Rowan Tapestry sweater

 

 

 

Rowan Tapestry Marsh sweater

Yarn:  Rowan Tapestry, 70% wool 30% soya, Moorland shade, 380g

Needler: 3.75 mm

Tension: 24 st and 28 rows per 10 cm

Size: 8

Pattern: Marsh by Marie Wallin from the Rowan Tapestry Collection, with altered neckline

Knitted: 16 June to 3 October 2010

I bought nine balls of Rowan Tapestry in a charity shop several years ago, and last summer I finally got it out to knit it.  I wanted a simple pattern for a long-sleeved sweater, and I found one in the Rowan Tapestry Collection leaftlet that I bought in the Peter Jones sale.  The pattern is called Marsh by Marie Wallin.  The only change I made is the collar, because I wanted an open neck line.

The pattern was easy to follow although quite boring in places with just stocking stitch and nothing exciting.  My grudge with the pattern was the sizing.  It had double sizes, ie 8-10 together, and it would have meant ease of 12 cm for me.  I thought that excessive, so I used smaller needles to get a smaller size.  It worked and I'm very pleased with the size and the way it fits.  I shortened the body, the sleeves and the armholes, too, so I had to make the sleeves narrower and the sleeve head shorter.  It worked.

I was a bit suprised by how the hem turned out.  I did not appreciate what the instructions in the pattern meant, and it rolled up too much to my liking.  I cured it by placing a damp towel over the sweater when it was finished.  The sleeves rolled up much less, because they were much narrower.  I knitted the same rolled up edge for the neckline, and it looks and feels OK.

I really like the Tapestry yarn.  I like the colours and the random striping.  I tried to match the stripes when adding a new ball, but it did get tedious when there were knots in the yarn, and the new thread did not match the previous one.  Two balls out of the eight used had knots, and these were the balls with uneven yarn too, ie in some places it was thinner and in the others thicker.  The stripes on the back do not look good at all, but that is more to do with the yarn than with me.   Now when knitted the sweater feels soft and warm and lovely.