Pattern/Technique: Cocoknits Emma Sweater, View A
Modifications: Started waist shaping at 2 inches below the underarm CO (at fullest part of but with bra on).
Waist shaping: Repeated waist decrease round every 4th round (3 times total) to obtain 124 stitches
Hip increases: Repeated hip increase 3 times (4 times total) every 4th round
Materials: Knit Picks Simply Wool in Winkle & Wanda. Held 2 strands of this worsted yarn together to achieve marling. Purchased 5 skeins of each color for the project.
US11 knitting needle
New skills: Cocoknits sweater method
Lessons: The Cocoknits top-down method for sweaters is great—in particular I like that I can try on the sweater as I'm working on it and make fit adjustments on the fly.
Knit a swatch and check gauge for all sweater projects!! One thing I didn't realize is that row gauge is really important due to the way that the yoke is constructed and mine was slightly off so the fit isn't perfect in that area, but because yarn is stretchy it's pretty forgiving. However, I did a ton of reading about how to adjust row gauge (tl;dr it might be useful to eventually learn Portuguese purling) and in the future I'll be a lot more careful about swatching/checking gauge.
Fit notes: Overall I quite like the silhouette of this sweater and the way it conforms to my body shape without being too boxy (especially since it uses a chunky weight yarn). However, I'm not into the super-low neckline, which is even more pronounced because the seams roll under and the bottom stitches stretch out. I make this again I'd make View B instead.
What I'd do differently: Ultimately I decided to frog this project because even though I like the fit, I don't see myself wearing this regularly due to the overly low neckline and color. I started this project prior to exploring and building awareness of the colors I want to wear, and the creamy marled tones of this sweater don't feel like they fit in my wardrobe, which tends toward higher contrast pieces.
I think my plan will be to use this yarn to make a throw / baby blanket (maybe this: https://www.purlsoho.com/create/2020/03/11/colorblock-jute-stitch-blanket/ as I have enough yardage for the crib size) and try knitting Emma View B using the chunky Knit Picks Heathered Grey yarn I'd previously used for the Purl Soho Big Brioche Turtleneck (also frogged midway). The gauge on both patterns matches, so it should be an easy swap.
Care: n/a
