Knitting: Penny Candy Pullover Sweater for ME!

The next sweater I made for myself is this lovely Penny Candy Winter pullover. It's also a paid pattern ($6.00), but lovely enough to be well worth the price.

The lace detailing was what "sold" me on this sweater. I love lace!

The sleeves really are even on the sweater. It's just sitting on the hanger crooked.

When I first finished and tried it on, I wasn't overly thrilled with the results. This is not the fault of the pattern, but actually the yarn I used. (More on that in a moment.) But the more I look at the pictures of it on me, the more I think I actually do like it. I just doesn't feel like a great fit, mostly because of the yarn.

So, about the yarn ... It's Michaels' brand alternative to Simply Soft (theirs is called Soft & Shiny). The only way it compares to Simply Soft is by how it looks in the skein. And after you've worked with it, even the look of the skein wouldn't fool you anymore. This yarn is so slippery that I (a tight knitter) was knitting loosely on needles that would usually have been too tight. I also went down a full pattern size, and it still came out with plenty of room. (Yes, I did a gauge swatch. This should not have happened, so I'm chalking it up to my problems working with the yarn.)

The yarn is very loosely plied and very splitty. This might be one of the things that makes it soft. It really is super-soft, so it might be nice for baby items. But I have a feeling it's going to be like Hobby Lobby's Simply Soft alternative and end up with all the yarn ends coming to the outside of the sweater every time I wear it, no matter how well I weave them in.

Needless to say, I'm returning the rest of this yarn that I bought on sale. I'm going to replace it with Simply Soft for the next few sweaters I have planned.

I really like the overall design of the sweater and the pattern, so I'll be making it again with a different yarn. One other thing I'll change next time - I'll make the lace in a lighter color. Black is my best color next to my face, but it completely hides the lovely lace pattern.

If you'd like to check out my more extensive notes on this project, you can view my notes on Ravelry here.