using another 4 ply neck down knitted pattern. I'm glad I stuck with 4ply, this is a very warm jumper, I changed the design from a short sleeved short summer jumper into a warmer style. 

I decided to make the sleeves my own design, I had to ensure I cast off enough stitches to not make the cuff bulky, the sleeves were 90 stitched round and I took them down to 60 stitches, but could only decrease once finished with the patterns, I love the pink and blue on each sleeve.

The underarms on a knitted down jumper can be tricky, often there are gaps as stitches stretch, so as I was sewing in the ends I did a darn along this area to ensure there are no thin patches.  

So the finished jumper, not to everyone's taste, but I do love it, the fit is good, the colour design sits together when worn, so for me this is a win. I would use this pattern again, the details can be found here, but the style is very different than my jumper. 

Having made a knit down jumper knitted in the round, so there are no stitching up to do, which I always hate and I never make it as tidy as it should be, these are the ends I had to sew in after all the colour changes.

I really love this soft yarn, it's 100% wool and with being baby wool it has less lanolin, which always gives me issues, so I am able to wear for longer. I used about 100 grm ball of each colour, which means I have loads left and could make another jumper, for now it's all back in my stash. 

I started knitting on 20th of January, so a very quick knit, the only shaping was on the yoke down to the sleeve separation and at the bottom of the sleeves, the pattern was so simple, just 6 rows of 1st colour, add 2nd colour and work 7 rows of 'k3 1st colour, k3 2nd colour', repeat until end, then 6 rows of 2nd colour, just ensuring the loops at the back are not too tight, I could knit whilst watching TV. In our 3rd lockdown having plenty of time, I knitted most days, it grew very quickly. The hardest part was ensuring I got the size right as I was using 4ply and not double knitting yarn. I did not over think the colour selections, what to put where, I did use 7 shades the original design only had 5, I had planned not to use the blues, but they added to the design. The back neck fits perfectly, the design uses a German turn and add system, which builds the back neck higher, it does feel much better. 

So my 2nd finish of 2021 is a success, and just in time for the cold weather due this week.