MY FIRST SWEATER

Neck & Front Detail. Love those buttons!

My mom and her ‘special’ sweater.

Pattern is from Kim Guzman ‘Jiffy Cardigan’.

Looking for more sweaters to crochet? Check out these sweater Crochet patterns we found on Etsy.

Crochetkim.com
Here is a picture of my first ‘real’ sweater! This one is a special one for me as I made it for my 84 year old mother who is cold ALL the time. Mom has always been supportive of my arts and crafts – mostly crafts. She was a registered nurse for all of her work life and took up oil painting in 1993 about a year after my dad died. Her art work is fantastic. Sadly, nature or the Fates or whatever robbed her of her vision and she is now unable to see her own art work or to really see herself in this sweater. She has Age-Related Macular Degeneration and had only some peripheral vision. She likes the texture of this sweater. It is made from a free pattern at the site of one of my favorite designers, Kim Guzman.

Kim’s designs are innovative and easy to work up. Further, she is accessible via the internet to help if you find yourself entangled in your yarn – as I did several times. Kim is also the QUEEN of the Tunisian Stitch and offers free online classes for everyone. Stay tuned for a forthcoming article wherein I interview Ms. Guzman.

Back to my crochet – I have some more pictures of this sweater – details that may be of interest to Kim as well as others. I made a few changes in Kim’s pattern. First, to add some circumference, I created a front button placket that runs the full length of the sweater. Next, I failed, for reasons only another crocheter might understand, to make the back of the sweater long enough. Yes, I measured, counted, measured, counted, and measured again – and yet, when assembled, the back was shorter than the fronts! Now, if I had read Kim’s pattern a bit more carefully, I could have saved myself this frustration. However, in true crochet fashion, what was a mistake became a DESIGN ELEMENT. My mom’s sweater has a special bit of inset prettiness at the bottom edge of the back. So There!

Also, I had carefully measured the sleeve length, customizing it for my mom’s short arms. Of course, the sweater GREW as sweaters will. So, mom just rolls up the sleeves a bit and never complains. SHE ALWAYS COMPLAINS ABOUT TOO LONG SLEEVES. I guess she wouldn’t dare! I did tell her today, as I was taking pix of the sweater that I could unravel a few rows of each sleeve since they’re constructed from the shoulder down. She was having nothing to do with that – her PERFECT sweater. She swears she has received numerous compliments from all the Dorothy’s and Evelyn’s who live in her retirement apartment complex. I believe they are ALL named Dorothy or Evelyn (she’s an Evelyn called Lynn), so I just greet them as I walk down the hall, picking out whether they look like a Dorothy or an Evelyn to me. If I get one wrong, oh, well……I do, however know Cleo and Althea. They are NOT named Dorothy or Evelyn so they stick out.

So, take a note from my crochet book and go crochet someone a sweater! I’ve only been crocheting for 8 years and I’m oooooold too. So, this old dog has learned a new trick or two. I’m going to make a sweater of Kim’s for my husband next. It’s her pattern called ‘Sunday Best.’ Wish me luck!

So, here’s the ahemmmm ‘design element’ I added to the back of the sweater.

The sleeves fold up nicely without bulk, so sayeth my mom.