$0 in Paris March 25, 2008

PATTERN

“$5 in Paris” by Anna Peck

Knit in Medium sized pattern. Modified sleeves to fit just below elbow and used decreases to keep sleeves fitted.

 

YARN

Caron Simply Soft (Brites) :

• MC: “Grape”
• CC: “Blue Mint”

I’m not sure how many yards of yarn I used as this was knit entirely from leftover yarn (more details below) but I’ve read that it takes 250-300 yards to make this size when the pattern is knit with cap sleeves.

 

NEEDLES

Size 7 double pointed needle set

Size 8 double pointed needle set

Size 8 24″ circular needles

Size 9 29″ circular needles

 

COST*

Total cost of yarn = $0.00 FREE!!! (I know that since it’s scrap yarn I did pay money for it at some point in my life, but as this yarn was sitting in a plastic bag for over a year, I can’t remember it’s original value and am therefore thinking of it as a gift of yarn from Past Micaiah to Present/Future Micaiah. Thanks Past Micaiah for buying way too much yarn!!)

 

PROJECT DURATION

Cast on date: 03/06/08

Bind off date: 03/23/08

—–Total of 18 days—–

 

NOTES

• As I mentioned above, this whole sweater was knit entirely from leftover yarn in half-used skeins lying around in a plastic bag. I didn’t spend a penny on this project! What a nice change!!
• I wanted to have 3/4 sleeves on this sweater because I think those are the most flattering kind of sleeves on my arms. So the first try knitting the sleeve, I kept the original number of stitches on the needle and knit a boring tube-sleeve-thing. But when I tried it on, it looked ridiculous, and the sleeves also hadn’t been knit long enough because the bottom stripe of ribbed MC sat right on my elbow, so it kept a permanent, funky little fold in the bottom of the sleeve. It looked SO stupid! So I tore that out and used decreases to match the sleeve to the shape of my arm. I ended up having to decrease 4 stitches per 13 rows of each color. And then I used the size 7 dpns to do the bottom 25 rows of MC ribbing, just so it would fit an extra little bit snugger and avoid doing the funky fold thing again. Also, I lined up the decreases so that they would fall right under the arm where nobody has to see them. Yay! I think the sleeves look SO much better now.
• I think I knit this a bit longer than most of the sweaters being made on Ravelry were being made (with the obvious exception of Pepper’s awesome tunic-length sweater). As you can see in the picture, I worked it long enough to fit in 4 rows of CC striping, while most other people were only working 3 rows of CC striping.
• If I were to knit this pattern over again, I would incorporate the optional waist shaping. When I started, I was in such a rush to get it done that I didn’t feel like taking the time to figure out how to make the body of this fitted. But now that I wear it around, it fits okay, but not amazingly. Overall I still think it’s super cute and am happy with it. I just think I would be even more happy if the waist were fitted.

BLOG POSTS ALONG THE WAY (oldest first)

1. $0 in Paris: MY FIRST SWEATER!
2. FO: My First Sweater!!!
   

*less taxes and/or shipping charges for ease of calculation

 

 

free hit counters