FO: Christmas Sweater at Long Last

What a saga this sweater has been, lol. Back in October of 2020, I decided I would make myself a Christmas sweater. I cast on and knit the entire thing except finishing off the sleeves... and it was too big. Comically so. I looked like a puffed sleeved line backer. The yoke was about 1.5 inches too wide on each side and then the puffed sleeves just accentuated that. I never finished it and it just sat for months until I finally accepted defeat and unraveled THE ENTIRE THING. This past Christmas I decided it was time to get it made in a smaller size, so I took what I learned the first time and sailed right through.

This is the Betty & Judy Lodge Sweater by Poison Grrls. It's a vintage style novelty sweater knit in worsted weight yarn, so it's fairly quick to make. When I decided to make this in 2020, it was partly because I love the pattern and partly because I was given a huge amount of red, white, and black Vanna's Choice yarn. Normally I'm not a big fan of acrylic yarn sweaters - I use it all the time for other things, it's just too hot to wear here in Florida - but given that this is a holiday only sweater (and one worn in a colder month) I thought it was a great fit. So despite my snobby yarn wearing sensibilities, I cast on.

The sweater is made from the top down, seamless, with a keyhole opening at the back since the neckline is so high. This time I stopped after I finished the colorwork yolk just to make sure I didn't have the same problem as last time, and it was all looking to be the right size, so I just kept knitting. I managed to finish this by December 4th - plenty of time to wear it for Christmas all month.

The only part I don't love is the sleeve - it has a puff, which was much more pronounced in my first iteration. I'm not sure if it's because I gained weight and now this was tighter than planned, or if it was just a case of my shoulders being a different size than my actual arms, but the puff is so small it's almost silly. Now that I've lost some of the weight I had at Christmas, I'll have to try it on again and see if that makes a difference. Also since I was working with the yarn I was given, I could only make the sleeves the length you see. I always prefer a true 3/4 sleeve, but I think it still looks fine in this length. I also skimped a bit on the length of the body because I wanted to make the sleeves as long as possible, which makes this hit me exactly at my natural waist. It's fine as long as I wear a dress underneath the sweater - I just wore it with my black Pippi Pinafore, which worked a treat.

I was really pleased with how the colorwork turned out, but just don't ask to see the inside of it! lol I did this as a combo of intarsia and stranding, which I've done before, but I'm just not great at keeping things super even looking on the back. I do love the speckled border on the yoke and sleeves though. 

Since I finished this at the beginning of the month, I was able to wear it to several events and to work, starting with my singing group's Christmas concert. It was a big hit and I didn't *quite* die of heat stoke under the stage lights, lol.

This was what I wore to church on Christmas day and my girls wore their dresses that I frantically sewed for them to see Santa the week of Christmas. We looked cute, I must say. I'm so thrilled to a) have a Christmas sweater I made, b) that it fits, and c) that this yarn is now used up and out of my stash.  It feels like this was a long time coming and I'm very happy to have something to show for all that work now.

Summary:

Yarn: Vanna's Choice - 7.55 skeins in Scarlet, 0.67 skeins in White; Scraps of Loops and Threads Impeccable in Kelly Green - Free

Pattern: Betty & Judy Lodge Sweater by Poison Grrls - $10.60

Notions: 1 Button, thread - Free

Time: 1 month

Total Cost: $10.60