Surf’s Up

I have a finished hoodie, and I also have finished hoodie photos to share:

Pattern: Apres Surf Hoodie by Connie Chang Chinchio, as published in Interweave Knits, Summer 2008
Yarn: 8 skeins Baruffa Aerobic, 100% wool, color 985
Needles: US sizes 2 and 3
Size: medium for the body, small for the sleeves
Started 7/6 and finished 12/29/2008

I remember back in July that I serendipitously came across this yarn listed in my stash spreadsheet, and realized it was pretty thin, and wasn’t there a sweater I saw recently that required a pretty thin yarn? Found the magazine and dug out the Aerobic so I could double-check the yarn label: yep, it matched the desired gauge for this sweater. What luck! When I washed and blocked the first 4.5 inches of sleeves that I was using as my gauge swatch, the knitting gods were on my side and the gauge was spot on, allowing me to forge right ahead.

It looks pretty good from the back, too:

After reviewing the schematics and checking a few sweaters I own and measuring my arms, I decided to make the small sleeves and medium body. This was no problem at all when it came time to sew it all together. I had a moment of panic, though, after I had sewn only the shoulders as the front and back hung down nearly to my knees. Funny how a nice, sturdy, side seam will pull in all that length and translate it into width.

This is the only hooded sweater I have made and I had some doubts when I was shaping it, how the shape I was making could possibly turn into a hood. I followed the instructions blindly and got a nice hood. I made it only 10.25″ long rather than 12.25″ before beginning the shaping, having read a few notes from folks (blogs or Ravelry) saying the hood was too big otherwise. Mr. MmmYarn finds the hood comical, how it’s pointy at the top. Rather like an elf hat:

One minor quibble is that the hood, when up, is rather gaping in the middle of the neck area. When I look back at the photo in the magazine, the model is holding the sides of the hood in a saucy way. She may have been posed that way to try to hide the gaping, or perhaps the maker of the magazine sweater picked up a better lacy-section-to-stockinette-border ratio than I did and the sides of her hood do not gape and the model is posed that way for artistry’s sake. My neckline is definitely wide with the hood up:

The sweater looks lovely and fits me well and I have worn it several times already. It’s a little too cold most days to wear it in the house; even though it’s wool, all those lacy holes let in a lot of air. But come spring, it will be out and about reguarly.