andalusia

i've made it a goal to catch up and post about my finished things. especially those things that are sweaters. i want to make sure that i have something to come back to that points out the things i loved (and hated) about the specific thing. i also set this goal because i would like to have great photos of those things, especially when that thing is something for my little boy. chances are that i'll want to knit stuff for the next one so i want to be sure that i have a detailed record of which ones are must-knits.

andalusia--- here's the thing about this sweater. i knit it as a shop sample for a dyer local to me. she gifted me the pattern and the yarn. the finished item was supposed to show off her newest yarn base, which is a lot like malabrigo worsted. she ended up not needing the sample, so i got to keep it.

i knit 2 year old size but most people who have knit this particular sweater said that it was too big for a 2 year old. that is exactly the case. xander is wearing 3T now and it fits him perfectly.

this was not the most fun to knit for me. i found the pattern to be a little confusing, leaving out some key information that later caused me to have to rip back almost the ENTIRE sweater.

it's top-down, raglan construction makes it tolerable but the stitch used was not fun to knit for me. the double-breasted front was in seed stitch and the body and sleeves are knit in the andalusia stitch, which is specified in the pattern.

however, i put this on xander last weekend and decided to take pictures. i love this sweater. the double-breasted front is so adorable on him. i used two tones of green buttons for the button band. they were just buttons that i had lying around.

since this knit was to sample a yarn that wasn't released (to my knowledge), i would say that the yarn in comparable to malabrigo worsted. it's a single-ply yarn making the finished sweater squishy and warm. the grey is perfect for a little boy and can be worn with pretty much anything in his closet.

all in all, i would consider knitting the sweater again since i worked out most of the kinks. once you get going, it's a quick knit and it makes for a great layering piece. i would love to knit it up in a variegated yarn since there is a textured pattern that would minimize the chance for pooling.