Manly Redux

Since I’ve devoted five weeks of my life to knitting this sweater I figured it deserves a good and thorough write up.

Stats
Pattern: Manly Sweater from SnB
Yarn: Brown Sheep Company Lamb’s Pride Worsted in oatmeal, ruby red and roasted coffee
Needles: Size 8 straights and Size 7 circular for the neck band

Yarn: this is my first time working with LP and I loved it. The yarn is slippery, not scratchy, consistently spun and dyed. I only found one knot in one of the total of six balls I used in the project. The only negative thing I have to say about the yarn is the oatmeal colored yarn was noticeably thinner than the other colors, and there were a couple of places where there was a splotch of dark brown dye ruining the oatmeal-y goodness. I did not find this to be a big deal.

Pattern: Well, me and the pattern? We had our issues but managed to work them out by the end, as I discussed in a previous post. There is a mistake in the pattern as written for the 45” chest. Several, actually. Essentially you are not directed to decrease enough times (when you get to the neck and shoulder shaping) which results in two problems: 1) you are left with too many stitches to bind off at the shoulder seams and 2) the front of the sweater is not long enough. I solved both problems by following the neck and shoulder shaping instructions for the next size up. This resulted in a perfect front which matched the back perfectly, so I believe I did the right thing.

Is this a problem with the other sizes? I have no idea. I also wonder why I have found no other blog posts about this (of course I searched!) Maybe I’m just insane? That's always a possibility, but I checked and rechecked my gauge and it was right on. And the sweater matched the accompanying schematic perfectly as well.

Enjoyment of Pattern: Well, this is a monotonous knit because it’s 5x1 rib throughout but in a good way. I found that knitting this, with the exception of a couple frustrating moments, all involving the pattern mistakes, was supremely relaxing and enjoyable. Even the sewing up wasn’t bad. All in all this is a good pattern which many men (as evidenced by the number of Manly’s I found out there in blog land) are willing to wear. Plus the yarn is reasonably priced. What’s not to like?