Hi there! Long time no see, I know. I’ve been neglecting my blog lately, but in my defense, I’ve had a lot of personal stuff going on. That’s why I didn’t write down anything about another knitting project I had finished – the Hen Knitting Sweater (as I call it). You can find the pattern on Ravelry under the name “Hønsestrik Inspiration“.
I just love the design. It was one of the main reasons why I bought the book ÅLJ published by Isager. I could not afford to buy the Isager yarn for it though, I would have to have it shipped from Denmark and plus I would feel really guilty as I have too much yarn in my stash as it is. So I used what I had – another Danish yarn – Holst Garn Supersoft. It’s a fingering weight yarn with so many pretty color options, and you gotta love the price too. Anyway, Holst Garn seemed like the perfect replacement. Because I’m an impatient person and I can’t resist to start a new project as fast as I can, I just thought I didn’t need to knit a gauge sample. MISTAKE!

I’ve done this numerous times before, I honestly don’t know why I keep neglecting that. I thought I wouldn’t mind if the sweater would be a bit bigger or smaller as it’s supposed to be more loose anyway. But my first attempt turned out to be huuuuge. I could fit in that sweater twice, maybe even three times! Learnt my lesson, started over. At least I could use the first attempt to measure the gauge.
The pattern had some issues as well: the graphic chart was not symmetrical, so I had to adjust it. I was not the only one, based on some other projects on Ravelry. Hopefully they can fix that if they ever want to print a new edition of the book. I was also a little dissapointed that there’s no body shaping – you work with the same amount of stitches all the way up to the sleeves. I decided to do my own body shaping.
I had tried it on a couple of times as I was knitting and it came out pretty good. To my surprise, it turned out to be more of a dress than a sweater. The only thing I regret is not doing more decreases in the chest and shoulder area as it’s a little bit moore loose there than I would like. I love the result nevertheless and it’s going to be perfect for the winter!
Ravelry project: https://www.ravelry.com/projects/MatyldasBarn/hnsestrik-inspiration
It is so lovely Katerina and I love the colours you’ve picked. Holst Garn has such great yarn and is so affordable. I think I might use it for a sweater next, you’ve inspired me 😊
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Thank you so much, Emma. I think the first time I’ve noticed Holst Garn was in one of your IG posts, possibly a shawl you were making using Holst Garn Coast? It looked so pretty that I googled the yarn and waited for the right time to order 🙂 I’m actually starting a new sweater project using the same yarn.
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Yes! I’ve made a fading shawl using Holst Garn Coast 😊 looking forward to see your new sweater
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It is simply GORGEOUS!!!!!
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