second sweater ever, first raglan – but also, don’t fall into the online algorithm trap of more more more
A few weeks ago, I finished my second sweater ever, and my first raglan. It is the most gorgeous dark green, in a yarn that’s part wool part cotton, a yarn so gorgeously soft yet warm but not too warm – simply perfection.
The pattern is the Lousiana Sweater by Petite Knit, knit in 9mm needles mostly. So you’d think: this would be a quick knit, wouldn’t it?
I started this sweater in October last year, and finished it in February. There were gaps in my progress. At some point I got really really bored of just endless knit stitches to do the body (in 9mm, so really, theoretically not that bad – as opposed to doing a project in 4mm, or 2.5mm haha).
On the one hand, I want to give social media like Instagram or YouTube credits for going to get a stab at knitting (pun slightly intended) going (plus many other hobbies), but there is a dangerous trap I need to watch out for on the other hand (and maybe you too). I mean the algorithm trap where you get into channels of people knitting a sweater in a week, a weekend, a day, or knitting an entire wardrobe for the season in a week, and it’s just all: more more more. And also: being left with a feeling of not doing enough, being way too slow, being bad at knitting (and frankly that is all ridiculous, but I am human and I compare, I can’t help it).
So, I’ve knitted this sweater very very slowly. I took a while picking the yarn (a colour which would fit with most of my existing wardrobe [the colours I wear versus all the colours I love are not necessarily the same), the dark green being a wonderful match to my hair which I dye a shade of red), I took my time knitting it, finishing it. But I finished it, and just in time for the February cold spell, so I even got to wear it this winter, still.
What I love about it: the soft yarn, the colour, how warm it is, the sort of loose fit, happy with my regular stitching, and how actually the raglan increases were not that difficult to figure out.
What I love less about it: I couldn’t really figure out the neckline instructions, so I knitted that part flat, and then handsewed it to how it should be, and the collar is sewed up a little tight (my fault entirely, it would probably have the right amount of stretch if you knit it, as described in the pattern) & I’m not sure I did the right thing when picking up the stitches for the sleeves and casting on the required extra stitches, as there are two bigger holes in the armpit parts (but on the other hand, you don’t really see it, they are not that big, so I’m not that bothered – except I will try to figure this out better in a next sweater [I am thinking maybe I should have picked up two extra stitches, as my yarn was not the same as the pattern prescribes so I did some calculations somewhere… ah well]).