Jidai Berroco Sweater

And this is done!  

 

Whew!  I am glad to say goodbye to this one!

Pattern: Jidai (Berroco pattern booklet # 308 Vintage DK and Vintage)

Errata: see Pattern Corrections on Berroco Jidai page

Yarn: Berroco Vintage DK in # 2107-Cracked Pepper and # 2185-Tidepool

Needles: Size 3 circular (24 in) and size 1 double-pointed (NOTE: pattern calls for size 5 circulars but since I am a crazy-loose knitter, I had to go DOWN two needle sizes to get the correct gauge.  ie- CHECK YOUR GAUGE!)  :)

Mods:
Sleeves: used size 1 double-pointeds.  I made MC ribbing 4" (instead of 2").  I made sleeve shorter (than the 18" it called for) because I personally like 3/4 sleeves.

Neckband: I did not bind off (from end of Yoke instructions section).  I kept my stitches on and just picked up the 34 center front collar sts I'd bound off earlier.  I made my ribbing band 1 1/4" instead of just 1/2".  (I like things exaggerated!)

Bottom: Like a lot of other ravelers, I also was not crazy about how much the bottom rolled up (and found it unflattering to my waist!) so I picked up stitches and added a ribbing at the bottom.  My ribbing ended up being aprox. 1 1/4".

Oh, Jidai...  I have really had a roller-coaster emotional affair with this pattern.

I was so in love with the sample I saw while on last year's yarn crawl (at Yarn Garden in Whittier).

Aside from wanting to support small business, and all that, I loved the sample and you know I love my stripes!

This pattern isn't hard.  The body works easily and if you can knit in the round, decrease & increase, then you can make this!

Now, I consider myself to be a fairly decent knitter... I do a pretty good job of figuring patterns out.

 

But I think there are parts of this pattern that were written in a way that made my brain go Blheurgh?!?!?!

Thank God for the ole' Ravelry 'cause I was able to read lots of helpful notes and to see that it wasn't just me!

I got tripped up at the Yoke part and wrote out my notes (as I always do!) and was still off and confused!

Now, you know I tend to confuse easily so that's not too hard to believe.  But I really don't think it was me this time!
























Ok... anyway...

If you can, check out Raveler swhill80's sweater.  I love the way her's came out!