Finished! My Wool Sweater for Charity

Project -  Raglan Pullover for charity
Bernat Pattern Book #542012 – 9 Family Designs to Knit
Yarn – Bernat Felting in Snap Dragon
Blogger – Shandeh

Some of you may remember that I was knitting a thick wool sweater for charity, back in January of this year. The last you heard from me, I was finished with all the knitting, and was blocking all the pieces to get ready for seaming.

Well, I didn’t ignore my project, I actually did finish all the blocking, and seamed it together as well!

It turned out beautifully, and I quickly mailed it off to charity. It went to the Wool-Aid organization, who sends warm 100% wool garments for children who live in the coldest climates and have the least access to resources. I used Bernat Felting for my sweater, because the recipient will not have a washing machine. The sweater will most likely be washed by hand in a river, if it is washed at all. So, there is no danger of it felting to a smaller size.

Here’s how I seamed my sweater together:

I’ve seamed several garments now, and have gotten a good feel for it. I’ve learned that I need to let the seaming yarn flow, just like my knitting yarn did. I can’t pull it too tight, or the fabric will pucker. Puckering fabric is bad! But, I also can’t let the yarn be too loose, or the seams will pull apart. Yikes! A happy medium is what I need, so the fabric doesn’t pucker OR pull apart. Experience is the best way to learn how to do it. The good thing is that if it doesn’t look right the first time, I can just pull out the seam and do it again.

This particular sweater has raglan seams at the top, so that part is super easy! I just match up the angles, and use whipstitch to connect them. Quick and simple.

I did the Left Front Raglan first:

Next, came the Right Front Raglan, which I had to turn upside down, to get it to look right:

My raglan seaming may be unconventional, but I like the way it looks.

After completing the raglan seams, I decided to knit the collar in the round.

Next, it was time for my favorite seam for the sides of the sweater – “mattress stitch”.

It makes a very smooth fabric, and if it is worked correctly, it looks like the knitted rows are continuous all the way around the garment. I just come in one stitch from the edge, leaving that one stitch as part of the seam on the inside of the garment.

How it looks after running some stitches back and forth:

After seaming a couple inches, I pull the yarn until it’s tight enough to close up the seam, without puckering the fabric.

I’m so glad I have taken the time to learn how to seam my knitting.

Neckline and Raglan Seams:

Before packing it up, I decided to try it on, just for kicks and giggles. Unbelievably, it fit! I’m a plus-size girl, and this sweater was knit, following the Small Men’s size. Hmmmm…..maybe I should try knitting a men’s sweater for myself?

- Shandeh