The bottom half of the sweater has a lace pattern, all knitting looks wonky and messy before blocking, linen more than most.
I finished knitting the sweater on the long drive up to Mammoth. We got there in the late afternoon and immediately went out for a walk in the meadow. It gets a little chilly and the linen sweater was perfect! It’s a little shapeless here, but hey, the company is so worth while.
As soon as I got home, threw the sweater into the washing machine and then the dryer – linen can take a lot of abuse, actually it needs it to help soften the fibers. I then ironed it to give it back some shape.
If the sleeves look too long, that is because they are, I probably should have knit them a little shorter, linen grows in the blocking, but will grow no more. Unlike cotton that for some reason just keeps stretching no matter what you do. I may end up doing some sweater surgery and taking some length off before the lace section.
There is a reason why I didn’t take pictures of the sweater on me. It is cozy and yummy but a little shapeless – I know I will love wearing it on summer evenings and into the fall, this one is all about comfort and some pretty details (the lace) but one doesn’t get a nice well fitted sweater out of linen.
Having a large button stash enabled me to find three matching buttons that work just fine. Add a little punch but no big sparkle.
I do love how the lace opens up when blocked.
Will I be knitting another linen sweater? Probably not, I like my sweaters with more shape. I do have a lot of linen in many colors and I’m thinking of a crazy idea – knit a colorful throw. I am one who hates knitting afghans, even for babies – but what can I do? Sure I can knit another shawl, but I’ll still have a lot of linen left.
I’m thinking of a long term project, and I mean really long term, with no rush whatsoever to finish. Meanwhile, I think my next knitting project will be made out of the best fiber on earth for knitting – wool.