Knitting is my “go to” stress reliever and I often start projects on a whim, such as the Soldotna Crop or the hats I like to knit my family.
Then there are times when I spend many hours planning a project, selecting the yarn, choosing colors, taking measurements, and knitting it, and then the outcome isn’t that rewarding, where the sweater doesn’t fit too well, or it’s a bit itchy, and I don’t end up loving it or wearing it much at all.
I had wanted to knit a soft “Tee.” Something with short sleeves and very comfortable. I noticed Andrea Mowry was wearing her Vellichor top when she taught a Brioche class I took last summer at Harrisville. I also saw her wearing it in a video she made, as well as on some other Instagram posts. I thought, “now that’s a sweater she enjoys wearing!” I decided to make it – and in the same yarn she used as well!
I use Ravelry to buy my patterns whenever possible because it’s so easy to stay organized that way. But if you’re not on Ravelry, you can order the Vellichor pattern on Andrea’s website.
The nice thing about Ravelry is that you can see the other knitters’ finished projects. At the time of this writing, 1176 knitters have posted their Vellichor projects, so it’s a great way to get ideas for what you want to make.
Normally I like to go to the beat of a different drummer and make projects out of whatever yarn I am obsessed with at the time, or turn a plain pattern into stripes, turn a feminine pattern into one my sons or brothers would wear, and in general, try to be creative in my own way.
That was not the goal of this project at all. I wanted the exact sweater Andrea wore, and maybe I thought I’d end up looking like her in the long run, since she’s younger and better looking! lol…
I followed directions for the suggested yarn, YOTH Best Friend and had to change the colors because they were sold out of the ones Andrea’s sweater had. At first I thought I’d make it two colors, as the yarn is expensive and the tiny little bit needed to make the orange stripes didn’t seem worthwhile.
Fast forward (or in this case, slow forward) to my knitting this project and it was taking me forever. I don’t normally knit on these smaller, size US 2 and US 3 size needles, and the rows are very long, since you are knitting the full circumference from the bottom up. I realized I’d have to get that third color, not only for aesthetics, but also for something to look forward to in the long slog to knitting this project. The colors I used were Shiitake, Blueberry and Peach.
I originally thought this tee would be my early spring project and then I’d have it to wear all summer, but no, I finished it at the end of the summer. And you know what, it turned out to be an awesome fall wardrobe item – it’s part wool after all – the YOTH Best Friend yarn is 75% cotton and 25% wool.
Here’s the best part: I finished this project and put it on and it fit perfectly! I didn’t even block it, just started wearing it right away and have loved it ever since.
What a good feeling!
If you’ve knit this sweater, or have any questions about it, feel free to leave a comment below.
