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lila winter

Posted by Jessica Povenmire on

The Lila Pullover...oh how I love a good, basic sweater and this one definitely fits the bill. And when I saw that DreaReneeKnits was hosting a knit-a-long right as I was finishing my Maude Cardigan? It was meant to be.

And then came the hardest part of any project - choosing yarn. Do I want to be able to wash this in the machine? Is that really worth limiting my options? Am I actually going to finish a sweater that uses worsted weight yarn when I still have my Benton sweater just waiting to get completed? Yep, these are life's hard questions people.

But Carrie Bostick Hoge answered all of my questions with a brand new version of the Lila sweater in her new Anthology 2 book. The Lila Winter. Knit in bulky Puffin by Quince and Co (which just happens to be my favorite yarn of all time), this sweater is everything I need.

 

Worked from the top down, this sweater knits up incredibly quickly. After reading many, many reviews of the original Lila sweater, I knew I would most likely want to add in a little bit of length. However, this version already had an extra 2.25" built into the pattern, so I figured it just might be good enough. I finished my short rows, added the garter stitch hem, and cast off. Way too short for me. So, I frogged my work, added some length, finished my short rows and hem, and realized that I never switched back to my larger needles before adding length. Ugh. Attempt #3 seemed to work out better...

I ended up adding about 5" of length before working my short rows. In hindsight, I don't know if I really need all this length in such a bulky sweater, considering that my hips aren't necessarily a place that need more bulk. Maybe someday I'll take out a couple of inches. It seems like the chunkier yarn calls for a more cropped sweater and while I love the length, there isn't as much drape with the Puffin yarn to allow for movement around my waist. Honestly, it's not my most flattering sweater, but boy-oh-boy is it comfortable.

I also shortened the arms to a long 3/4 sleeve. I always tend to wear my sleeves pushed up to my elbows anyways and adding the extra material with bulky yarn just seemed unnecessary.

 

 

This sweater a great introduction to short rows for anyone who hasn't tried them before to create the high-low hem. I tend to use the "wrap and turn" method instead of the Sunday Short Rows in this pattern, but a lot of other people swear by this way of working short rows.

Overall, I love this pattern to pieces and will definitely be making another for fall. Next time I'll have to give the classic Lila a try instead of her winter version! You can't have to many basic sweaters, right?

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