Little Lilly's Sweater pt. 1

Knitter:  K-Dee
Pattern:  Lillie's Little Sweater
Size: 0-3 months
Needles:  7 US




This week I have had extra couch & TV time staying home from work with a cold.  With all this time I decided to try my first sweater pattern!  So far I have made scarves, a few hats and single socks.  I know that sometime in the future we are planning a kit-a-long (kal) but I wanted to get the basics under my belt before dedicating a gigantic amount of time to an adult sweater.  So with my pattern booklet and a phone near by to call for help if needed, I cast on. 


Gauge -- What is it good for?

I will be the first to admit that I do not like to swatch.  I think mostly because I understand the concept but I never can seem to count the stitches correctly.  For example on this sweater you are to have 4.5 stitches per inch.  I seem to have 4 stitches per inch but the sweater seems to be gigantic.  So we will see.



Kitting up the pattern

I really like this pattern so far.  It has a lot of text which at first was a bit overwhelming but really it is just full of really good explanations.  So far the skills used are: knit, purl, short rows, picking up stitches on an edge and yarn over button holes.  I was a bit nervous about the short rows because up to this point every time I have had to do short rows with wraps that you pick up.  But these are easy short rows that are simple, just my style! I did have to do the short rows more than once because my yarn split a few times and I did not realize it until several rows later.

The other technique that I was not familiar with was picking up stitches on the edge.  I simply have not had to do this on any of my previous projects and of course was over thinking it.  A quick look on YouTube and I found a simple video that explained it concisely and clearly. 

I used this one from knittingtipsbyjudy http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7c5IzAE_hn8


I am now finished with the hood and neckband.  Up next is setting up the stitches to begin the raglan sweater portion.