With the yoke and the sleeves finished on my handspun sweater, I continued working the body from the underarms downward to the hem. I worked a handful of rows using the last of the ball of yarn from the yoke portion of the sweater, then I joined yarn from the biggest skein in the set of four created from my spinning adventure. My goal was to be able to finish the rest of the sweater body using just that one skein of yarn. I would then have one generous skein left to work the wide collar.
The biggest unknown was whether the transitions between the different skeins of yarn would be noticeable in the knitting. With the work puddled in my lap it was hard to decide. In this lighting I can’t really tell, in that lighting I see a bit of a difference… You know, the right lighting can conceal or reveal issues. I don’t mind a slight shift, in this case.
Forging ahead, I’ve worked the body of the sweater downward through the waist shaping. While this is a slightly roomy, open front cardigan, it never hurts to pull the back in a little at the waist, and the designer has included this flattering detail. Now all that’s left is to knit until I’m happy with the length and bind off at the hem.
How did the transitions between the skeins go? Well, here’s the sweater modeled by my trusty assistant. I can see the color shift at the middle back, but I don’t think anyone else would notice (especially in artificial lighting). What is funny is that there is a very slight color shift – within the original ball of yarn – well above where the new ball of yarn was joined. That could be a change in the singles, a change in the plying, or a change in the fiber prep. Whatever the cause, it adds character and I love it.
The front shaping is very lovely too, worked into a modest v-neck. Yes, it is very wide now. However, the next step will be to pick up all around the opening and work a very wide collar. The end result will be a snuggly close neckline and generously overlapping cardigan fronts.
Next weekend starts spring break for Son, so I’m setting that as my deadline to finish this sweater. I’d better go knit a few more rows on the body, then get started on that collar.