Finished - a jumper I'll actually wear - the decropped Jo Sharp crop top

My knitting the last 12 months has been slow, intermittent and often painful due to a chronic tendinitis issue but I'm persevering and managed a couple of months ago to finish this fluffy, muppet-like jumper based on a pattern by Jo Sharp.

The pattern is the 311 Yoke Crop Top pattern, not actually reviewed on Ravelry, but downloadable from the Jo Sharp website here. I was drawn to this pattern because of the promise of a fast knit on chunky 9mm needles (I bought some Addi turbo needles - so fast, the Ferrari of needles!), and I loved the collar. The pattern uses 2 strands of yarn knitted together, an 8ply, which seems to be the most common ply manufactured in Australia, and a chunky 12 ply mohair, the idea being that the fluff of the mohair fills in the gaps made by knitting 8 ply on such big needles. 

I wanted a chunky tan jumper last year, so found this discontinued Cleckheaton 8 ply off Ebay for a very reasonable price. It's a merino-silk-angora blend, called Ochre. It is, I'm well aware, a rather poo-brown but with lovely coloured flecks, and combined with this cream Rowan Kid Silk Haze trio makes (in my opinion!) a lovely heathery marled fabric. I made the middle size, B.

I felt that a cropped, short sleeved chunky jumper was not a sensible wardrobe piece, so extended the length of the body and sleeves. It's knitted bottom up, and foolishly I didn't think to make my rib hem band on smaller needles so it's a little sloppy looking, but otherwise I'm really delighted with my jumper. I believe I'll actually wear this one! And it was quick - I'd say it took me about a month, which for me is super quick. 

The construction is different to the other jumpers I've made - body in the round, bottom up, until the armpits. It is then split into front and back with some decreases back and forth to create armscye shaping. The sleeves are knitted flat, then the seams sewn up. A sleeve cap is shaped, much like a sewn garment, then the remaining live stitches at the top of the sleeve cap are added to the body stitches and all joined up together and continued in the round to finish the yoke. There's a little bit of sleeve stitching then the collar is picked up and knitted from the cast off neckline. It's not the most specific of patterns (in that the instructions might say to increase or decrease but not give a recommended method), but it's pretty simple and came together nicely I think. I'm happy with the fit on be but comparing my collar position to the picture it seems to be sitting a little higher - perhaps my row gauge was a little out.

It's warm and lovely to wear but sheds appallingly. I guess that's the mohair content (according to some of my elderly clients keeping mohair in the freezer is the way to go - stops one shedding on one's beau apparently!). 

Next on my needles is my Square and Stripes but I'm also in love with these two beauties - such texture!:

 

1 - Source
2 - Source

The never ending queue continues to grow....