New Sweater Project – 2009 NaKniSweMoDo

100% White Alpaca & Gray Mohair   

 

100% White Alpaca & Gray Mohair

 

Have you ever found yourself staring at the yarn you wanted to use but weren’t able to start a project? I’m at that point now in terms of the next sweater that I’m knitting for the Ravelry NaKniSweMoDo (aka National Knit a Sweater a Month Dodecathon). I want to  use the 100% alpaca and the lace mohair with a tiny thread of silver (think Rowan Silk Haze)  that I bought at Silk City Fibers last month. 

What  I have in mind is a  sweater that I can use  by itself or with a jacket. To get some inspiration, I turned to some of my knitting books and didn’t find anything that fit the bill.

In the process, I decided that I wanted a sweater that had the feeling of lingerie to since the alpaca is delightfully soft and has a slight haze. While I didn’t find a specific pattern, I knew that I wanted a close fitting sweater with some lace added to it.

I remembered seeing Thermal in Knitty which has some great comments on Ravelry. While it is close to the image that was developing in my mind, it was too casual. Also, on closer examination, it is knit in the round with limited if any shaping. I wanted a close fitting garment so I decided to marry the best of  Thermal with a basic pullover with a scoop neck. Interestingly, many of the Ravelry posts complained about the use of the small needles. Since I made three tops using size 1 or 2s, this shouldn’t be a problem.

While doing my research, I saw the lace cuffs from Lace Style and decided to add them using the grey mohair.  I plan to use buttons to make the cuffs detachable.

Since I have a lot of the grey mohair, I am thinking of adding a sheer cardigan or wrap like the  Cardi Cozy in the new Mason Dixon Knitting Outside the Lines. (Please note that there are errata posted on Ravelry.) I will change the pattern since I don’t like the cables or the tie in front. (Of course, I don’t have to decide about this until I finish the white sweater.)

To further dress it up,  I am going to make a lacey grey scarf to add drama to the neck line.

Do you have these types of problems thinking about your next projects?

Submitted by Knitted Yarns Editor-in-Chief

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