Tin Can Knits Love Note
- Pattern: Love Note Sweater by Tin Can Knits
- Yarn: Banshee Yarns Silky Singles in Rua (2 skeins) & Mohair Lace in Fortune (2 skeins), a strand of each held together throughout.
- Size made: 56" for 10 inches of positive ease, mid length version
- Knit/Crochet: Knit
I love patterns from Tin Can Knits. They are always easy to follow, include multiple sizes and are easy to substitute yarns for. I was thrilled when this pattern was released because I love making garments and anything made on 6mm needles finished beyond quickly!
I swatched a number of colours for this as there was the option of using high contrast yarns together or similar shades. I had black and gold in my mind for the final version (Dorcha in Silky Singles & Fortune in Mohair Lace) but when I swatched them, I thought the contrast would be too high for me and I wouldn't get as much use out of the garment. In the end I chose Rua and Fortune as really, they are my colours.
Picking a size was the tricky in this pattern. It is a feature of a lot of patterns at the moment that they are worn with quite a bit of ease and I find it tricky to decide which size to make. I am a 42 inch bust and with 10 inches of ease, I would need to make a 52 inches but that wasn't an option. So it was a choice of 48 or 56 inches … I am a tight knitter though and I wanted ease so decided on the 56, hoping to pull it back to being a 52 (by some miracle of tight knitting) and not over blocking. As it turned out I could have made either.
It still needed a block in this picture ... and still does! I love wearing it too much
The pattern is knit in the round from the top down, my favourite sweater construction. It starts with a provisional cast on and is knit from there. I used a smooth cotton yarn as the waste yarn for the cast on because mohair loves to cling so to have any chance of getting the provisional cast off out, smooth cotton seemed best.
From the cast on, it was a super quick and really easy knit. The lace in the pattern is both written and charted and is a short repeat. Once the lace section is done, it's really knit until you are happy with the length. I thought I was going to make the longer version but I tried it on at about 7 inches from the sleeve split and thought it was perfect.
Tip: For knitting sweaters like this I use interchangeable needles. When I want to try it on, I transfer to a longer cable that will fit around me comfortably. I do this by swapping the needle from one end of my knitting to the longer cable, (put a cable cap in its place), knit the next round onto the longer cable and then try on the sweater. This makes it possible to try on the top without worrying about the stitches coming off the needle. Then I swap the needle back onto the shorter cable and knit back onto it.
I replaced the rib at the neck, cuffs and bottom to an iCord bind off rather than a rib because I thought it would be a nice finish and I was pleased with how it came out. For the neck, I completed the number of rows required for the rib in stocking stitch and then cast off using an iCord bind off. For the sleeves, I did the decreases as set in the pattern, a single knit row and then cast off.
I don't think I'd make one without an iCord neckline now
This was a really quick, simple knit and I will definitely be making at least one more. It's great for when you have two skeins of 4ply that you bought when you couldn't just buy one!
I would always recommend knitting two rounds in one strand and then the other in another strand but in this I didn't do that. You can see a hint of it but the mohair hides quite a bit of the differences.
Some possibilities
Gentle contrast: Rua Silky Singles with Airgead Mohair
Same Shade: Any really but Nightmare would be glorious if you love blues!
Wild: Dorcha Silky Singles with Villanelle or Moss Mohair!
Gothic: Dorcha Silky Singles with Shee Mohair
For wild times, Dorcha Silky Singles with Moss Mohair
All of our in stock Mohair Lace Yarn is here:
https://theloveliestyarncompany.co.uk/banshee-yarns-mohair-lace-50g-skein/
& our in stock Silky Singles are here:
https://theloveliestyarncompany.co.uk/banshee-yarns-silky-singles/
The pattern is available to purchase from Ravelry:
https://www.ravelry.com/patterns/library/love-note
There is also a lot of Mohair coming in our next update, Friday August 23rd.
Source: https://theloveliestyarncompany.co.uk/blog/tin-can-knits-love-notes-in-rua-fortune/