Hello, friends! Here I am, at the advent of spring, with a worsted-weight wool sweater, just in time to pack it away until October! What can I say? I’ve never been good at seasonally-appropriate crafting! 😀
The Details
Pattern: Bronwyn, by Melissa Wehrle, for Brooklyn Tweed (here it is on Ravelry)
Yarn: Shelter in Truffle Hunt (just under 9 skeins)
Even though I won’t get to wear it for a while, this sweater has me AMPED! I love it! I really think it’s the best fit that I’ve gotten to date in a handmade sweater- a straight cut with a bit of ease through the body, which I like, and a slim fit through the shoulders and sleeves for nice balance. I didn’t make any modifications for fit; it’s all due to Melissa’s good design.
I purchased this yarn a while ago with a plan to make a Stonecutter, but as soon as Bronwyn was released, I knew that I wanted to use it for her! I’ll make a Stonecutter one day, I promise. 🙂 The colorway is really gorgeous- it’s brown/grey, with little flecks of blue throughout. It looks brown in warm light and grey in cool light, and pairs beautifully with denim, which is perfect for this jeans lover!
The pattern was a joy to knit. It starts with a tubular cast-on and a split hem, which look great and give a modern edge and professional touch to the sweater. Then the hems are joined and the sweater is knit circularly, bottom up, until the armscyes. Then the front and back are knit flat. The raglan sleeves are knit circularly, bottom up, and seamed to the body. I always dread seaming knits, but this was really straightforward to do and I was so excited to finish the sweater that I seamed it right away instead of my usual procrastinating for weeks/months before seaming (note: I used leftover sock yarn to seam this… I just can’t manage to do it in Shelter without the yarn snapping).
The cable pattern is gorgeous and super intuitive- after a couple of repeats, everything just makes sense. I followed the pattern exactly, with the small exception of slipping the first stitch of each row on the hem. I seem to always have to go down a needle size to get gauge in BT patterns, and this was no exception. Everything easily blocked out to the right dimensions and the cables looked so nice after a good blocking!
It was fun to knit a pattern written by Melissa, too. I’ve gotten to know her and knit with her a bit over the years as she lives not far from me in Queens. With this sweater joining a couple of Michele Wang sweaters in my closet, there’s a pretty heavy representation of Queens-designed knits in my closet! 🙂
Pine cone so you know I’m a real blogger 😉
Alright, friends, what are you knitting these days? If you’re in the northern hemisphere, are you still planning hand-knitted projects, or are you moving on to other things in the anticipation of warmer weather ahead?
Ginger Makes... 
What a gorgeous sweater! It’s still cool enough where I am for sweaters—but without a jacket over top (huge plus after what seems like the world’s longest winter). With all the beautiful patterns & talented designers available now, I may have to pick up some needles & try knitting again. So glad you shared this make–the textures are amazing. Great job.
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I hope you do try knitting again! It’s so rewarding! 🙂
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Ginger, Your sweater is beautiful. It doesn’t matter when you finished it; you have it ready for the next fall season. Who knows, there may be a few “spring” days left for you to wear it.
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Thank you, Cennetta! I’m hoping for some slightly cooler weather! 🙂
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Lady! This sweater is amazing and the fit is awesome!
… and thank goodness you included that pinecone… I was getting worried about your status as “real” blogger. Lolz.
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Haha! I mean, I’m not good at the “wistfully looking down and to the side” blogger pose so I have to make up for it with props! 😉
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Lady! This is gorgeous and the fit is amazing!!
… and thank goodness you included that pinecone. I was worried about your status as “real” blogger. Lolz!
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gorgeous! i think you are doing it the “right way.” when the weather gets cool again you’ll have a ready made brand new sweater to put on, instead of having to freeze for a few months until you finish one. 🙂
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That’s a good point! Rather than finishing it up at the end of the season, I’ll be ready to go!
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Oh, this is just gorgeous. I’m kind of in awe of your cable work, there’s nary a loose stitch to be seen! I saw another version of this pattern on my blog reel made up in a New Zealand merino possum blend, and it looked so lovely. It’s cool when patterns work equally well in yarns with completely different properties.
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Oooh, I bet that’s lovely! Does possum yarn have a halo to it like alpaca or angora?
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I think it does – I’ve never seen it IRL. It’s more a NZ thing as possums are a pest there, whereas here in Aus they are a protected native species (as frustrating as they are!). I’d like to buy some to try!
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Nice sweater! And I’m with you, it doesn’t matter when you finish things, it just matters that they’re done and ready for when you need them … in fact I just last week finished a natural brown, textured (although not cabled), worsted-weight sweater … we also get cool nights here throughout the summer, so I usually leave one sweater out when I pack away winter things, and this year it’s definitely going to be the new one!
