FO, Finally
Well! That took awhile. I don’t know how it’s possible that one sweater could live up to all of your expectations, but here it is!
Pattern: The Shawl-collared Cardigan from Jo Sharp Knit 1, 39.5″ size
Yarn: Zara Merino DK, charcoal gray
, 12 balls (with approximately 3 yards to spare)
Time Elapsed: Overall, 2 months. But I’d say this has only taken between 3 and 4 weeks, actually–the shawl has been much greedier of my time.
Modifications and Notes: I knit the entire sweater without a single modification, aside from the yarn swap. When I cast on for the project, I’d never seen the Alpaca Kid Lustre in person, and I was pretty afraid of another alpaca sweater being way too warm. So I went with a good workhorse merino, and I’m not sorry I did. But having seen the Alpaca at Ellen’s the last time I was in Maine, I may just have to knit it again. The stuff is luscious.
The Zara grows enough when it’s wet that I need to remember to shape the sleeves a little short–this time through the wash/dry cycle, they hung off the edge of the table and are about 1/2″ too long. But it’s easy enough to avoid that, and when I’m not a total dork they are the perfect length. If you’re knitting with this yarn, though, do be sure to wash your swatch before checking gauge.
The sweater is the perfect length, too, and I love how simple it looks from behind.
The tiny little row of purl at the bottom is enough that the sweater doesn’t look sloppy, but minimal enough to keep it modern.
And that’s how I feel about the sweater, too–modern, simple, basic enough to do whatever I need to do while wearing it.
Stylishly, to boot.
The sweater is simple and pretty fun to knit, actually. Yes, there’s lots of stockinette. But the construction is somewhat lively (you knit the plain pieces first, block and seam them together, and then knit and seam on the ribbed collar), and the details are so classic, and after all when would we get to watch television if not for stockinette? The waist shaping is extremely flattering, as are the sleeves (no tapering to the hands). I may reposition my little clasp to be an inch lower–we’ll see how I like it over time.
It goes with literally everything in my wardrobe, which is great. A cardigan is a year-round must here, and my closet has been sorely lacking in them.
Finally, lots more pictures (especially of the seams, I’m so glad I’m not the only one who enjoys seaming!) can be found at the FO page. Which is a testament to the greatness of this sweater, in itself–I’m usually hard-pressed to find 3 or 4 FO pictures I like. Today, they all seemed to turn out well.
I guess there’s not much else to say but hip, hip, hooray!
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Gorgeous! I’m loving the simplicity. And that last picture totally cheered up my otherwise dreary morning. :)
Perfect, perfect, perfect! So versatile, so flattering. I love it. I kind of covet it, actually. Hmmm.
This is the sweater that I keep *almost* buying the first issue of ‘Knit’ for; after seeing yours I have to. Yours is so perfect looking and you look great in it.
Beautiful sweater!! And what a fun picture show – I love them all.
Love it! Everything you say about it is true!
I have an FO myself! I’m not sold on the bind off yet, but iit’s otherwise complete. If it stays sunny today, I’ll have FO pics up tonight.
So lovely! So practical!
Oh…love…sigh. I bought that book (and waited for it to arrive from Australia for almost three months) for that pattern alone. It is so nice to see it knit up and ready your notes on it. I’m inspired…can’t wait to start my own now! Thank you!
It looks great! Congratulations on a wonderful knit – the best part – you look like you really love it!
Amy, that’s really beautiful. I have admired that sweater since I got my copy of Knit 1. Yours is just gorgeous, and I bet you will wear it tons.
Also, you and that little pumpkin of yours are too cute. :)
It’s gorgeous – I love the simplicity, the dark gray yarn, the single closure in front, the lovely shawl collar. You look wonderful in it, and this will be a great, versatile piece for fall and winter.
oh, YAY! it looks fabulous!! now i really can’t wait to start mine, and i’m really glad to hear you didn’t have to change anything in the pattern.
(p.s. where did you get that awesome dressform?)
It is lovely! Well done on such a great knit. I will be looking at yours when i get round to casting mine on for inspiration.
It’s gorgeous, Amy! The color is great -looks like you love it. Awesome!!
Hooray! It’s so lovely. I need to cast on for one of these.
It is beautiful! I agree with you, so simple and classic–you will get tons of wear out of that sweater. It looks great on you too!
It’s beautiful. And I love that collar!
Amy, it is gorgeous. So simple, elegant and incredibly flattering. I love the waist shaping. Congratulations.
Beautiful! And the sweater is nice too. ;)
Seriously, though… really lovely work. I love how flattering and classic, but still modern, it looks. Perfect!
The sweater is fantastic! I also have to add that the fourth picture (you and your son) is one of the most adorable things I’ve seen in a long time!
Beautiful!! Looks great on you. You’re a master finisher- your seams look perfect!
Fantastic!
How simple and completely lovely!
Totally brilliant! You care in seaming really shows, too. I’m not sure I’ve ever seen such even seams. Well done all around!
It’s so elegant! And your pictures are really beautiful. Nice job!
Oooh, I love! The sweater looks terrific on you, the perfect cool-weather staple.
WOW!!!!! Stunning, flattering, Perfect!
Love the photos too!
Wow, what a great looking sweater! I hadn’t picked up on that pattern before, but I’ll be lookin for it. Congratulations!
Woohoo! I love it! What a success!
it’s truly beautiful, and looks wonderful on you! i love the second to the last picture in your post – you are gorgeous!
Hooray indeed! That is gorgeous, stylish and also a perfect fit!
Wow, that looks great! It definitely looks like a wearable sweater.
That really turned out beautifully. I especially love the collar. It looks great on you, and the photos are terrific (you have such a cute son).
Very, bery nice ! Bravissimo :) Thank you for all of this informations about knitting this elegant sweater. And I like the ear-rings :)
I’ve always loved this pattern – but I think this is the first FO I’ve seen – Gorgeous, so very flattering!! It looks very professional too – great job!
What a beautiful sweater and so flattering. You look wonderful in it!