Sweaters for my folks

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My husband, modeling Dad's sweater

Some time ago, I promised my parents sweaters for the holidays. Dad was recently retired, and asked if I'd be willing to make a turtleneck sweater for him to wear while out on the boat he had purchased.

I decided that I wanted to make sweaters that would go quickly, so I opted to knit with bulky weight yarn. For both sweaters, I chose Berroco Vintage, which is a good quality, affordable, and easy care yarn. I used it a couple of years ago (in DK weight) for sweaters for my grandmother.

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The sweater pattern I chose for Dad is called Hayfield, and it was a quick and easy knit. The cables were simple enough to knit while watching TV, but interesting enough that I didn't get bored while knitting the sweater. There's nothing as dull as miles and miles of stockinette!

My one complaint about this pattern is that the PDF file was protected, so I was not able to make annotations on my tablet. I don't like to print patterns, since they get tattered and it's a waste of paper. I'm still using EZ PDF Reader, and have figured out a few ways to make the app work better for my needs. I tried making a new PDF with the pattern, but had the same problems with being unable to annotate, so I printed it and scribbled all over it so I could get to work on the sweater.

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My mother requested a cardigan, so I looked for patterns that would be quick to knit. She liked the Midwinter Cardigan, so I purchased my supplies and whipped it up. This was a very quick knit, as it only took me 19 days to complete.

Again, this sweater was knit with Berroco Vintage yarn.

My one complaint with this sweater is that the hem curls up, because there's only one row of ribbing. I usually like the look of stockinette, but unless you have a fairly wide border, the hem's going to curl. Fortunately, it doesn't look bad, and if I hadn't pointed it out, it's unlikely anyone would notice. With the braided cables on the front, I don't know that you'd be able to add a wider border or ribbing or garter stitch. I'd be interested to try it, which I might do one day, since it's a really nice sweater and I'd be willing to knit it again. I do have a similar pattern that uses a worsted weight yarn, so I might use that pattern but incorporate the short row shaping at the bottom of this sweater since I like the curved hem.

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This photograph is a pretty accurate representation of the colour of my mum's sweater. It's a lovely heathered plum, and I wanted to keep the yarn for myself!

While knitting this sweater, I needed three row counters, as the cables on the front are mirrored and need to be counted separately, plus another counter is needed to count the rows of the sweater itself, not just the cables.

When you reach the underarms, the stitches are split into the two fronts and the back. Underarm stitches are bound off, then you knit the left side, back, then right side. After that, you knit the sleeves. While the construction of this sweater is a bit complicated, it is not difficult so long as you’re paying attention. This is not a project I would tackle as a travel project!

I visited my parents last month, and brought their sweaters along with me. Hopefully they will get plenty of use out of them!