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There are odd nights here and there when a cool mountain breeze comes through, although for the most part it’s humid as hell and super unpleasant! 😀 But it’s always nice to be prepared for winter in advance!
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Wow – this looks fantastic. Totally works on you! I’m intrigued that you seam with yarn that isn’t Brooklyn Tweed. You know I love that brand. And the patterns are spectacular. But I won’t buy the yarn anymore because it just isn’t strong enough (until it’s blocked). It’s very expensive for yarn that breaks just by knitting (and I’m not a tight knitter!).
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I just can’t get it to seam! It snaps so easily! I didn’t have problems with it breaking until I was doing the bind-off, and then it snapped twice- so annoying! I just used sock yarn, not even in a matching color, but you can’t see it because Shelter is thicker and sort of hides it. I hate that it snaps so easily (and wow, Quarry is like cotton candy or something, it’s so weak), but the loft that you get from yarn that’s barely spun is kind of worth it.
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This sweater looks fantastic. I love the colour. I’m knitting a sage green Primrose cardigan (Winged Knits) at the moment. It is actually the first time I have repeated a sweater!
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Cecily’s patterns are so gorgeous and clever! I don’t blame you for knitting it twice!
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Ooo! Love your sweater, those cables are delish!!
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Thank you, Lynne!
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Totally gorgeous. Love the pattern and the yarn is just a fabulous colour. It’s forecast snow over here next week. You’d be toasty warm!
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Snow?! Hope you’re staying cozy!!!
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I love this so much!!! The design didn’t really grab me when released, but your sweater just made me add this to my favorites! It couldn’t be more perfect!
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It’s so fun to knit- you should try it!!
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This is such a snug and sassy looking jumper! I bet this would pair fabulously with a fireplace, a cocoa and some pug hugs 😀 I’m gearing up to choose my winter knit now – am tossing up between a Lopi number or a couple of the BT designs. So excited!
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Almost everything pairs with a fireplace, cocoa, and pug hugs! 😀 I’m excited to see what you decide to knit! I’ve got a Lopi on the needles… one last sweater before it’s too hot and sticky to knit!
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Gorgeous sweater! I love BT sweaters and yarn too so I totally understand making sweaters in spring – I live in California and rarely need a worsted weight sweater but I adore the BT. You just gotta make them when you’re feeling the urge. Love those cables!
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The BT designs are just so thoughtful and cool! Sometimes they can be so time-consuming, but the extra details really make for a nice garment. Do you like to make lighter-weight sweaters? I could imagine wearing fingering-weight sweaters for cool California evenings!
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Ooh, all that cable goodness! That color looks really versatile, too. I’m currently working on one of the cardigans in my Coastal Knits book, which is a good project for my sleep deprived/toddler watching brain since it’s stockinette for miles until I get to the yoke. Then it’s fun with leaves.
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That sounds like a nice project to work on! Hope you’re getting at least a little bit of rest- you’ve really got your hands full these days!
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It’s lovely – love the traditional feel with modern touches
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It really is a nice design!
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I’m currently working on some wooly vests for my daughters for this fall. The shoulders are yellow and orange old shale lace and the bottom will be a neutral brown stockinette. I prefer knitting with wool and my production slows in the winter so I just go with it.
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That sounds pretty! What a nice autumnal color palette!
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I’ve been knitting the Purl Soho raglan sweater in a cotton/linen/ramie bought in Canada in snowy Feb. Its now April and I’m sitting in Mexico knitting and by the time I return to Australia next week the weather will be getting pretty cool and wintery – so I can match you for inappropriate errrr ummm, ever so thoughtful and well planned unseasonal knitting Sonja! This is the best thing ever BTW. I love a slouchy knit if only the bloody chesticles didn’t stick out and spoil the lines on me!! I may have to queue this one up, thanks for the inspiration it’s seriously gorgeous and you should be oh so proud luv x
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Heeheehee! Inappropriate crafting for the win! 😀 If it helps at all I chose a size with the max amount of wearing ease (4″)… you could achieve a more fitted look than mine if you pick a size on the smaller end (2″). I think this would look nice on you!
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This sweater is gorgeous! I would wear this all the time!
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I’m pretty sure I will! It’s just the right size, yay!
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That is one delicious knit ! and it fits and suits you perfectly!
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Thank you, Sasha!
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That’s one beautiful sweater! We just keep getting more and more snow-sleet-rain-wind -days, so I could just as well keep working with wool. I still need a winter coat outdoors and a sweater at the office. The problem is that I have so many already that there’s really no point in making more.
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