I'm taking a short break from knitting up my own designs to knit someone else's pattern for a change. I started Elphaba a couple of weeks ago and it's coming along nicely. I saw the pattern on Ravelry more than three years ago and decided then I wanted to knit it but I'd been putting it off. Actually, that's the wrong phrase, I'd been saving it! Like you save your slice of chocolate cake, until just the right moment. I managed to acquire three well-matched skeins of Wollmeise Pure in Neptune Medium, and then put them away too, saving them for when I would use them to make this beautiful sweater.
Last autumn, I bought the pattern itself and have read it through several times but only actually started the sweater recently, having finally decided the time was right to tackle this pattern.
I will admit, making an adult size sweater in 4-ply weight yarn has been a bit of a mental hurdle to get over. In my mind, such thin yarn is for socks. Even baby clothes merit DK!
I've also been a little nervous about getting the fit right. The elegance of Elphaba comes from its close-fitting lines, and I'm not the proportions of a standard dress size. My hips are a dress size bigger than my waist, and my bust is a dress size bigger than my hips. It makes clothes shopping a challenge, and wearing dresses is close to impossible, but when you're knitting your own you can shape to fit your own contours.
It's been an interesting experience too to work top-down. I've made top-down raglans for babies before but never for myself.
I'm really enjoying the pattern so far. It's very well-written, and the instructions on how to modify the fit by adding bust darts are great. The designer's chatty style isn't what I'm used to in knitting patterns but I like it. I'm almost down to the lace hem detail already (I'm adding extra length before I work that because for all that I'm short in stature, I'm long in the torso so I'd prefer a slightly longer body for my sweater). I've added bust darts for a better fit at the top, and I also shaped the waist more dramatically than is written (working more decreases over the same length to keep the waist in the right place but make it smaller). I've never been able to try on as I worked before, but here is Elphaba so far.
Last autumn, I bought the pattern itself and have read it through several times but only actually started the sweater recently, having finally decided the time was right to tackle this pattern.
I will admit, making an adult size sweater in 4-ply weight yarn has been a bit of a mental hurdle to get over. In my mind, such thin yarn is for socks. Even baby clothes merit DK!
I've also been a little nervous about getting the fit right. The elegance of Elphaba comes from its close-fitting lines, and I'm not the proportions of a standard dress size. My hips are a dress size bigger than my waist, and my bust is a dress size bigger than my hips. It makes clothes shopping a challenge, and wearing dresses is close to impossible, but when you're knitting your own you can shape to fit your own contours.
It's been an interesting experience too to work top-down. I've made top-down raglans for babies before but never for myself.
I'm really enjoying the pattern so far. It's very well-written, and the instructions on how to modify the fit by adding bust darts are great. The designer's chatty style isn't what I'm used to in knitting patterns but I like it. I'm almost down to the lace hem detail already (I'm adding extra length before I work that because for all that I'm short in stature, I'm long in the torso so I'd prefer a slightly longer body for my sweater). I've added bust darts for a better fit at the top, and I also shaped the waist more dramatically than is written (working more decreases over the same length to keep the waist in the right place but make it smaller). I've never been able to try on as I worked before, but here is Elphaba so far.
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