FO: Somewhat Cowl
Can I tell you guys how much I LOVE this sweater! The yarn, the fit, the fact that it got done in 2 weeks. Two Weeks!
Specs
Pattern Somewhat Cowl by Wendy Bernard
Yarn Elsebeth Lavold Silky Tweed in a fabulous sage with bits of kelly green and roasted pumpkin
Mods Lots!
- Silky Tweed's gauge is 5.5 spi, and the pattern was written for 6 spi. This was an easy mod, I just used cast on numbers for a smaller size. I think the yarn would have knit up at 6 spi as well but with the wool and silk content I didn't want to knit it tighter for fear I'd roast in the thing. With short sleeves I wanted it to breathe.
- I did a much shorter raglan depth (I think it was 9.5 inches measured along the diagonal increase line). If I did it again I'd go even a half inch less. I'm short and I like fitted armholes.
- I started the cowl much earlier because I'm busty and I didn't want to need to wear a tank underneath it.
- I added short rows at the bust. I started them 1/4 of the way in on each side, spaced them an inch apart, and did 6 short rows on each side. This added about an inch of length and made the sweater fall evenly across my bust.
- I added waist shaping. Just an inch in on all sides.
- I lengthened the body ribbing to 4 inches so the body would end exactly where I wanted it to end. Gotta love top-down for that.
- I short rowed the sleeves a bit. A classic problem with raglans is that the sleeves come out from the body at a sharp angle, while your shoulders actually curve in a much more graceful way. So, I added a few short rows at the tops of each sleeve. I think it did the trick because there isn't any bunching along the shoulders.
- For the cowl, I reduced all purl 2's to purl 1's at the bottom of the cowl and at each point where the cowl meets the sleeves. I did this by following the directions as written for 1.5 inches, then decreasing in the places I mentioned, and knitting for another 1.5 inches. Then I increased all the purl 1's back up to purl 2's. This encourages the cowl to fold.
- I decided I liked the cowl better folded out. No change to the pattern, it's just more comfortable to me. After wearing it for a day I've decided to sew the cowl down at the bottom of the U. My seatbelt kept catching it and it started to pucker up (you can see it in the pic above).
Thoughts on the Yarn
I love this yarn. After having worn it for a whole day I can tell you that while it does have wool and silk in it that it really lets you breathe too. Two non-knitters complimented me on the sweater (without knowing it was handknit) and they both commented on how cool the coloring was. The yarn has a lot of depth.
The one "feature" this yarn has is that the ribs flatten out. It's probably to low amount of wool in proportion to the cotton and silk. It works well for this design, but I wouldn't use it for something that requires cinched ribbing. I suspect a heavily cabled design would also be wider in this yarn than in a 100% wool. I don't think it would poof up like a wool.
Still, I love this yarn and I will definitely be making more things out of it. The color selection is great and the gauge is versatile.
Comments
Magnificent! Lovely! Thank you for sharing your mods; they give the rest of us busty girls something to think about whether we make this particular top or not. Do you find that the Silky Wool stretches out much with wear, or is there enough wool content to help keep its shape? I understand the "flatness" comment. I love the color you chose and the end result is definitely a winner. :)
Posted by: Karma | April 18, 2006 02:06 PM
I love the Silky Wool, too! You did a nice job of making the sweater work for you! It's just LOVELY!
Posted by: margene | April 18, 2006 02:07 PM
I LOVE IT! I am jealous with all your mods. When I grow up I want to be able to modify paterns to my body like you do!
Don't you love it when non-knitters comment on things ;-)
Posted by: Kate | April 18, 2006 02:10 PM
very nice, love the neckline!
Posted by: Julia | April 18, 2006 02:12 PM
Looks fantastic. I can't quite get my head around the concept of using short rows on shoulders and such. I'm just going to have to jump in the deep end and try it one day.
Posted by: Kat | April 18, 2006 02:14 PM
that is a piping hot sweater!!
Posted by: Jen H | April 18, 2006 02:15 PM
Fan-freaking-tastic!!!
