The last jumper than I made for my husband was a disaster. I bought 12 skeins of Rowanspun 4 ply and make a simple crew neck pull-over with dropped shoulder. Dropped shoulders styling isn't the most flattering of fits, but it's easy to calculate lengths (my husband is a big fellow, broad shouldered and long armed, so I always have to adjust the sleeve lengths, and widen the shoulders for a good fit). The Rowanspun was so fragile and threadlke. I found tons of knots but plowed on away. (I mean, it is Rowan so the quality is top notch, right?) It took me 6 weeks to finish the darn thing and that's with a 2 week break over Christmas. Can anyone imagine anything more boring than 4 ply, stocking stitch in a dark blue, that snaps whenever you pull too hard? I wasn't much of a stickler those days and knotted liberally myself, so the knots didn't bother me too much, but I should had been more suspicious.
The fit wasn't great, as I got bored and frustrated by the breaking yarn, my tension loosened considerably (to avoid tying more knots) On the second wear, the cast on edge on the body broke. I repaired it. On the third wear, another part of the edge on the body broke. I repaired that too. Then the same happened to the sleeve cuff. How absolutely disappointing! Now I know most men are pretty hard on their clothes but this has never happened before and I usually cast on, on needles 1-2 sizes up and I use long tail for extra elasticity. Of course, this Rowanspun was new so the low-down wasn't yet known. Soon afterwards the Rowan board was littered was comments about how Rowanspun was dusty, how it wasn't good for cabling, since the yarn had a tendency to snap, the number of knots, etc....
Rowanspun is still a lovely yarn with great colours, but unless you go for the heavier weights, I would avoid using it for men things. The new Yorkshire Tweed and I get along fine and I still curse the day that Rowan discontinued their Fox Tweed and Donegal Tweed.
About 8 months ago, I took my husband down to Liberty and asked him to pick out something and I will make him a jumper. The Rowan consultants are always pleased to see him. He's one of the **good** guys, that come along with their wives during the sales to help her cart home obscene amounts of yarns. I fervently hoped that he would pick out something in aran weight or DK. Instead, he picked out some Rowan 4 ply soft in beetroot. I've put off starting this sweater for a long time, mostly because he won't wear anything that's 'fashionable' or in a 'fashionable' colour. But finally, after a shopping expedition on Saturday, I caved. I bought 15 balls of Rowan 4 ply soft, 28x36 to 10 cm
Hey Anna (or anyone else), wanna race to see whose husband get's their 4 ply jumper first? All you need to do, is stop working on those bags ...
Posted by atu at April 19, 2004 08:15 PMBrilliant idea to use sock yarn - my man always wears away the cuffs and the welt of his sweaters - "What do men do to sweaters - do they have little wooly gremlins that follow them around and chew on anything the resembles ribbing edges! *G*
Posted by: Lydia at April 22, 2004 12:13 AMPolly, the colour combo is as sensational as the knitting. How effective a simple pattern becomes when it is immaculately made by an expert...
Drooling and awestruck,
Jen
I wanted to say thank you for the extensive notes on Chamomile. I didn't swatch (bad me), but quickly found that size 8 (5.0mm) just wasn't going to work. I've moved down to 4.5mm needles that are susan bates coated aluminum (I forget what they're called) and these needles (which I normally do not like) were made for summer tweed. It is now going smoothly. I normally knit a Rowan size 38, but moved up to the size 40 because I wanted a little more room than what the model seems to have. And since, as you say, the yarn is fragile, more ease means better range of movement, right? I'm using "brilliant" (hot pink) and can't wait to wear this before it gets unbearably hot!
Posted by: deb at April 21, 2004 05:14 AMYou are either : 1. A bonafide Saint, 2. In serious debt to this man or 3. Completely out of your tree !!! 4ply for a LARGE man's sweater ?? It must be love - you have a very lucky husband and a million times more patience than me.
