Beaded collar sweater: a beautiful handmade gift made for me.

Hello friends,

This beautifully handmade sweater was a christmas gift made by my mom-in-law. I'm a lucky gal. It's deliciously soft and warm.

To be honest, It wasn't a complete surprise. I have chosen both the pattern and the colours and shared the cost of the raw materials. It wasn't cheap. As mainly a sewist, I can get good quality materials at a reasonable cost however it was the first time I had the conscience of the cost of a hand knitted garment. Knitters, how do you get good supplies at a reasonable price?

Pattern: Beaded collar sweater from Debbie Bliss Knitting Magazine - Autumn/Winter 2013: Issue 11

The pattern has originally a three quarter sleeve sweater, without contrasting ribs and smaller collar.

Before we talk about the modifications made specially for me, the pattern as it comes on page 71 has an errata. Lucky my mom in law is an experienced knitter, spotted the error, call them and they reviewed the pattern. You will find the correction here.

Sleeves: Lengthen to fit my long arms (67 cm) so instead of 33 cms from the pattern it was knitted 48 cm from cuff to underarm. Readjust the increasing on the sleeves were necessary after the additional ribbing.

Contrasting cuffs and extra body length was added thru ribbing. The original shaping for the waist was maintained.

She added 2 extra rows of beads, to the collar, which meant 8 extra rows of knitting as the beads were added every 4th row. She also secured it so it didn't roll over.

The pattern used 9 balls of light yarn and 2 balls of dark; Debbie Bliss sublime extra fine merino wool double knit. Shades were: 0228 & 0375. The wool is machine washable but because of the beads I will be washing it by hand. Needles: USA6/ UK8

Beads:3 boxes of size 6 glass beads 16221 from Mill Hills.

Knitting a christmas sweater is one of my creative goals for this year. So inspirational to showcase this beautiful gift made with love by Ro.

Social media really help beginners crafters. I asked some knitting advice on twitter and instagram and now I am investing on some circular needles. Hopefully I can go beyond simple knit and purl.

Changing subject, It's so dreadful and cold these days. Requires extra will power to take some decent pictures. I always feel so embarrassed with people looking. The weather also affects my creative mood, so I'm glad to have #projectsewn deadlines. I confess…is so intimidating and scary to be judged on something that you are so deeply passionated about but I know that what is important is to participate, even if it means not all the way. I will be sharing sneak peaks on my instagram. So far I ave 1 finished item and two WIP. Better get sewing!