How to knit a sweater in 10 days

1. Dive deep into stash. Way deep.

I bought this yarn in 2008. It's been sitting in storage, half-knitted into a cardigan, for well over a decade. It's made a transatlantic move with me.

The cardigan it was originally destined to be - Sylph Cardigan from Interweave Knits - was never going to get finished. Flounces are just not for me anymore. But let's take a moment to admire the eyelet ribbing and the subtle twisted stitch columns - there's a lot to like about this pattern, even though it isn't for me anymore. 

I gave it the Marie Kondo "thank you, goodbye" and ripped it all out. 

The yarn is Knit Picks Elegance, 70% baby alpaca, 30% silk.

It's been a long time since I knit anything big with alpaca. Alpaca blended with wool, absolutely - I love the softness and warmth it adds. But not on its own. It's too loose, too heavy, too unpredictable. To me, the bounciness of sheep's wool is the perfect pairing to the stretch of knitting. I want my stitches to spring back into shape. Alpaca is soft, fuzzy, lovely... and saggy.

(I have a woven blanket made of 100% alpaca which is one of the most lovely things I own. The weaving has so much structure, letting the alpaca have all the softness and drape it wants without compromising on shape. I do believe some fibres are better for some crafts than others.)

So I would not have bought a new sweater quantity of an alpaca-silk blend. And yet, here I have it. And yes, the sleeves stretched out several inches after blocking, but that makes it even cosier, with the cuffs riding down over my hands.

2. Embrace Betwixtmas.

I didn't take a lot of time off work during the holidays, but I still had plenty of time to myself and a lot of dark evenings. I brought it to Christmas Day and I worked on it continually. Miles of stockinette went down easy. Somehow, the sleeves finished themselves before I could even blink.

3. Find beauty in simplicity. 

The pattern is All Day Everyday by Nadia Crétin-Léchenne - a baggy, drop shoulder, straight up and down, simple but very effective design with a few tiny cables down the front for interest.

An open cardigan with no buttons (or button-bands) to worry about - I know I will get plenty of wear out of it, being able to throw it on without thinking.

It's knit all in one piece from the top down, and the cables are crossed every right side row, so there was very little to keep track of and very few ways to mess it up.

4. Fall slightly in love.

Even if the alpaca turns out to have been a mistake, it was gorgeous to knit with. Watching the cushy fabric grow beneath my hands was addictive.

It really feels luxurious to wear - plush and fuzzy, drapey and very warm. The sunny colour - a medium yellow that's not too bright, and light, but not pastel - cheers me on through the winter greys.

5. Follow instructions, but trust your instincts.

I first cast on a size with 5" of ease - and very quickly ripped it out and cast on again two sizes smaller.

The designer recommends 10-20cm (4-8") of positive ease. But I knew, personally, I wouldn't be happy with that.

The alpaca will grow, and I don't feel good in clothes I'm drowning in. I made a few more modifications based on knowing my body and what I like to wear. But I resisted the urge to add shaping to the body or anything else too fancy. 

I added my own custom sleeve shaping which I'm very happy with - increasing the armhole height, it just skims my large upper arms, then the decreases ramp up from the elbow while keeping extra ease around the wrists in a way that I think is very flattering.

6. Add some drama.

I really thought I was going to run out of yarn. The pattern called for 1500yds, while I had 1200 of a long-discontinued yarn. By all accounts, I should be 3 full balls short. 

But I decided to carry on: The design assumed 10-20cm of positive ease, and alpaca will stretch, and I'll embrace the cropped look if I need to. And I can unravel my swatch.

I didn't need to unravel my swatch. But something about the added pressure, wanting to see how far I could get, urged me on row after row. 

I knit the body down to the armholes - then I knit each sleeve - and then, carefully counting each centimeter, I knit as much of the body as I could.

So I finished with 11 balls and 10 days. Knitting more than 50g per day. It's a decent length - I might have added an extra inch or two if I had had the yarn, but it's definitely not cropped!

7. Get excited for the future. 

Now that I know I can go from idea to finished garment in two weeks, so many possibilities open up to me. 

I have at least 5 sweater quantities of yarn in my stash - I rarely get through them because a sweater in my size feels like a mammoth undertaking. And yet! Ten days. It's possible. I can fill my wardrobe with beautiful sweaters.

(PS: Happy 17th anniversary to the blog.)

~Joyuna