I finished this knit a couple of weeks ago but didn’t get the time to photograph it until this weekend. It’s something I came up with, so there isn’t a pattern but I still thought I’d share here and what I decided to do.
When I was at Vogue Knitting Live in NYC I walked into the Fiberist’s booth and immediately made a beeline to this yarn. It was mainly an off white but with a rainbow and I knew it was going to come home with me.
The yarn is their Newton Worsted, 60% merino and 40% silk, it’s like and has a lovely drape to it and it feels amazing in your hands. This color is called Scarlet Macaw and it was one they had just experimented with for VKL and I scooped up two skeins, happily.
Initially I thought I was going to make a vest but with the silk and the drape I decided this was perfect for spring and I needed to make a drapey, oversized tee. I went with a raglan style knit, decided to do the math to make it for about a 46 chest (I typically wear a 40) and see how it worked with drape and ease. I went with a crew neck style, and I did just a tiny bit of short row shaping on the back because I like that. I also love that the sleeve hits right at my elbow and it’s just this breezy knit top. It’s perfect. I also decided as I was knitting it that the reverse was the side I liked the most to show off the rainbow, so that’s the side I decided was the right side. Essentially it’s just reverse stockinette stitch. And then I decided to add one more special touch…
Embroidery! I’ve been itching to embroider my knits but kept thinking it would only look good on solid colored fabric. Nope! It totally worked with my rainbow. So I sketched out my name and stitched away, now it really has a nice personal touch to a hand knit piece.
This year I want to experiment more, play with different shapes, yarn weights and styles – there will be some patterns that I use (I’m obsessed and plan to make the Swallowtail Sweater) but there will be lots of things that I don’t make patterns for because I just want to see what I can come up with. I know for some that’s frustrating when they come to my blog. I get it, you want a pattern but it’s just a way for me to figure out how I want to express myself in knitting. Has anyone else embroidered their knits? Are you as obsessed as I am?
Yards of Happiness 
Your top is gorgeous!! It looks fantastic on you:) I love the monogram. Jellybean is going to need some monogrammed sweaters too:)
I love that you are creating your own sweaters with everything you want. It is something I have been thinking of doing but haven’t take that step. I would love to hear about your process. Cute sweater!
Beautiful!!
You are the boss of your knitting and can do whatever you want! No need to write up a pattern.
I bought that swallowtail sweater pattern too… and hope to be good enough one day to be able to make it!
Beautiful! Is there a pattern that you used….I’m not knowledgeable enough to create my own (unfortunately).
I love your knits, whether or not there’s a pattern. There are a million raglan tees on Ravelry that could be adapted, and it’s the yarn and your style that make it amazing! I have done some duplicate stitch, but so far no embroidery on my knits. I did embroider a pair of jeans though, and it was fun but took a long time for the flowers I was making. Love your new knit!
Beautiful, now spring can begin.
The embroidery looks great!!! Hope to see more! It reminds me of Lavern & Shirley (I’m sure I just dated myself), but I’ve ALWAYS loved that personalized look! Way to go DWJ!!!
LOL….That was my first thought too!
I love your rainbow tee. It looks great! I am always happy to read your posts even without patterns. Love the embroidery as well. Hmmm…how would Jellybean look with an embroidered sweater?
I love your fabulous sense of color and your ambition. I, too, just start knitting to see what happens. I often begin with a pattern I like and adapt it to suit my personal style. After all, even though the designers have really great ideas, they don’t know our palettes, our sizes and shapes and our preferences. It seems everything you make really suits you in all three aspects, and you’re an inspiration!
The embroidery is beautiful, something I should try in the future. I am interested that the amount of color in the sweater seems so much greater than I would have predicted seeing the yard in the skeins. I do appreciate when yarn sellers display a swatch of yarns for sale.
Lovely😊 thanks for sharing the swallowtail pat and your thoughtful insights.
Rainbows are my favorite! https://www.ravelry.com/projects/KarenJ503/super-simple-summer-sweater
I’m currently working on a camomile-yellow (WAK yarn) top that I also did short rows in the back, and the way your top is finished in the sleeves just convinced me to finish my top with elbow-length sleeves.
Every time I read one of your blog notes I am inspired. Thanks, Dana!
Really cute and I love the colorway name.
I love that you over rode the feeling that you shouldn’t embroider on variegated. It’s like warning against knitting lace with variegated colors. It all depends! And, yay, I can do stem stitch and you’ve given me an idea. (Swiss darning not so much (: ).