To be honest, I'm not well pleased with how the sweater has stood up to wear. If I would to use this yarn again, I would par-felt/full it before wearing it to make it, hopefully, pill less. If you are going to replace the yarn, choose a yarn made of 100% animal fiber, preferably not too smooth. The steek edges want to felt to the sweater a little bit to stop the whole thing from falling apart.
It also helps to make certain the neck is deep enough before BO the shoulders.
Yarn: Peruvian Highland Chunky from Elann.com
100% highland wool
50g - 70m/76yds.
15 balls is more than enough. 12 will do it.
15sts/22rows = 4"/10cm
6.0 mm needles
Sweater is worked in the round from the bottom up. Fits snug on 40" bust.
- CO 140sts. Join and work in round. 1x1 rib. for 2inch/5cm.
- Change to Stst. Next round. Inc 14 sts evenly (154sts total). Work even until sufficient length to begin underarms (around 12", but you know your size better than I do).
- Divide stits in half and place marker for each half - ideally, at the beginning of the round and 77 sts from that marker. This is where the arms are going to be. The next round, you will place the 4 sts either side of these markers on a scrap of yarn (easiest) or st. holder so that you can use them later when you knit the arms. That makes 8 sts per arm, or 16 sts total. Where you put the sts on holder you will CO 5sts for making the steeks. (confused yet? Leave a comment and I'll do my best to clarify. Sadly there are few web resources on how to steek, but try these: Steeks, Knitty on steeks, and my personal fave. resource for this, And She Knits Too!.)
- Dec 1st each side of arm steeks each round for 3 rounds.
- Keep knitting stst until your are ready to begin neck. Place center front 23 sts on holder for the neck and CO 5 sts across the gap.
- Dec 1st each side of neck steek every second round 4 times.
- knit even until sufficient depth for neck and arms (give yourself more than you think you need).
- Place back center 31 sts on holder for neck and 3needle bind off each shoulder (so that the ridge is on the inside).
- Cut steeks for neck, pu sts around edge and ones on holders. You could use smaller needles for this if you like, I had to try a few times to get the neck right and I'm still not happy with it. 1x1 rib, until desired length. BO.
- Arms: cut steeks, PU about 2 sts for ever 3, or 3 for ever 4. Again, I had trouble to get this just perfect, so try you might have to try it a few times until you get it right. Do the math (#sts picked up -( # sts want for wrist + 10) = how many sts to dec). Divide this number in two, that's how many decs you need to make. Knit stst until reach 1" short of desired length, decreasing every 8 rows or so. Dec 10 sts evenly around row. 1x1 rib for 1". BO and do other arm.
The pattern needs some work, but I think an experienced knitter can get the gist of this. Leave a comment if you need some help doing the math or just clarification in general.
