Lyon Sweater in Tosh DK by PetiteKnit

Can I find a better fitting sweater pattern for Ryan? My goal was to knit a better-fitting sweater for Ryan, using an old sweater to avoid wasting yarn.

I am looking for a sweater pattern that can avoid some common issues that can ruin the fit of the sweater. Specifically, I want to avoid a neckline that gets stretched from side to side and any excessive pulling at the shoulders.

Necklines that are too high in the front are particularly irksome!

Necklines that are too big.

Sweaters with front draglines that create a hunched-over appearance, even when standing straight.

Raglan sleeves that are too big and look like they are twisted around the bicep.

Sweaters that are too fitted.

But it’s really the bunching under the armpit that makes me cringe the most. It looks sloppy.

Many of these little bothersome fit issues are unavoidable with raglan-style sweaters. This is why I frogged an old raglan sweater of Ryan’s to reknit a sweater that fits him better. I chose the Lyon Sweater from PetiteKnit because it has a front and back yoke with sleeves that look set-in, so the sleeves have a rounded sleeve cap appearance instead of the straight lines of a raglan.

Ugh. I just hate the stretched-out neckline and arm bunching so much.

Size

The Lyon sweater has a design that allows for approximately 7-3/4 inches of positive ease and fits a bust circumference of 31.5 – 59 inches. I knitted a size XL (39.5 – 43.25 inch bust) for Ryan, which is one size larger than what I typically knit from PetiteKnit. Ryan’s current chest measurement is 40 inches. In the past, the PetiteKnit sweaters I’ve made have had 10+ inches of ease with lots of room along the shoulders, so I felt comfortable making a size L even though he was on the upper end of the size. However, the Lyon sweater is much more fitted for PetiteKnit, and I wanted to give Ryan plenty of room for his shoulders. I’m happy that I decided to go up to a size XL, as it fits wonderfully.

Yarn, Gauge, and Needles

The pattern recommends roughly 650 grams of Sunday by Sandnes Garn (two strands held together). I used 775 grams of Tosh DK by Madeline Tosh, approximately 7 skeins. I was able to acquire the appropriate stitch gauge (20 sts x 30 rows = 10 x 10 cm [4 x 4 inches] in stockinette stitch on 4 mm [US6] needles).

Alterations

I didn’t make any changes to the pattern. I just wanted to mention how much extra I had to knit for the sleeves and body. I knit 35 extra rows for the sleeves after the last decrease before starting the 1 x 1 rib cuff. My sleeves measure 21 inches from the armpit.

The final garment should measure 25-1/4 from the mid-back, excluding the neck edge. However, I lengthened the body some. Ryan’s sweater measures 26-1/2 from the mid-back. I probably could have lengthened to 28 inches easily. This is a mental note since I never know how much to lengthen Ryan’s sweaters.

Conclusions

I believe that this particular style of sweater suits Ryan better than a raglan sweater. It has less excess fabric around the biceps and armpit area, which is great. Additionally, I really like the higher neckline that is appropriately shaped around the neck, being higher in the back and lower in the front. I love this sweater so much that I’ve already purchased yarn to make myself one.