Greetings! Today I finally put my sweater on so I could send pictures to the designer for her review. This sweater has been a long time in the works, going back a few years now. Not knowing exactly what I’ve shared thus far, I’ll start at the beginning.
The Sock Arms Sweater was designed by Stephanie Lotven of Tellybean Knits, a lovely and creative human. It is a pullover that uses skeins of self-striping sock yarn, normally reserved for feet, and cleverly allows them to shine as sleeves. I have loved this idea ever since I saw it, but I wanted a cardigan.
I considered trying to modify the pattern on my own but was encouraged by a designer friend to reach out to Stephanie and ask if she had any ideas or tips for me. When I did, Stephanie shared that she was writing an upcoming book and would be including a cardigan version. It was written for a different weight (thickness) yarn but she thought it would work. She asked if I would like to test the pattern for her when the pattern was ready. My answer was an immediate YES! I have worked with Stephanie in the past and knew I would get wonderful guidance and feedback along the way.
The new pattern is written for sport weight yarn which is slightly thicker than the fingering weight I had already purchased. That meant I had to really rely on my gauge swatch and make some adjustments in measurements.
I cast on this sweater at the beginning of quarantine and it has been my main focus since then. I focused on it fairly monogamously (with the exception of the charity hats). I am really pleased with my progress and with the myriad of knitting and “me” lessons I learned along the way. I did have a few delays when I sent questions to Stephanie and waited for her response. Other slow downs were Suzanne related as I worked through my own reactions to new skills.
I shared recently that the sizing was not quite right at first but blocking did make a difference. My gauge swatch grew after washing so it made sense that the sweater did too. I believe it is going to be a lovely piece in my wardrobe. The yarn was Knit Picks Felici in Cheshire Grin and Leading Men Fiber Arts Soliloquy in Vengeance. I have to get buttons but once we are able to go out into the wild, that should be an easy find.
In the meantime, I am excited about this sweater and I’m looking forward to wearing it with pride.
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