Cuddles the Sweater.

Ladies and gentlemen, I give you Cuddles the Sweater.

Pattern: Cadence pullover by Jordana Paige
Yarn: Plied Together 2-Ply, 630 yards heavy worsted weight
Fiber: FLUFF Fibers Merino/Cashmere/Silk in "Cuddles"
Knit by: Erin Walker

I didn't knit this sweater. But I want to share it with you because it's a very special labor of love, the combined work of three talented artists (why yes, that's me patting myself on my own back - I am one of the three). My very dear friend Erin, owner of the online yarn shop Eat. Sleep. Knit., knit this beautiful sweater from yarn I spun using FLUFF Fibers merino/cashmere/silk fiber, hand-dyed by my wonderful friend Jeanette.

How's that for a circle of handmade lovin'?!

This is the first time I've ever spun a sweater quantity of fiber, and it wasn't as hard as I thought it would be - in large part because Jeanette's fiber is so beautiful and soft and well-handled, it was a joy to work with. I spun 20 ounces of fiber into 5 skeins of yarn, and it took me about a week to do. The hardest part was maintaining consistency for that many skeins of yarn. Since the fiber was hand-dyed, and I wanted it to "match" as well as it could, I mixed it all up before spinning, so Erin would have a really blended effect, and I think that worked out in the end. Her sweater is just lovely, no? 

Here's what the fiber looked like when I got it (forgive the vaguely pink lighting, it was tough to photograph on a rainy Seattle day).

And here's what it looked like once I spun it up:

Sometimes it's hard to look at handspun and envision what it's going to be like knit up, and that's what has stopped me from spinning for a sweater for myself so far. But I think Erin did a great job choosing the right pattern for this yarn. It has a nice embellishment at the top that's not marred by the way handspun yarn stripes gently and naturally. All around, I think this is a beautiful project, from the dye job to the yarn to the knitting/wearing of the garment.

Comments

[Mariannem]

I am in awe.