Pattern: Frozen by Lili Comme Tout, incorporating a truncated version of my Reverb sweater chart.
Yarn: TFA Yellow Label DK Weight yarn in Cloudless (TFA YICC November 2014 colourway).
Ravelry project page here.
When the Flax pullover I was knitting for Rowan didn't work out as planned I was secretly a little happy about it because there was another pattern that I was eager to knit for him, but seeing as how I had so many new 2T sized knits already in the works it was starting to feel silly to be considering casting on yet another tiny sweater. Rowan's Flax-turned-gift-for-Coralie ended up freeing up a spot in his wardrobe for another size 2T pullover, giving me the perfect excuse to finally knit him Frozen. I realize that I totally could have just knit it in a different size from the get-go, since I seem quite obsessed with this size 2T issue, but I really wanted a pullover that would fit him now!
I have had this pattern in my favourites for a while. I was particularly taken with the shoulder construction and was excited to try it. The pattern is flawless. It's beautifully laid out. The instructions are crystal clear and it is full of well thought out details. I'm quite picky when it comes to what patterns I buy and knit these days. I spend a lot of my knitting time and energy developing my own designs so when I decide to knit from another designers patterns I try hard to make sure that it's going to be a learning experience, or at least a very pleasant experience. I hope that doesn't make me sound full of myself, all I mean by it is that I spend so much time over thinking every single detail of my patterns, so when I'm working from another artists notes I really appreciate that they've done the same.
You may have noticed that my version features a few mods from the original. I got it in my head that I really wanted to use my Reverb charts for this sweater. The original cabling is lovely but it reminded me of Reverb and one thing led to another and I couldn't get over the idea. I also decided to work the cable on the front and the back of the sweater (in my Reverb the strong lines down the back is one of my favourite parts of the design!) Since I was going to be adding so much cable-y goodness to this wee thing I opted not to work a cable panel down the sleeves, I figure it's got enough going on already. I modified the ribbing at the neck and the hem to flow into the cables, which actually resulted in some pretty weird ribbing, but once on a toddler you don't notice the odd counts.
Overall, I'm thrilled with how this sweater came together and I think that it's a really good lesson in how amazing a good pattern can be. I'm happy with the fit and can definitely see myself knitting variations on this design again. Maybe next time I'll leave the front and back solid and just add sleeve cables, it would look completely different. Or add stripes. By using a well written pattern as a template and a jumping off point you can knit lots of different and interesting projects, really getting your money's worth on that one pattern. I urge you to think about it, you probably have a few patterns in your library that, with a slight modification, could provide you with a few inspiring new knits. My R&R Hoodie pattern is another great candidate for this sort of re-imagination, just check out all the inspiring projects on Ravelry! Adding your own touch to a blank canvas sweater pattern can have amazing results.
This is the first pattern I've knit by Lili Comme Tout, but I doubt the last. As we all know, finding interesting and fun little boy designs can be a struggle, but this designer has no less than three more designs that I would love to make: Gaston (again with the awesome shoulders!) Cool Summer (I actually might knit this one for myself), and Oscar (this might be the one I knit for Baby #2).
And lastly, that colour! It's Cloudless, the blue colourway featured in the November 2014 Year In Colour Club shipments and I'm so smitten with it. It's like Tidal and Seabreeze hooked up and gave me their first born. It's my perfect bright sky blue.