Sunday 1 March 2015

Knitting: Bow Jumper

Back in January last year, I was whiling away some time in Smiths while I was waiting to catch a train when a little photo on the cover of Knitting magazine (issue 124) caught my eye. It was of a jumper with a colourwork bow on the front, which I thought was just the right level to satisfy my general love of bows, without being twee enough to take it to the point where my sister and mum tell me to step away and leave it alone (which is not an infrequent occurrence!). I bought the magazine, added the jumper to my never-ending list of future knitting projects and little over a year later, here it is!


The jumper is knit flat, and other than the rib at the waistband, wrists and neck, is just all stocking stitch with the bow knitted using intarsia, so it was relatively speedy to knit and was good for evenings in front of the TV when you need something that doesn't require too much concentration. I started it towards the end of October after I finished my polka dot cushion cover, got the back finished fairly quickly, then put the whole thing on hold while I was working on Christmas presents and finished the rest in the first six weeks of this year. That's fairly speedy for me, because I'm not the world's best or quickest knitter. 


However, it does mean that once again I've managed to finish a knitting project just as the season when I want to wear it is coming to an end! Never mind, I've enjoyed wearing it already, spring is only just starting to show its face so I'm sure I'll be wearing it again before the weather warms up more, and it'll be ready and waiting for me next winter. Maybe this year I should try to start winter knits in the middle of summer - but that never seems that appealing! I'm not the only one who suffers from this problem am I?


The jumper is designed to be worn with a bit of positive ease, but I thought I'd prefer a slightly more fitted style so, as my measurements fell between two sizes, I decided to go with the smaller size and I think that worked out fairly well. There's a bit of excess around the waist section, but it's similar to the fit on the model in the magazine so I think that's just the way it's meant to be. At least that's what I'm telling myself, because I'm not confident enough with knitting to start messing around with the shaping of patterns too much. 


I enjoyed knitting the bow section - I really love watching how the pattern gradually emerges as you knit each row. That's not weird is it?! The edges of the different coloured sections aren't entirely faultless, and I did end up with a couple of small holes at the start of the blue sections, but some strategic weaving in of ends soon sorted that out. 

The yarn I used is Hayfield Aran with Wool in shades softmint (741) and navy (995). I saw the navy in a local knitting shop and it felt nice and soft, but was the only shade they had in stock so I switched to an online search. I thought the softmint would be a good match, and I am really happy with how the colours look together, but the softmint doesn't feel quite as nice as the navy. It's not a massive difference, and it's still fine to wear, but it is definitely noticeable. It's interesting how different dyes can have that effect on the same wool. 


Overall, I'm happy with the end result. I do wish I'd managed to get it finished a bit sooner to give me more time to enjoy it this winter, but better late than never! I've already started my next knitting adventure - my first foray into the world of handmade socks. Any tips for me?

13 comments:

  1. I started socks with the "simple sock pattern" that often comes free with Opal yarns. Many socks later this is still my go-to pattern (now memorised). The book "Getting started knitting socks" by Ann Budd is a really useful background book too.

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    1. Thanks for the tips Liz! I've already got the book you mentioned by Ann Budd so it's nice to know I've made a good choice!

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  3. Its great! What a fantastic skill to have - I so wish I could knit!

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    1. Thank you! I'm lucky - my Mum's good at knitting so she taught me and is around to help when I have any problems!

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  4. Your jumper is so cute (definitely not overly twee). Great colour choice too. I'm also a bow fan and added one to a hat I finished knitting recently - I couldn't help myself!

    I came across your blog a few weeks ago after looking up variations of Hollyburn skirts on Google Images and just want to say I love your style :)

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    1. Thank you Jo - that's really nice of you to say! I sometimes struggle with feeling confident with what I wear so it's good to know that other people like it. And, obviously, I completely understand the need to add a bow to a hat - there should be more bows in the world I think!

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  5. I just discovered your blog and omg I LOVE this sweater. Bows are my favorite thing ever. Every time I see a sweater pattern somehow involving a bow, I immediately add it to my Ravelry library. I must get my hands on this pattern.

    You did a great job and I really like the color combo. I wouldn't have thought to combine turquoise and navy.

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    1. Thank you! I'm always drawn to anything featuring bows too - they're just so fun. I did have a look for this pattern online to link up to but couldn't find it - hope you have more luck than me!

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  6. Ooh that's lovely, the colours are perfect :) I do that too with knitting out of season, I always seem to be doing hats in the summer!

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    1. Thank you! Glad to know that I'm not the only one who knits out of season - just started my first pair of socks and I think it'll probably be sandal weather by the time they're finished!

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