{Thermal}

And finally, a post about knitting. It took me a year, but I am finished with Thermal.

Pattern: Thermal from Knitty Winter 2006 by Laura Chau
Gauge: 28 stitches and 36 rows = 4 inches
Size: 32-inch chest
Yarn: Fleece Artist Blue Face Leicester 2/8 1093 yards per 250 gram skein (I used just over one skein for the sweater); Colorway - Ivory

Ravelry page

The pattern called for an alpaca-silk blend yarn, but I was worried about it stretching out, so I substituted with a wool yarn. I knit the sweater with two inches of negative ease - it works well as a fitted garment because the waffle stitch pattern is very stretchy. There is quite a bit of purling in this stitch pattern.

The yarn is beautiful and incredibly soft with subtle variation between beige, blue, and pink in the ivory colorway. It's a fairly loosely spun two-ply yarn. I was smitten with it since I unwound the hank and it more than made up for the tedious portions of the knitting.


The sweater is knit in the round from the bottom up. There is no shaping until the armholes and neckline. It's a good travel project. The neckline is a bit awkward to work. The shoulder shaping uses shortrows, which makes for a nice fit. The collar and cuffs are worked in twisted rib.


Finishing: Two 5/8" buttons
It helps to bind-off on the wrong side of the work - this makes for a neater finished edge. The three-needle bind-off should be worked on the wrong side also (I learned this the hard way). I wet-blocked the sweater after it was assembled.


The finished garment is warm and lightweight. I'm very happy with it.