Vivian Sweater

Name: Little Red Vivian
Pattern: Vivian by Ysolda Teague
Craft: Knitting
Made for me :)
Start date: May 5, 2009
Completed date: June 18, 2009
Needle size: US8/5.0mm
Yarn: Cascade Eco+
How much? 3 skeins = 1434.0 yards (1311.2m)
Colour: 8450 (which is the perfect red)
Modifications: 1. Increased hood length 2. Slightly changed pattern for hood 3. Buttons instead of zipper
See it on Ravelry!

When I first saw this sweater, I thought it looked really interesting and intricate to knit, but for some reason I had no interest in making this sweater. I however did a 180 when I realized that this sweater was seamless. I hate sewing things together and I was curious as to how this sweater could be made without any seams. I quickly bought the yarn so I could cast on!

This was my first time knitting with Cascade Ecological. I love Cascade 220, so I have been very curious to try out Cascade Ecological. I was kind of afraid to knit with red because I have read that others have found the dye to rub off on their hands and knitting needles. That did not happen to me at all. Not even a slight tint of pink anywhere. I was pretty happy with this yarn. However, I did find that it fuzzed a bit when I was knitting. Hopefully it won't fuzz much with wash and wear. I found that this sweater "grew" a bit after washing it and blocking it. So if anyone is making a garment with Cascade Ecological, it's fine if it is a bit tight when you are knitting it, you can easily stretch it into the shape and size you want. Overall, I was happy with the Cascade Ecological and would use it again for future projects.

Back to the pattern...Wow, what can I say? Ysolda is a genius! This sweater was knit in one piece and all the cables traveled throughout the sweater seamlessly. I was afraid to make any modifications to such a complex sweater because I was afraid I would mess it up. I knit the whole sweater to completion and realized that the hood was way too short and way too small. So what I did was increased the hood length by 32 rows. For row 51 of the hood (which was row 83 for me), I did k2tog instead of p2tog to have the cables continue and decreasing the seed pattern. I thought it would be prettier to have the cables travel all around the hood instead of the seed pattern and having the cables end out of nowhere.

I also decided to do seeded band with buttons instead of a zipper closure. I really wanted a zipper closure because I wanted to find the perfect ribbon to add to the inside of my sweater. However, as stated earlier, I hate sewing so I decided to do this instead. I thought the seeded band went well with the sweater, so I opted for that instead of a ribbed band. I just picked up stitches along the sides of the front and the hood to knit it in one piece. Worked seeded stitch for 4 rows. On the 5th row, I cast off two sts where I wanted the buttons to be. On the 6th row, I cast on 2 sts where I had cast off 2 sts on the previous row. Knit in seed pattern for row 7-9. Cast off on row 10 in seeded pattern. I decided on black buttons because I love how it "pops" with the red.

Overall, I think this will be one of my favourite sweaters. The sweater is perfect for cold summer nights at the cottage or on snowy winter days. It was an interesting knit, so I was never bored. Who knows, I might have to make another one :)