This project plan began when it became necessary to replace a wardrobe staple. Late last summer the v-necked ivory cotton Reitmans pullover I had owned since 2007, and worn countless times as it went with most of my summer skirts, trousers, shorts, and jeans, died a grisly death when it acquired some sort of stain on the front that I could not remove, try as I would. It was time for a new one.
I searched Ravelry for a suitable fingering-weight pullover pattern. I wanted something simple with a bit of interesting detail that would go with everything. In the end, I selected Elizabeth the First (shown above), designed by Alice Starmore, as published in her book, The Tudor Roses. I'd treated myself to a copy of that (gorgeous!) book for a birthday present several years back, so I had the pattern in my library. For yarn, I selected Premier Cotton Fair, a fingering weight cotton acrylic blend, in Cream, which I purchased at Michaels one skein at a time using their "40% to 50% off one item" coupons, so it was pretty cost effective. It seems to be a very decent quality yarn and was pleasant to work with. Ravelry has it listed as a sport weight, but I definitely consider it a fingering weight.
And here's the finished sweater. The lines of the sweater as designed are almost costumey -- understandably, given that it was a design inspired by a queen known for her incredibly elaborate attire. The pattern calls for a 10" decrease through the waist, and flared cuffs on the sleeves. I'm a big proponent of waist shaping in knitwear, but my body doesn't even have that much waist definition, and I can never tolerate extra fabric flapping around my wrists. I altered the pattern so that there was only 4" of waist shaping, knitted the sleeves in a standard tapered shape, and also raised the armholes by two inches. I kept the neckline, the yoke and hem detailing, and the curved hem exactly as they were, so the design does present very much as intended. I'm quite pleased with the result. And now I hope to get years of wear out of it, as I did out of its predecessor.
This project was supposed to take 400 grams, but I used a cotton instead of the wool called for, and cotton tends to run short because it's heavier. This sweater took 410 grams of yarn, leaving me with a 90 gram stash increase.
Gorgeous. I have looked through the Tudor Roses book and there is not way I would have been willing to take on most of those designs. but they are beautiful to look at.
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