Everything about this sweater makes me so happy. This sweater was my first attempt at stranded knitting and I’m still shocked at how easily I was able to pick up the technique. In the end, I held one yarn in my left hand and knitted continental style and I held the second yarn in my right hand and knitted English-style. Pretty amazing!
I started this sweater at the beginning of August 2019. I couldn’t ever get the right gauge with my swatches, so I chose a size that I thought would be alright. My stitch gauge was 26 sts and 32 rows on a size US 6 (4 mm) needle. The pattern states that my stitch gauge should be 22 sts and 30 rows on a size US 4 (3.5 mm) needle.
How to choose the right size? My bust is 38″ and the pattern is written for 12-15″ of positive ease. Therefore, I needed to select a size with a finished bust measurement of at least 50-53″. I could have knitted a size 3 (S) but decided that I wanted to make sure the sweater would fit around my broad shoulders so I went up a size (4 / M). I can calculate the changed bust size by solving for x:
My finished sweater should and does in fact have a ~59 inch bust. The fit works out great for me and I’m very happy with the sizing.
STRANDED YOKE
I only had to go up one needle size on my stranded work, US 7 (4.5 mm). I’m still debating if it would have been better to go up two sizes to US 8 (5.0 mm) needle? I could have done a better job at the beginning of the yoke, but I’m so pleased with the rest of the yoke.
YOKE SHAPING
I have a shorter front torso compared to my back torso. Therefore the yoke is unbalanced. The front yoke is about 1 – 1.5 inches lower than the back yoke. If I were to separate the armholes, the sweater would be pulled backward and the neckline would ride up. I added length to the back rows with some german short rows. First I completed the step ‘With C1, k 8 rounds.’ Then before separating the body and sleeves, I completed these short rows. If assuming that the BOR marker is in the center of the back yoke, here’s the pattern I used.
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