The Birth of a Sweater

Taking a three week class at Loopy Yarns.

The goal, to crochet a "sweater".  Now, I wouldn't normally consider this garment a "sweater".  But it is sweater-like.  It has the basic form of a sweater.  It has a neckline, has arm holes.  It is very tiny.  I guess it makes sense since the class is only three weeks long.

But the big deal here is that it is indeed a garment that can be worn.  You have to get into it, poking your arms through the arm holes.  It has "construction" to it.  Not like a scarf or a shawl.

Then the other big thing.  I've owned two of Doris Chan's books for a while now.  I love looking at the designs.  But the patterns intimidate me terribly.  I've done one.  One of the simplest patterns from her Amazing Lace book, the mobius cowl.  But didn't have the guts to do something from Everyday Crochet.  So the opportunity to try it in a class was perfect.

I'm glad I did it.  At first, the pattern was confusing.  But I'm slowly beginning to see the light.  I can't wait to make another one, so I can feel like I truly know it.

The other thing I like about Doris Chan's patterns is that they build off of one another.  So now that I've done the Mei Mei, the next challenge will be to do the Mocha Rocha which has actual sleeves, looks like a real sweater, could be worn at work to shield me against frigid air conditioning or winter temps.

Here is the progress of this tiny sweater/shrug/thingie.