I’ve begun a new knitting project, in grey aran yarn, knitting a sweater for the husband this time! After lots of umming & ahhing, I decided on the Shavo sweater. This is a free download on the official Berroco site, but also on Ravelry & Lovecraft.
Berroco yarn seems impossible to come by in France, despite it being “made in France”, so I settled on DMC Magnum in 997 grey. It’s an acrylic wool mix, machine washable etc, so I’m confident it’ll be good. Sold in 400g balls, and worked out less than half the price of the Berroco, so that’s not a bad thing either.
Anyway . . . I knitted a tension swatch, because DMC Magnum tension isn’t quite the same as the recommended yarn. . . and am knitting on a 5.5mm needle to get the correct gauge.
I started out following the pattern exactly, which called for 4 rows of garter before the 2 x 2 ribbing. I do like the look, but wasn’t too sure it would look so great on a men’s sweater. So I ripped it all out and started again.
Second version doesn’t look quite so “pretty”, but it does look more “manly” and I think it’ll be more practical and will help sweater keep its shape better. There’s plenty of texture elsewhere.
That’s a combination of knits & purls, with a 28 row pattern repeat. Just enough to keep me on my toes without being difficult to spot when I’ve made a mistake.
Being aran weight, it’s knitting up very quickly. I’ve just finished the front piece, and cast on the back. I was also a little naughty when I ordered in the grey yarn . . . and ordered in some pink too.
Once I’ve finished the grey version for the husband, I’m going to knit a Shavo sweater for myself in this pink. Will most likely knit those 4 rows of garter at the very bottom too.
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