Cocoknits Emma (Frogged)

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

Big Brioche Turtleneck

I decided to make a big squishy sweater for winter, but it was too good at its job. After finishing the front and back pieces and beginning the arms, I tried it on for fit and realized it’s less of a sweater and more of a woolly cocoon x gravity blanket. As great as squishy brioche ribs are, they’ll relax and stretch with washing and I’ll start to drown in a sweater I’m already swimming in. Ultimately I’m going to frog this so I can use the yarn to make something I’m more excited about wearing.

Pattern: Big Brioche Turtleneck, size 54 in Knitpicks Wool of the Andes Superwash in Dove Heather

New skills: Flat-worked brioche, brioche increases & decreases

Lessons: On one of the edges of the pattern (I can’t actually remember which one) I got confused because the stitches on my needles didn’t seem to match the instructions. I eventually realized that the yarn over pulls the edge stitch in such a way that it appears there are 2 stitches on the needle, when in actuality it’s just 1 rotated stitch. Not sure if this shows up in other flat brioche patterns, but good to keep in mind regardless.

When counting brioche rows, the number of knit loops on one side of the fabric is actually only 1/2 of the total number of rows. This also means that a piece of brioche fabric 1 foot long will be twice as heavy as a piece of knit fabric the same length.

When choosing a size in brioche make sure to account for how much the finished object will stretch. I also encountered this on the Skipp Hat, which loosened a lot and lightly felted in its stretched form. I chose a size that would accommodate my hip measurement but the entire garment ended up being too big.

I tried a couple different styles of yarn changes: spit grafting and knitting with 2 strands of yarn held together for a few stitches. I think I actually prefer the latter on this project, which seems to integrate into the brioche ribbing more cleanly.

What I’d do differently: I’d definitely pick a different size if I made this again, but honestly I think I’ll steer away from oversized brioche sweaters in the future. I like the idea of an oversized sweater in theory, but the practicality of that style of garment (particularly in brioche) actually seems limited due to the weight and size/stretch. Even when I tried it on, the turtleneck was pulled down by the weight of the rest of the sweater.