Five Things I Learned While Knitting My First Sweater

Have you ever wanted to knit a sweater, but you have felt too intimidated to try? I learned to knit over ten years ago. For the first couple of years, I knitted dishcloths, blankets, and scarves, but I felt nervous about trying anything else. Then I took a class at a local yarn shop in Winchester, which gave me the confidence to read patterns and try new stitches; however, anything that required knitting a specific size seemed beyond my skill level. I never knitted swatches to test my gauge, and accepted the fact that my projects might turn out a different size than the written pattern.

But after I became acquainted with Jen Parroccini through her step-dad, my former schoolteacher and now a friend, I saw the beautiful sweaters that she designs, and my interest was piqued. Most of the patterns, though, still seemed intimidating. Then earlier this year, she had a testing call for her sweater pattern called Soft Structure. When I saw that it was knitted in worsted weight yarn from the top down without seaming, I decided to give it a try.

Although the pattern called for the lovely Malabrigo Rios yarn, I decided to use Berrocco Comfort yarn for two reasons: 1) It was more affordable, and 2) I could find it in my local yarn shop. Buying yarn online is not ideal—colors can vary so much from what it looks like on a screen, not to mention that I like to know the feel of the yarn before purchasing it. (For me, going to a local yarn shop is like going into a candy store for a sweet-toothed child. I want to look at all of the beautiful yarns—enjoying both textures and colors. Of course, I always want to bring home delightful fibers for not-yet-planned projects. However, I do not have a large yarn stash.)

Because I wanted to make sweaters for my daughters with the Soft Structure pattern, I let them choose the colors of yarn. Of course, I knew that I would be setting myself up to knit a yellow sweater and a pink sweater, because those are their favorite colors.

Don’t you think I should make dresses out of that old quilt to match these sweaters?

I started with Emma’s sweater because I had made a dress for Ellie recently, and it was Emma’s turn to get something handmade.

Here are five things that I learned while knitting my first sweater:

1) Gauge matters!

If I had not taken the time to knit the swatch before I started making the sweater, I would have ended up with a sweater that was much too small. Because of my knitting tension, I ended up using needle sizes that were two sizes larger than the pattern recommended.

2) A well-written pattern means a better chance of a good outcome, and read the entire pattern before beginning.

The adage that you get what you pay for is true most of the time. When you buy a tech-edited, tested pattern written by an expert designer, you know that you can trust the pattern. Jen is meticulous and detailed in her patterns, and several times I wasn’t sure whether I was doing something correctly, but the more I knitted, I saw that the pattern was giving me the perfect instruction.

Why is it important to read the entire pattern before beginning? Well, when I started knitting the yoke, I couldn’t understand why I wasn’t seeing the same result as the pictures of the sweater. I kept comparing my work to the photo, confused. You see, I had only read the first three pages of the pattern—not all the way to the end. If I had read to the end of the pattern, I would have saved myself the consternation because I would have seen that the collar was knitted later.

3) Trying a new pattern shows where there I need to work on developing my knitting skills.

The two new skills that I learned in this pattern are casting on additional stitches within a pattern and picking up stitches.

I found that I need to work on managing my tension when casting on within a garment because I was left with small holes at each point. I reached out to Jen for advice, and she said: “You have to keep the stitches bunched up really tight at the tip of the needle while you're casting them in.” Now, I know for next time!

When I started picking up stitches to knit the collar, I was expecting it to be a 1:1 stitch ratio; however, it was not. Jen told me to pick up the stitches “evenly distributed” in the space, which took me a bit of practice. In the future, I would probably try to calculate the ratio and mark it with stitch markers instead of using trial and error, if possible.

4) Find the yarn that works for your budget.

I am sure that this sweater would have been even more gorgeous in the Malabrigo yarn; however, I didn’t want to invest too much in the first sweater just in case I didn’t succeed. Also, at the rate my girls are growing, I suspect that they will outgrow their sweaters quickly. Because I used a budget-friendly yarn, I paid less than $15 for the yarn for this lovely, yellow sweater (two skeins were needed). Of course, I spent hours and hours knitting it…so the true value of the sweater is really hundreds of dollars.

5) Patterns can be modified to fit the wearer’s needs.

As I was knitting, Emma gave me the instructions that she wanted short sleeves and wanted it to be waist length—not with long sleeves and sitting below the waist as the pattern is written, and so I modified the pattern to make it how she wanted it. And it’s perfect. She has worn the sweater nearly every day since I made it, and she layers it with other clothing. The style that she requested suits her wardrobe exactly. And I am starting to see that at the age of 4, she has her own sense of style and knows exactly what she wants!

Making this sweater was extremely rewarding! Blessing my girls with handmade items brings mutual joy. When I took it off the needles, even before I blocked it, she couldn’t keep her hands off of it!

Emma has already asked me if I will make her another sweater after she outgrows this one, and she asked, “Mom, will you make me sweaters until you die?” I assured her that I plan to make sweaters for her as long as I can!

But first, I need to make one for Ellie, my six-year old, and then I want to make one for myself, and my husband…

I hope that if you are a knitter that this post will inspire you to give a new pattern a try, and I would love to hear what you decide to make! Leave me a comment or send me an email.

As soon as I sat down to knit that day, he came and tried to take over the space on my lap.