PROJECT Rosie’s Flax

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Rosie’s Flax

I think binge-watching Drag Race during lock-down has paid off, because Rosie has NAILED sweater modelling. Seriously, she’s killin’ it. File that away under “unexpected pandemic-aquired skills”. Thank you Rosie, for sharing your project. Also, mad props for putting yourself out there. Letting yourself be seen can be a REALLY hard thing for many people, myself included. You are IN the arena, you inspire me and I couldn’t be prouder. YOU GROW GIRL! (By the way, if you are looking for details for Rosie’s Hat, you can find that HERE)

Things I love about Rosie’s sweater:

The Colour. The world needs colour right now, people need colour. It doesn’t matter which colours have been forecast, are trendy, or which celebrity is wearing what, just grab a colour that makes you feel good and run with it …. RUN WITH COLOURED SCISSORS!

The Simplicity. It’s a basic raglan construction, no fancy shaping, just a casual sweater. The garter stitch down the shoulders and sleeves is a simple decorative detail that adds a bit of interest without any fuss. The pattern is worked from the top-down, so you can make it cropped or you can make it long, or like Rosie it can be right in between – whatever suits your body.

The Pattern

Rosie made her sweater with Flax, a free pattern by the very reliable Tin Can Knits. The pattern is unisex and very size inclusive and ranges from 6 months old to 6XL (66″ chest). It is also novice inclusive, and is written with inexperienced knitters in mind, assuming that you have never made a sweater in the round before (it even has little illustrations to help you understand the construction). It is such a good pattern that it has been made 19,300 times on Ravelry, that’s an accomplishment.

The Yarn

The yarn Rosie used is Cascade Eco+ Merino, an affordable merino wool that’s big on colour and squish. She only used 2 skeins to make a size M/L, which is always a satisfying feeling. Eco+ Merino is a Bolivian merino wool, which makes it a good sweater kind of soft. It has lots of body and a lot of bounce. Both of the Eco yarns are fairly flexible when it comes to gauge, and Rosie used the suggested needles and got the extact gauge. You can also use other yarns, listed below:

Pragmatic Yarn Options

In-Between Yarn Options

  • Kelbourne Woolens Scout (for a gorgeous, classic wool sweater; go down to 3.5mm/US4 & 4.5mm/US7 needles and go up one size in the pattern)
  • Cascade 220 Superwash Merino (super soft and Machine washable; go down to 3.5mm/US4 & 4.5mm/US7 needles and go up one size in the pattern)

Sexy Yarn Options

Rosie’s Project Details

  • Size: M/L (39″ bust circumference)
  • Yarn: Cascade Eco+ Merino, 2 skeins
  • Needles: 4mm/US6 & 5mm/US8
  • Tension: 18 sts = 4″/10cm

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