FO: Tegna by Caitlin Hunter

Let's talk about lessons, and how you are supposed to learn them the hard way.

When you set out to knit a sweater there are a couple of things you are supposed to do.

Knit a swatch.

Wash and block your swatch.

Measure your Gauge.

Measure yourself.

Do some math.

Pick your size and estimate how much yarn you will need.

Cast on, Knit, and enjoy your beautifully fitting sweater.

You are not supposed to do it this way.

Identify two skeins of yarn in your deep stash (oblivious to the fact that one of them is clearly not a full skein).

Scroll through Ravelry patterns database, selecting fingering weight, and sweaters, and 800 yards.

Pick a pattern (the Tegna, by Caitlin Hunter).

Note that the second size uses 800 yards.

Decide that is the size that you are.

For really no reason at all (the pattern calls for 3.25 mm) decide you will knit yours on 3.5 mm needles.

Cast on.

Finish your first skein and think to yourself there is no way that was a full skein.

Order an emergency back up skein online.

Knit the full body, join the shoulder seams and try it on (with neck stitches held on needles).

Have a hoooooly crap moment, this thing fits you like its cropped to your boobs. Not a pretty look on anyone let alone someone with twin mommy weight around her middle.

Knit the neck line (because you're waiting for your back up yarn) and pray to the superwash gods that this puppy with grow.

Hang it on a hanger and give it a good steaming which you pull hard.

Try it on a bunch more times.

Knit the sleeves.

Soak and wet block it, giving it a solid stretching for length and width.

Go to bed and dream about sweater elves coming in the night to magically grow your sweater.

Be pleasantly surprised with the results, even tho it fits nothing like it was designed to. Mine has 0 to negative ease, pattern calls for 5 to 10 inches of positive.

You can guess which path I followed to get to this sweater, and right up until I wore it yesterday and Kevin said it looked good I was seriously thinking I might have to cut my losses and gift it away. But given my choices, that is not what I deserved.

It should have been fit for a 10 year old.

But lesson learned (for now), and I've already swatched for the next one.

Project Page
Yarn is Cascade Heritage Solids in Charcoal, three different dye lots, can't tell the difference tho.