New Yarn = Rethinking How to Plan a Sweater

After reading many gushing reviews on this yarn, I placed an order and waited *somewhat* patiently for “the softest and fluffiest yarn ever” to make it’s way across the ocean and onto my front porch.  It’s called Air and it’s by Drops out of the UK.  Composed mainly of alpaca with some poly and merino thrown in, it’s not plied but blown into a tube to form the yarn!  They say it’s 30% lighter than plied yarns.

It really does feel like you are holding air or a cloud in your hands when you pick it up.  It’s remarkably light and fluffy!

I may have gone overboard by ordering 2 sweaters worth of this yarn, especially since I’m trying to knit only out of my stash.  But now that it’s become part of my stash, I’m still working towards that goal.  Right?!?

Even though it is impossible to capture the feel of a yarn with a photograph, I’m still going to try.  Here it is in pink.  It looks and feels like cotton candy.

Now, it’s time to get to work and figure out what do to with this stuff. It would be great for anything next to the skin. And, since I bought so much of the yarn, I’m thinking a sweater would be perfect.

First things first, I knitted up a swatch.  And then I mulled over ideas for a plan of attack.  Since my last sweater was a huge challenge with the near-impossible sleeve cap, I’ve decided to change my approach.  Instead of starting blind with only body measurements, I’ve instead pulled out my favorite store-bought sweater with a tape measure in hand.

The measurements of the much-loved wearable sweater are plotted out and I’m going to follow this shape carefully with my new project.  Of course the store-bought sweater is made from a finer yarn so I’m thinking of adding a 1/2″ of ease everywhere to accommodate for the thicker yarn.  And, I had no idea that there was waist shaping in the old sweater until I measured.  That little bit of shaping really must make a difference to the overall silhouette.

I’m excited to cast on but I still need to figure out things like stitch pattern, stripes or no stripes, cardigan or pullover, pockets and details.  But, besides planning my sweater, I’ve been working on adorable items for my Etsy shop.  Here’s a peek: