Well, it’s been a while since I’ve posted, but it’s not that I haven’t been doing anything. The life of a shopkeeper has taken over somewhat, as the New Year progressed. In my spare time, I’ve been brimming with ideas for things I want to sew and also eagerly knitting away on a time-consuming project.

Last year I came across the photo above while looking for inspiration on Pinterest. I was immediately struck by the novelty of the graduated dots and sharpness in the way the subject has put her outfit together. The whole ensemble - Jumper, paired with the hat, necklace, belt, skirt and shoes, is iconically 1920’s in a sporting kind of way. Everything about the photo delighted me and I KNEW that it must be brought to life in the 21st century.

I had just finished my cropped lace cardigan, using the loveliest of cotton yarns and thought that that would be a great place to start. I don’t recollect how I found out about Amy Herzog and her custom fit pattern program, but I was able to plug in my measurements, the general shape and wanted along with the yarn gauge, into her program and it turned that information into a sweater pattern. AMAZING! The silhouette for this jumper is relatively basic, it’s only the dots that make it a bit more complex. So, All I really had to do, was to figure out the dot pattern and go from there.

My Friend Andrine, over at The Recrafting Co., suggested I go with a dark ground and light dots. Liking this idea, I went with it, using black for the background and an off white for the dots.

Above you can see the back panel in progress from the outside and below you can see the panel from the inside. I’m using a technique called intarsia and it requires that you hold several balls of yarn as you move across the rows, increasing or decreasing your colors as the pattern gets worked. It’s not as complicated as it might seem, but it’s difficult to keep the strands of yarn from getting tangled as you move up the pattern. And additionally, this technique leaves lots of loose ends to weave in, on the back side.

If you look closely in the picture below, you can see that I’m beginning to shape the neck on the Front and I also have a little “Magic” helping me out. My laptop is out so I can be entertained by hours of Netflix and/or Outlander Episodes while knitting this behemoth of a project. I literally spent the entire day, yesterday, weaving in the loose threads - It took me over 5 hours!.

Moving on to the sleeves was quite a triumph! After finishing the dots, there was no more color work! Yay. It goes much faster and requires less concentration when it’s just one color and Stocking Stitch.

Here you can see that I’ve also made a necklace to go with my sweater, inverting the colors as well so that mine has white beads instead of black. I’m also making a cloche to match and shortening a skirt I already own, in an attempt to create a similar (but inverted) look. More on that in another post.

Here is the breakdown of my materials:

• Yarn - Plymouth Yarn Anne 100% Cotton Fingering weight in Off White and Black, purchased from loveknitting.com

• Needle size - US 1 in both circular and straight

• CustomFit Pattern by Amy Herzog - Check it out here

• Necklace - Created from two vintage necklaces with resin beads - Materials found at Lost City Antiques and Bead Inspirations (both within walking distance from my shop)

Until Next Time, Happy Sewing and Knitting!

xo Jennifer