A sweater for Jayme: the harrowing journey so far

I’ve heard tell of the Sweater Curse that hangs over the knitting community, wherein knitting a sweater for your significant other dooms the relationship. I, however, have seemed to experience the inverse of the Sweater Curse, where the sweater itself is doomed.

I tried once before to knit a sweater for my husband. A navy blue pullover with a button-up collar, knit in a seeded rib. He picked the pattern, the yarn, and the antler buttons. It was knit flat in pieces that would be later seamed together, and it appeared to be going okay, up until the last sleeve was in place. The back appeared to have shortened in the seaming process, as the bottom seemed to “float” several inches higher than the front panel. Cue my devastation.

Until then, I’d only knit garments for myself, and for my aunt whose body measurements were similar enough to mine that I could just use myself as a guinea pig. And the fact that this sweater was knit flat meant that if it didn’t fit right at any point, there wasn’t any way to know until it was too late. So there were a lot of challenging components.

I took those lessons with me into my second attempt a year later. I picked a pattern that was knit in the round, so I could make my husband try it on more easily, and I also opted for a free pattern because I was still salty about having spent money on the pattern that failed.

I wanted to source an indie-dyed yarn for the project this time as well. I pulled up the colour catalogue for Allison Barnes Yarn and had my husband pick one he liked. He chose Midlife Crisis, a denim blue colourway speckled with navy blue and brown. I also got to catch up with Allison at her home in Edmonton when the yarn was ready for pick-up and meet her precious cats.

The pattern I’m using this time is the Tailwind Sweater by the Finnish company Novita Knits, which is knit from the bottom up in garter rib throughout, with regular ribbing on the cuffs and bottom hem. It’s a delicious texture. At this stage of my work in progress, I’m about to start the second sleeve. Then all that’s left is the raglan, collar, and button band.

It’s coming along a lot better this time, and I’m excited for Jayme to be able to wear it.