I only aspire to your knitting abilities. Oh, to modify the way you do... Heck, it'd be nice to be able to knit a sweater and have confidence that I chose the correct size. :)
Posted by: Jody | April 18, 2006 02:20 PM
It looks FANTASTIC. You should wear it for MS&W. You'll be the talk of the fest.
Posted by: Christy | April 18, 2006 02:21 PM
absolutely beautiful! maybe the best somewhat cowl i've seen! great fit and great colour.
Posted by: kris | April 18, 2006 02:25 PM
Ah! I love it. it looks great!
I've been wondering about the silky tweed... nice to hear that you like it and that it breathes. When I finally get around to making my somewhat cowl, I will probably end up mimicing you and adding some short rows at the shoulder and bust plus waist shaping. Woo!
It really does look fantastic on you. Thanks for sharing your mods! :)
Posted by: jess | April 18, 2006 02:37 PM
Gorgeous. You make me want to knit that one. How do you think it would do in cotton/acrylic like Calmer? (It's already in the upper 90s here so any wool content is right out!)
Posted by: liz | April 18, 2006 02:43 PM
that looks wonderful! i especially love that shade of green on you!
Posted by: erika | April 18, 2006 02:47 PM
It looks so perfect on you!! Fantastic job. As a related aside, do you usually do short rows around the neck/back on raglans?
Posted by: Lauren | April 18, 2006 02:48 PM
Love it! With your mods, this sweater is such a winner! It fits you extremely well, and is very flattering!
Posted by: grumperina | April 18, 2006 02:49 PM
It fits you perfectly! I love it!
Posted by: Bear Knits | April 18, 2006 02:54 PM
Jody, it's gorgeous! The color is wonderful on you and the your mods make it a perfect fit.
Posted by: diana | April 18, 2006 03:15 PM
Great job, and thanks for detailing the mods. Is there any way you can detail the way you calculated the short rows for the shoulders? I have narrow shoulders and I think this would be useful on a lot of projects, but I am not sure how you would work this out. Is there a book that describes this technique in more detail? It would be a service to your fellow bloggers...
Posted by: Liz K. | April 18, 2006 03:33 PM
What a FANTASTIC job you did!! Super -- and excellent job of detailing your mods (with illustrations -- I love that!).
Posted by: Vicki | April 18, 2006 03:33 PM
it looks great! i love elsabeth lavolds stuff, i knit a sweater with silky wool and some gloves with silky tweed and they are wardrobe standby's. thanks for sharing!
Posted by: j a r e d | April 18, 2006 03:37 PM
I tell you what, You should be designing sweaters!
Posted by: Wendy | April 18, 2006 03:45 PM
Absolutely gorgeous! I love it...it looks fabulous on you. The colour is perfect. I don't get short rows enough to just add them in for shaping...one day!
Posted by: Carolyn | April 18, 2006 03:54 PM
Looks fabulous Jody!!
Posted by: Kathleen | April 18, 2006 04:22 PM
It looks gorgeous on you and the colour... it be divine!!
I think the best part about top down is the deciding where you end it being SO much easier... and that ZOOOOMING bit that happens when you go round n round n round!
Will definitely be calling on you as I get to mine (one day :)
Posted by: stinkerbell | April 18, 2006 04:56 PM
Wow! A perfect fit and a great color for you. I envy your knitting prowess!
Posted by: Jessica | April 18, 2006 05:30 PM
What a neat idea: short rows for the sleeves. Thanks for sharing.
Posted by: Pioggia | April 18, 2006 07:00 PM
The fit is just fantastic. I was on the fence about making this one or not because I'm also a bit boobylicious - I really like how it came out on you.
Posted by: Nancy | April 18, 2006 07:22 PM
That looks so great. I love the neckline and the flattering cut. It looks great on you and you picked a great color. I might need to make one of these.
Posted by: Kris | April 18, 2006 07:45 PM
Beautiful! I Love the color and the way you altered the pattern...very flattering!
Posted by: Lara | April 18, 2006 08:02 PM
I must say that your somewhat cowl makes me want one! I should probably stop reading your blog because earlier day I was shopping for denim yarn to allow me to use some patterns from Denim People. ;-)
Posted by: sarah b. | April 18, 2006 08:38 PM
It looks great! Thanks for the yarn review, too.