So - just exactly how fast do you knit Polly ? Looking good already !
Posted by: Heather at April 20, 2004 07:32 PMClever knitter you are to use sock yarn for the cast-on. I feel the same away about drop shoulders. Set-in sleeves, or, my favorite: Raglan sleeves! There's something about raglan sleeves that emphasizes the shoulders in a man's sweater...
Posted by: Becky at April 20, 2004 07:14 PMPolly, Those are some of the reasons I don't knit for the HO, and the fact that it would probably take me 12 months or more to knit it. Have been meaning to email you but have been racking my brains trying to remember where we used to go and eat in Paris (apart from the obvious Irish pubs), finally spoke to an old college friend who told me it was Chartiers, it was so cheap there and the surroundings were wonderful even if the waiting staff bullied you out of your chair just as you were eating your last mouthful. I told you my memory isn't what it used to be. Love the colours of the man raglan and the sock yarn is very clever. A lucky man indeed.
Posted by: Sue at April 20, 2004 11:57 AMThe jumper is fantastic, Polly. James will look great in it, the colour and slight pattern are just right which I'm sure he will appreciate. It is pure love and devotion knitting that great expanse of 4 ply.
Posted by: Louise at April 20, 2004 08:37 AMHi Polly! I'm kinda shocked at your Rowanspun horror story!! I just finished knitting "Beth" from A Season's Tale in Midnight and Jade Rowanspun 4 ply and I sized it up to a 50" for *fluffy* me! So just imagine all that knitting, LOL! I used 14 skeins total and there was not a single knot!! The sweater is lovely and I've worn it 3 times already....I got my yarn from England too (Up Country) so we probably had similarly "aged" yarns. My experience was TOTALLY different and I wouldn't hesitate to use Rowanspun 4 ply again! Altho I am partial to 4 ply soft too, love your hubby's new sweater in progress and beet root is my favorite color! I think you must have somehow gotten a defective batch of the Rowanspun, so maybe give it another try?
Posted by: Debi at April 20, 2004 06:14 AMYou are a brave Woman Polly to knit a 4 ply mans large jumper. My husband can only dream of such love and dedication and he would fit a medium size. Lovely colour and a good idea re the sock yarn.
Posted by: Carol at April 20, 2004 01:48 AMThat was a jolly good idea, using sock yarn for the edge. I don't like Rowanspun - when are they going to phase it out in favour of Yorkshire Tweed?
Did you consider doing it in the round? I don't mind doing purl, but you often do things in the round to avoid the sewing up. You seem to be progressing very quickly, anyway.
Have you warned James that if he wears it up on a trip to Libertys (in a couple of weeks, the rate you are going) he will be surrounded by women all grabbing his sweater for a closer look.....
Posted by: Jill at April 19, 2004 10:57 PMYou just cast on Saturday and you are already that far? Wow, for that tiny gauge that is fast!
What pattern are you using? I like the way it is looking so far...not sure if I would use the 4 ply though. I'm too used to the THICK peace fleece.
It's going to be a fantastic jumper.Lovely colour,gorgeous,soft yarn and a tasteful,subtle pattern [you can quote me on that if he starts to wobble over the pattern !].Of course you'll be knitting nothing else,at all,for weeks !
Sock yarn cast-on = a fab idea !
What a lovely color - and the pattern is perfect. Good information on the Rowanspun, I'll avoid it if it shows up on eBay...
Good idea for the cast-on edge, and it looks very nice.
Posted by: KarenK at April 19, 2004 09:16 PMPolly
What can I say - I guess the race has begun. Do I get a further extension on the Peace Shawl knit-along?
Posted by: Anna at April 19, 2004 08:09 PMIt's gorgeous! What is your gauge, anyway, about 8 spi? That's gonna take a long time, but the result will be stunning. Great idea, making the edges with sock yarn.
Posted by: Sheila at April 19, 2004 08:08 PM