I am pleased to say that I have finally finished knitting my blue Eve striped jumper. Well, I actually finished it a few weeks ago but this is the first chance I have had to write about the momentous occasion. It was indeed a momentous occasion because I thought I would never finish it, struggling with the colours to start with, then agonising over the fit and then the sizing. Anyway, it is finished and I am relieved.

I am really happy with the result. It has turned out much better than I thought it would. I am glad that I decided against my original shade choices of pinks and white, then blue, pink and white and went for a blue-based colourway. I used Heavenly, a blue Kidsilk Haze shade, Ghost, a delicate grey-blue Kidsilk Haze shade, and Duck Egg, a pale blue-green Summerlite 4ply shade.

However, if I had to choose my shades right now I would have an enormous choice as Rowan has just increased their Kidsilk Haze shade range to 81 as a celebration of 20 years since the yarn was first released. So, maybe I would exchange Ghost for Blue Daisy as I think that would harmonise well with Summerlite 4ply’s Duck Egg.

I do think my three blue shades work quite well together. It is also very different to the original colours used by the designer Georgia Farrell.

However, my blue Eve striped jumper still allows the different textures of Summerlite 4ply and Kidsilk Haze to show through as in the original design. The Kidsilk Haze stripes are slightly see-through, as you can see very clearly in the photo below. The transparent quality of Kidsilk Haze is one that I do not like when using it to knit a top – great for shawls and scarves – however, the Summerlite 4ply stripes are opaque which stops the garment from being totally transparent.

I did make some adjustments – waist shaping and longer sleeves. I just have to meddle with the design – I  just can’t help myself!

For the waist shaping, I decreased stitches towards my waistline, evenly spaced at 4 points –  at my two hip bones on the front and the same points on the back. I then increased them before I reached my bust line. This waist shaping seems to prevent the bulge of excess material that I always get across the small of my back. See, it fits quite neatly now.

I decided on long sleeves rather than the three-quarter length sleeves in the original design because I felt long sleeves might suit me better. To do this, I measured my wrist and worked out the number of stitches I would need to cast on, which was fewer stitches than suggested in the pattern. I then increased the stitches gradually until I caught up with the pattern instructions.

The worst part about knitting a striped jumper is the yarn colour changes. This means when you have nearly finished you have all the loose ends tie in. I really don’t enjoy that part but it just has to be done.

I haven’t worn my blue Eve striped jumper yet but I think it will be great on those cooler autumn days that are now approaching.

Have you tried knitting Eve, designed by Georgia Farrell?
What shades would you try and why?
Please let me know. Leave a comment by scrolling down to “Leave a Reply”.

For details on the pattern Eve, please click the links below.

MODE Collection 6

Pattern information for Eve

I hope to receive Rowan’s Knitting & Crochet Magazine Number 72 soon, so more on that in my next blog.

Esther x