About the project:

I chose the Fastlove Tunic in kit form from Wool and the Gang. I liked the design of the piece and the fact that the yarn is made of upcycled denim offcuts from the jeans industry. I forgot that I already have a perfectly lovely blue cotton sweater. There are too many blue things in my wardrobe.

I see me wearing this in spring as a slightly warm though drapey and airy layer over a camisole with the inevitable suburban yummy mummy white jeans, just as in this picture, as it happens.

Looking on Ravelry, there are reports of this project shrinking really badly so I made it in size 10-12 which was always going to be on the large side for me, but I need to allow for my curves and I thought this would take account of any shrinkage. Having washed the finished garment at on a 30 degree delicate cycle ready for blocking, there does appear to be appreciable shrinkage so I’d recommend taking this into account when you decide on the size to make.

Notes on the knit:

Fastlove Tunic  from Wool and the Gang Billie Jean recycled denim 100% cotton yarn on 8mm circular needles.

I looked on YouTube for a German Short Row Shaping tutorial and, though I followed the instructions, I did end up with too many stitches so I clearly haven’t got that right yet.

I also seem to have a problem with the neckline on the left hand side every time I knit a sweater. I think it must be something to do with the casting off and rejoining so any suggestions to remedy this would be most helpful for next time. Perhaps a way round this would be to knit top down in the round.

I didn’t really understand the instructions on attaching the sleeves to the body of the piece under the ornamental cast off on the sleeves. The left hand sleeve feels a little constricted and I think it’s because I must have made a mistake in the sewing up here.

The kit contained 4 balls of yarn and, though I think I kept control of my tension, I did run out of yarn with four rows to go on the second sleeve, and had to order another ball. The postage was so much just for one ball that I ended up planning a whole new sweater project to get free delivery.

I initially tried continental instead of English knitting for the first time (as seemed appropriate) but a combination of my inexperience, the large needles and the yarn splitting very easily made this unsustainable. I’ll keep trying, though.

Always know when to call it a day. If I’m tired, a simple dropped stitch can quickly become a total irrevocable disaster area. I frogged this piece 3 times.

Revision of cable cast on