A Nice Wooly Jumper, Just In Time For Summer

I wonder if other knitters feel compelled to knit 100% wool sweaters when it's 90 degrees outside? I bought this yarn over a year and a half ago as part of a sweater kit (buying in a kit means that you are sent everything needed to complete the project - yarn, knitting needles, pattern, and sewing needle). However, once I got the kit in the mail, I came to the conclusion that I didn't really like the design of the sweater, and so the yarn sat in my stash. A few weeks ago, I was inspired to revisit the website I bought the kit from, and look at what other sweater kits they had that used the same yarn. I found this design, and decided I would make it instead (drumroll please) *without* the pattern. I studied the product pictures on their website and figured out how to make it. All things fair, it is a very simple sweater, but still! I think that's pretty cool and I'm proud of myself.

This sweater is primarily stockinette stitch with seed stitch edging and neckline. This project knit pretty quickly, taking me just about two weeks. The yarn was a dream to work with, all fluffy and soft!

Obligatory picture of the project on the needles!

This project consisted of four panels: 1 front panel, 1 back panel, and two sleeves.

This photo above shows how I sewed the front and back panels together. The pieces are laid flat, right side up, and sewn. For this design, there wasn't a defined neckline, so I sewed very small outter-sections to leave room for my head to go through.

The above image shows how I planned for the sleeve sewing. If you're not careful when sewing your sleeves, they can become warped. Here, I've mapped on the center of the sleeve with the center of the shoulder seam, and I've marked where each end of each sleeve should connect with the body to make sure nothing gets sewn jaggedly.

I'm very grateful to my co-worker Belinda, who is always so willing to take photos of my knitting projects, and is really great at taking them too!

Because I knit this without a pattern, I did actually make the sleeves too long. I took measurements before deciding how long to make the sleeves, but clearly, made a mistake. Luckily, seed stitch is a reversible stitch, so I am able to fold up the sleeves and it looks great!

And now... onto the next project(s)! I am in various stages on 3 different projects now: a knitted tank top, a scarf, and a poncho. I am sincerely excited about these! With each new project I do now, I am really making an effort to learn new skills. I want to increase my knitting fluency so I can eventually call myself an advanced knitter. I'm still a long ways off from that, but I am so excited for the journey!