One of the last knitting projects on my list before I took some knitting time off was to modify the neckline of my Henri sweater from the Holla Knits Fall Collection.

Lily in my Henri!

I knit up this green version, in Springtree Road Praline DK in Idyl, of Henri to test Ann Leachman’s amazing pattern for Holla Knits. I LOVED knitting it! Side to side construction, all those textures and cables! Man. This pattern is to die for.

It’s designed to have a ton of positive ease. Designer Ann Leachman knit up her sample in a size 34, which is the size I would have chosen. But I also wanted to show the pattern without all that positive ease, so I knit up the 38″ size, which is being modeled by 42″ busted model Lily above. She looks fantastic in it, so if you aren’t into all that positive ease, pick a size 4-6″ smaller than your bust size and you’ll be right on.

Pre-Mod

So here I am in my Henri. I obviously had to knit the pattern as is for the Holla Knits photo shoot, but as soon as I finished it I knew that I’d have to go back and redo that neckline to make this sweater fit me better. I’m a 36″ bust, and this sweater is a 38″ with 4-6″ of positive ease! It’s oversized to the point of swallowing me whole.

New Neckline!

BUT! I ripped out that neckline, picked up fewer stitches, and knit the neckline again, this time 1/2″ longer as well. It looks like a totally different sweater!

The first time I picked up the stitches as directed and got 156 total – 70 across the back and 86 across the front. The second time I only picked up 114 – 53 across the back and 61 across the front. It’s amazing, right? Pulls up the top of the sweater so the shoulders look better and makes the sleeves and the bottom of the sweater a better length. Now I’m ready to wear this sweater every day till summer 2013!

Related Sweatshop Love:

Zemanta