Pattern: Desperate Housewife by Melanie Berg (link leads to Ravelry)
Size: 3/4 (see modifications)
Yarn:
Background color: Lazy Days on Basic Sport
Stripe colors: Heart-Shaped Herb, Comfy Pants, Eucalyptus, Freshly Cut, God(dess) of Mischief, Little Ball of Fur, and Oversized Sweater on Basic Sport
Amount: 2 skeins of background color, 1 skein each of stripe colors
Needles: US 3 (3.25 mm)
Started: June 22, 2022
Finished: August 2, 2022
Modifications:
I cast on for size 3, but wanted to have the upper arm circumference of size 4. To do this, I added in increases during a few of the increase rounds. I knit the size 3 as written until I reached the 3rd increase row.
For increase row 3:
Added 2 increases in each (m1, k5) section.
For increase row 4, I added 6 total increases (m1):
K5 to start & end the row and added 3 increases on each end of the (m1, k6) section.
For increase row 5, I added 6 increases (m1):
K11 to start & end the row and added 3 increases in each (m1, k11) section – near the middle where sleeves would be.
That got me to have the extra number of stitches for the size 4 sleeves. Once I went to split for sleeves though, I decided I’d put a keep a couple more stitches for the sleeves instead of the fronts & backs. I figured one or two stitches each way wouldn’t impact the main body too much.
So when splitting for sleeves, this is what I ended up with:
K 69 sts for left front, put 80 sts for left sleeve on st holder, cable cast-on 11 sts for left underarm, k 149 back sts, put 80 sts for right sleeve on st holder, cable cast-on 11 sts for right underarm, k 69 sts for right front.
Sleeves:
Because I modified the pattern to have a larger sleeve openings, I decided to modify the sleeves to decrease sooner as well. Here’s what I did for each sleeve:
91 stitches to start
8th row of green: k1, k2tog, k to end (90 sts)
3rd row of yellow: k1, k2tog, k to last 3, ssk, k1 (88 sts) referred to as decrease row below
8th row of yellow: decrease row (86 sts)
3rd row of orange: decrease row (84 sts)
8th row of orange: decrease row (82 sts)
4th row of red: decrease row (80 sts)
8th row of red: decrease row (78 sts)
8th row of SECOND green: decrease row (76 sts)
Ribbing:
Because the two sides overlap quite a bit, I realized that I won’t ever actually want to button it up. Because of this, I omitted the button holes and just knit 10 rows of ribbing on each side. (Which means one side was bound off on the WS.)
Notes:
If I knit this sweater again, I would choose the size 2 as my base and then modify the sleeves again because the very top/neckline I feel is too large for me. This design also comes with instructions for knitting pockets to add on at the end, which I still intend to make!
Because I get asked frequently, the t-shirt I’m wearing in the photos was thrifted from ThredUp, though I’ve seen several similar shirts on Amazon and Etsy.
Ravelry: I also have a Ravelry Project Page for this knit. However, many people (myself included) have had issues with the new Ravlery. It is known to cause eye strain, headaches, migraines, and seizures. Please be careful when proceeding to Ravelry!
