So last week, I finished a sweater. This week, I’m going to talk about it. Here’s the pattern’s sample picture, for reference:
It’s the Minerva Cardigan, by Fabel Knitwear, and while it was initially inspired by the well known series about a boy wizard, the pattern writer has also said they stand with the trans community against the author’s sadly well-known vitriol against trans people. I appreciated the statement, so decided to go with the sweater in spite of the name.
First course of action, then, was to choose the yarn. Something about the look of the sweater screams red to me, so while I didn’t have a rich burgundy like the sample in the pattern pictures, I did have a tonal cherry red, which seemed perfect to me. It was even a Knit Picks yarn, one of their Stroll tonal line, in a color called Heartfelt. It’s even still available for $14.99 a hank, if you want to make a sweater with it, and it’s kind of a steal, like most KP yarn. In case you’re not aware of them, Knit Picks is generally a good step between big box store acrylics and super expensive wools, so if you’re in that stage where you want to try something better than Red Heart but you’re not sure about spending that much money, they’re a pretty good bet.
Warning: This yarn comes in hanks. It’s not prewound into balls. This means to use it, you’ll either need help from a friend with tools or local yarn store, or you’ll need to own tools for winding yarn. This can be as simple as a chair and a nostepinne, if you’re willing to spend hours winding yarn, or as complex and expensive as a swift and ball winder, if you want it done fast and are willing and able to spend more. Having been doing this for many years, and in large amounts, I have the tools in question, and can talk further about them if anyone wants to hear it.
I had four hanks, so that was certainly enough to make any size I needed. Measurements said I should have made the XL, which would have been the first time I made an XL instead of a 2X in many years, but ironically, my gauge swatch said I was a little off, so I sized up to make sure it would fit.
Finally, with three of my four hanks wound into balls, I was ready to get started. The pattern starts with the body, which took the better part of one hank, and then when you’re ready to attach the sleeves, well . . . you have to make the sleeves. Which I must say, for this sweater, was painful. They’re full length sleeves, which I rarely knit since I run hot, and they seemed to go on forever. This is a thing knitters call “sleeve island,” which I think has something to do with the feeling of being trapped and unable to escape that knitting sleeves gives one. Fortunately, I suspected I was going to end up there, so I knit them both at the same time, magic loop, so I wouldn’t have to do one, then the other, which might have led to a single finished sleeve and abandoned project.
Since this is already running ridiculously long, I’ll come back Friday with more on Minerva. Till then, happy knitting!
Knitting Over the Rainbow 