Hopefully finished for Mother's Day

I hope I can get this done in time for Mother's Day. I have about 2 weeks so it should be okay. My mother will only wear white sweaters now, and those that she has do not fit her very well as her body has changed so much over the last few years due to both osteoporosis and Alzheimers Disease. So, I thought perhaps I could custom make a sweater that gives her a little more room across the back that is not so big in the front that it looks baggy. I spent several hours looking over patterns to find one that I could alter the way I have in mind and found one on Sunday evening that I think will work. It is from Lion Brand, pattern number 81016AD and it is called Recycled Cotton Weekend Retreat Cardi. The pattern and a picture are here



This sweater is made from the top down, and is knit all in one piece, so there will not be side seams or sleeves to sew in. That is what makes it easy to alter by placing the markers slightly off of where they are supposed to be. That will move the sleeves forward to give more room across the back. I will knit it in a medium, although perhaps a small would actually fit her. Better a little large than too small. I am not making it out of recycled cotton, although that sounds like a great yarn. It will be pretty abused by the laundry service at the nursing home so I bought something more durable, I hope:  Red Heart Comfort, which is 100 % acrylic. It would be better if it was taken home when it needs to be washed but I can not count on that happening.

The pattern calls for about 400 grams but I want to make the sleeves full length, so will need more than that. I am starting with a 454 gm ball, but there is no dye lot so if I run short, I can get more to finish it off.

Wish me luck! Off to the needles now!

End of first day of knitting .... the stitch increases make a nice pattern on each side of the sleeves. I have about 6 inches done and it is looking good so far. For someone else, I would use a salt and pepper yarn or something with a bit of a colour variation to it. I will take a picture tomorrow to record my progress.

The sweater is about 12 inches long now, and the yoke is finished. I have just put the stitches for the sleeves on the stitch holders so will now proceed with the body of the sweater. The pattern is for a short body section, but I will make it longer so it covers her back.

Sunday evening ... recap of the alterations I have made to the basic pattern. 10 additional stitches across back to allow ease. About an inch below the underarm area, I decreased 1 stitch by knitting 60, k2tog and another decrease 60 st from the other edge. I did that 5 times to make a kind of dart effect. I added 2 blocks of lace to add interest. Simple lace ... k4 yo k2to for the row, purl row, lace pattern, purl row, lace pattern. St st for the same length as the lace pattern, then another lace pattern.  Continued in st st for another inch or so, then I began to decrease to create a curve along the front. Dec 2 at start of the next 2 rows, then dec 3 at the start of the next 6 rows, then dec 4 at the start for a few rows. Ended the dec k2tog at both ends of the row for 5 more rows, or until I was close to what would be the side seam. This made the back longer and the front shorter, to allow more ease across her back and to keep it from dangling in the front and getting in her way. I think it is going to be a good fit for her, and it is looking quite nice too. I should be finished it by the middle of the week.  This is a picture of my progress so far from this morning. I have finished the front bands and am working on one of the sleeves now. Working out how to dec to add the shape to them, and I also don't want them to be too wide at the wrist as they dangle in her food when she is eating if they are. More tomorrow!

Pictures went above the update.... Sorry.

The sweater is finished. I am pleased with how it turned out. I will be taking it to my mother tomorrow, and hopefully will be able to get a picture of her wearing it. I will post pictures of the finished sweater in a new post just for logistical reasons!

The final dimensions are:  sleeve length from underarn to edge of cuff 15", including the 2.5" ribbing for the cuff.  The top edge ribbing is 2.5 inches and the bottom ribbing is 1.5". In retrospect, I should have made that 2.5 inches as well. One of the comments from other people who had made this said that they felt the bottom ribbing was too wide, so I thought I would make mine accordingly. The length from the neckband to the end of the ribbing on the back is 23" and the length of the front down the placket is 14". I would pick up more stitches along the front edge when making the ribbing next time as well. I wanted it shorter on the front, and it achieved that. The width of the chest just under the sleeves is 44". This is partly because I added stitches across the back. It was a size medium to start with, but had many alterations along the way.
Overall, I would make this sweater again. It is fast to make and would be a great summer sweater for layering.