Knit + Dye- Slow October’s Chuck Sweater

Here’s Chuck!  My slow, slow, Slow Fashion October knitting and natural dyeing project.  If you followed along last month you saw I chronicled my knitting progress each week but I really wanted to share a full post with all the details.  So here it is!

This is the Chuck Sweater by Andi Satterlund that I found on Ravelry.  I’m late to the game on this one.  I remember seeing a ton of these pop up on sewing blogs last year and kept it in mind.  It’s made with Organic Cotton Yarn from Organic Cottons Plus which I dyed with an Aquarelle Sampler Kit from Botanical Colors.

Knitting + Dyeing Supplies:

• Chuck PDF Pattern, size M, Andi Satterlund
• Organic Cotton Yarn (Almond/Natural)
• Aquarelle Dye Kit: Orange Crush Recipe

This project started with the yarn.  I’ve been on the lookout for a nice cotton yarn to work with since I’m in Florida and other than a light mohair wool is just too hot for our climate.  I mean really, we’re lucky if we get a week or two of what we consider cold weather.  So I was excited when I found this Made in the USA Organic Cotton Yarn.  I haven’t dyed yarn before now so I though I’d give it a go since I had some dye leftover in my kit from my last Aquarelle dyeing project.

I originally was hoping for an orange-I used the Orange Crush recipe- but ended up with a pretty rose-pink color.  I LOVE this shade of pink and already have a lot in my sewn wardrobe in this shade so it all worked out. The color was much brighter coral after I took it out of the dye bath so I’m guessing it faded due to the fact I was dyeing a cellulose fiber (cotton) instead of the intended protein fibers. Kathy at Botanical Colors got back to me really quickly on how to alter my recipe for use with Cellulose fibers.

Orange Crush Recipe-

10% WOF(Weight of Fiber)= 2.1 oz for 7 skeins(3oz ea)

• 10%= 4.2T Alum-pre-mordant
• 5% =   2.2T Madder
• 3% =   3.8tsp Himalayan Rhubarb
• 5% =   2.2T Disperse
• skip acetic acid , sub with a sprinkle of soda ash to dye bath. At end of simmer add 1% Alum(for cellulose)

Dyeing was relatively simple and my PH was spot on.

Here you can see my knitting in progress.  I love how the cables turned out. This is my first go at a cabled pattern- It took awhile but by the end I had it down. This cable pattern is so pretty, simple and elegant.  But the silhouette-no good on me.  I love cropped sweaters in theory but this one was way too cropped and wide.  I tried this on with so many clothes to see what it worked best with.  This Centauree dress was it.  It was too short for jeans and too bulky for most dresses.

My biggest problems came when I tried on the body and it was WAY TOO BIG!  I knit this in a medium based on my measurements but didn’t take into account that I wanted negative ease.  Duh!  So I tried to remedy the fit by:

1. knitting the sleeves in a size small- I still think they’re too big.
2. tightening the neckline and bottom band with significantly less stitches

You can tell looking at the back that my stitches were just a bit too loose there.  I tend to knit tighter on circular needles. Something to keep in mind on my next project.  But the rest of the piece is the correct gauge.  So maybe it’s just my choice of cotton over wool?  Either way it’s really wide.

So guess what happened next………….

This sweater has been frogged!  I decided that though it looks pretty in these pictures I’m never going to wear it.  I adore the color though so I’m going to remake it, maybe into the sweater pictured below from Loop -d- Loop by Teva Durham.  Right now I’m working on another knit project-the Lina tank top in Linen (sparrow in Paprika) from Quince & Co- which I’m really excited about.  So stay tuned.

You won’t be seeing this sweater again.  But I think that’s really one of the most fabulous things about knitting.  If you don’t like the results it’s completely reusable.  Plus I had a blast taking the time to knit this.  It was a wonderful slow project that I could take with me and do around my kiddos.  I’m hooked!