Sea Salt Sweater

Several years ago, my knitting bestie encouraged me to knit my first sweater.  In order for me to actually do it, she suggested we do a knit-a-long (KAL) – and I agreed.  This is the only sweater I have knitted, to date. It was a good experience, overall, despite my reasons for not wanting to knit sweaters, and I’m excited to share it with you today.

The Pattern + Yarn

Since I was a novice sweater knitter, I let my friend choose the pattern.  She chose the Sea Salt sweater, which has an interesting construction that she was eager to try.  And she assured me that I could do it. My main requirement in the pattern was yarn weight. I did not want to knit my first sweater with fingering weight yarn!  

We went yarn shopping – always fun – and I didn’t have any color in mind.  But I happened upon a Madelinetosh colorway that was perfect: Nectar. I was sold!  

Construction

Sea Salt has a very unique construction.  The upper bodice is knit side to side – and then you do the sleeves.  You pick up stitches to continue the rest of the body in the round. The neck is added later.  

I definitely relied on my friend to answer some of my questions, but the pattern was mostly straightforward and easy for even a novice sweater knitter.  

Details

Pattern:  Sea Salt by Laura Aylor

Yarn: Madelinetosh DK Twist

Colorway: Nectar

Needles: US 7 (4.5mm)

Made for: me

Time to Completion: about 15 months

I honestly can’t remember why it took me so long to finish this sweater.  I think I had a question in the very beginning that caused me to set the project aside for a bit.  But at the time, in 2015-2016, I wasn’t knitting nearly as much as I am now, so projects just took longer. 

This sweater fits well but it’s not 100% comfortable when moving.  And I don’t know how to explain why. But this has caused me to not wear it very much.  That, along with the fact that I’m worried about messing it up – and all the reasons in my last post.

But I’m so proud of myself for knitting this sweater.  I proved to myself that I can do it, even if it’s not something I will do a lot in the future.