The Forsythia Saga



Yarn: Jaeger Aqua
Pattern: The Forsythia shirt from Paton's book of vintage patterns.
Needles: 4s & 6s

There is a very long story behind this shirt. It was one of my first knitting patterns, back when I was a baby knitter. I didn't know that DK meant a specific weight of yarn and went out and bought my mother some nice sugar and creme worsted weight cotton. I knitted the entire shirt without swatching it.

It was HUGE.

So, I ripped, reswatched and reknit it on 2s and 4s instead of 4s and 6s. It fit her, and all seemed to be well, until I had a realization. Wait a minute! DK weight is the same as sport weight! No wonder I had so many problems!

I made the mistake of mentioning it to my mother, and offered to remake it. She said yes. I unraveled the old shirt, and plan to make it into a Cherry Twist come springtime.

So, we went out to a LYS and bought some Jaeger Aqua on clearance. I knit her a shirt (after doing a gauge swatch), seamed at it, and then was extremely confused.

The pattern allowed for 10" of ease.

Ease has always driven me absolutely batty. Give me a finished measurement and I'll go from there. But don't tell me that it will fit someone with a 36" bust and have finished measurements be 46"! It's just mildly ridiculous.

So I ripped and reknit for the smallest size, a 41" final measurement for a 32" bust. Right. But still, it's done and my mom loves it!



Here's a shot of the second version of the sweater.