Okay so I've reached the point where I think its impossible to hate something you've spent HOURS knitting. I mean after putting all that effort in only to decide something is hideous seems a bit like sacrilege really doesn't it?
That's the journey I had with this jumper. My problems started when the Hayfield Bonus chunky I ordered from Hobbycraft was a bit more orange than I was expecting. The name Paprika should have given it away but in my defence it did look red on the website.
The pattern I chose was the double trouble jumper by wool and the gang. Its a free pattern which to be honest is pretty much how I like my knitting patterns to be! [BTW they actually have quite a few free patterns on their site so its definitely worth a look] I didn't use their recommended wool "wool me tender" because I had a voucher for hobbycraft so it made sense to use the equivalent weight from their.
I started it on valentines day and finished it in bed last week when I was feeling poorly. Because of the chunky wool and the size 8mm needles the whole thing knits up pretty quick which is very satisfying.
Knitting up wise it was an absolute breeze, there was no complicated instructions and the only trouble I ran into was when I went to cast on the sleeves. They tell you to cast on 25 stitches and knit the rib pattern but I kept getting moss stitch, In the end I just cast on 26 stitches and decided I;d fix any problems with the stitch count afterwards.
The other issue I had was that after I'd shaped the sleeves it says to knit another 50/60 [I can;t quite remember] rows and well that just seemed like a lot! I think I did about 15 and then cast off and well as you can see the sleeves are pretty long! I'm not sure if this is a pattern error or just because I didn't use the recommended wool but either way if you do make it its worth taking a look at your sleeve length as you go.
The same applies to the fit as you can see its pretty slouchy on me [More room for cake] and I knit the smallest size so I'm not sure if its because of my wool choice. Naturally I didn't do a swatch test!
This is the best part of the pattern, whilst its simple in the front it is PARTY in the back! I love this detail! Although I would recommend wearing a crop top or a bralette underneath because when you bend forward it does gape quite a lot.
I can see it being the perfect jumper to fly with though because the open back means its really really easy to get on and off meaning you won't disturb your possibly sleeping neighbours too much!
The other thing I did differently was to crochet the collar and not knit it by picking up stitches. Picking up stitches it a pet hate of mine and I'm lazy so I just crocheted one.
All in all I kind of like it? At first I hated the collar and the whole thing just hung so stiff but after I popped it in the wash it softened up got a great slouchy vibe. I'm definitely going to make myself another one in a cream colour or a grey because its super duper warm and cosy!!! And surprisingly I actually really enjoyed knitting it!
In other news me and Rikki went on a date to Alton towers water park yesterday. It was so nice to spend a day just the two of us and as we are both big kids we really enjoyed it!!
Much Love
Frankie
xxx