Posted by: Chris | April 18, 2006 08:43 PM
It's so great! It looks beautiful on you -- and you're right, the fit is perfect, the color is great ... just wow. Nice job! Makes me want to knit one too ... and I even have some Silky Wool in the stash. Hmmm ...
Posted by: Kristi | April 18, 2006 08:57 PM
wow, it looks freaking amazing! now you have me thinking for the future... i may want a somewhat cowl of my own!
Posted by: cori w | April 18, 2006 10:32 PM
It's beautiful and the tweedy yarn makes the sweater so much more interesting! Nice colour and fit too!
Posted by: lyn | April 18, 2006 10:44 PM
omg! that turned out fabulous! I love the modifications you made.
Posted by: Erica B. | April 18, 2006 11:10 PM
i'm with wendy! you SHOULD be designing.
how freaking fantastic do you look!
Posted by: jacqueline | April 19, 2006 05:27 AM
Gorgeous! I just bought the pattern yesterday and am thrilled to see your notes and mods. Very very helpful!
I'm wondering if you might detail the waist shaping a bit more - at what point did you start the shaping, and did you increase after the decreases? If so, at what point did you start the increases?
Thanks for posting such detailed notes.
Posted by: Rae | April 19, 2006 09:27 AM
Vavavavoom! Very nice. It looks like you also chose not to tack down the cowl part which I like. I can see it being nice to have everythign stay "just so" but I like the cowl loose and free :)
Looks great.
Posted by: marnie | April 19, 2006 01:24 PM
WOW! That is a great fitting sweater! I hope my SC turns out even half that nice. Great advice about the short-row sleeves. I think I may go for a bit of that myself.
Posted by: Molly | April 19, 2006 01:44 PM
Ok, you're like some kind of sweater genious or something.
Posted by: Lisa in Chicago | April 19, 2006 03:38 PM
I'm in the process of one of these right now, and I really like your mods! I'll definately put the shoulder short-rows to good use.
Posted by: kelly | April 19, 2006 09:56 PM
You did an amazing job. It fits you perfectly and you finished it in no time! I'm still in awe of all the changes and modifications you made. I wouldn't even know where to start.
By the way, did you have to block at all? I'm almost done with my Strike and was wondering about how the yarn changes after washing and blocking.
Posted by: isel | April 19, 2006 09:59 PM
OMG! I didn't do this kal because I am busty and didn't want to put on a peep show! I am bookmarking your blog so I can make this top oneday.
Posted by: Jan | April 20, 2006 02:20 AM
Exactly what I wished my SC to look like! Thanks!
Posted by: Isabelle | April 20, 2006 12:29 PM
Great job on the sweater. It looks like a perfect fit. And thanks for sharing the info about all your mods. I've been thinking about making this sweater and the info will definitely come in handy.
Posted by: Persnickety Knitter | April 20, 2006 05:02 PM
Hi, I'd love to hear more about your sleeve short rows, I can't quite wrap my head around how you did these, but if you feel like sharing more details...
Posted by: caroline | April 20, 2006 05:43 PM
Wow, I envy your knowledge for being able to fix the garment to your body. That's really awesome. All in good time, I know ;)
It looks great! Nice work.
Posted by: Jes | April 21, 2006 11:08 AM
It looks great on you!
Posted by: Monica | April 23, 2006 03:32 AM
It is beautiful! The short-row shaping on the sleeves is genious!!
Posted by: Isela | June 6, 2006 03:40 AM
reading these posts has made my somewhat cowl go much better. if you have a moment, though: what bind off did you use? i'm having a hard time figuring out a good stretchy bind off so the bottom of the sweater won't bunch up at my hips.
Posted by: katie e. | June 8, 2006 11:14 AM
You've done a wonderful job on this sweater. I'm getting ready to start mine in a few days. I wish I felt more comfortable with short-row shaping. It would work so perfectly for my issues. I'm envious of your skills. I wish you'd submit an article on short-row shaping to Knitty. You've obviously mastered the technique.
Posted by: LynneM | July 17, 2007 08:08 PM