Troy's Perfect Sweater

I set out to make Troy a sweater which is not an easy task. He doesn't like things too itchy, he doesn't like them too tight and he doesn't like any pattern work at all. He is very picky in other words. Now of course he's appreciative when he is rewarded with knitted garb, but if it's not just perfect he can't help himself to complaining, albeit he's as polite and diplomatic about as he can be.

Back to the sweater. He asked for a plain brown sweater that could be worn on an everyday basis. I was hoping it would replace those awful hoody sweaters that make him look like he is 17. I choose Lionbrand Fisherman's wool in the natural brown color. It passed the itch test when placed against his skin so we were off to a good start. I choose to use Elizabeth Zimmerman's Percentage Sweater pattern with Saddle Shoulders that went right across the back of the neck. As I read and learned more about her various shoulder options, I actually made the Hybrid shoulders with the Shirt yoke.

Started off by measuring one of Troy's current commercially knit sweaters to get measurements. Chest: 48"; Length: 25"; Length to Armpit: 16"; Sleeve: 19.5"
This was a very important step that I did not do last time I knit a sweater for Troy.

I knit a fairly large swatch of about 6" square and WASHED it. I was determined to make sure this sweater fit. After washing I got a gauge of 4.25 sts/inch and determined I needed to cast on 204sts for the 48" chest. Everything else was based on those 204sts; Arms were started on 40 sts and increased to 67; Saddle shoulder worked on 34sts and Neck worked on 80sts. I also did the short rows for the neck following EZ's instructions and it worked out really well.





A very small pattern was added to the sweater on the sides and then later on the outside of the arms. I added this to keep me from going insane with all the plain stockinette, but it has turned out to be a highlight of the sweater.

I started this sweater Jan 17 and finished it Feb 27 so it was a pretty quick knit. It is an early birthday sweater for Troy and he's been wearing it almost everyday since I gave it to him. Funny (and true) story, he woke up this morning and said to me "I love this sweater so much I slept on it last night".. and he had, by accident of course.

I couldn't have asked for a better fit or for him to wear it more often. If this keeps up I'm going to want to make him another before his birthday in April even arrives. Here are some shots of him wearing it.