Swatching: Brioche Slouchy Turtleneck

I got a bee in my bonnet last weekend while frantically trying to find a sweater to wear to Charlie’s ballet class that was comfortable, warm, and didn’t look like I was still in my PJs. Despite a closet full of handmade and store bought sweaters, I couldn’t find the one. What I need, what is suddenly (and now totally obviously) lacking in my wardrobe, is a slightly oversized, long sleeved, black turtleneck in brioche stitch. I searched on Ravelry and couldn’t find anything exactly like what I was looking for (the closest I could get to was New Forest, but I wanted a different gauge, a different armhole, and different hem treatment).

The following day, I dug around in my stash at home and found a skein of Terra in Ash, grabbed a pair of US 6 needles, and cast on while in the car on the way to the Franklin Institute.

SPECIFICATIONS
Pattern: My own, TBD.

SWATCH
Yarn: The Fibre Co. Terra in Ash
Needles: US 6 (4 mm)
Gauge After Blocking: 13 sts + 18 rows = 4″ (10 cm) in Brioche.

NOTES
When knitting a new sweater, I always start with the sleeves. It gives me the opportunity to double check the gauge and confirm the stitch pattern, color combination, or yarn choice. As a bonus, sleeves are extremely portable.

Once I blocked the swatch and had the gauge all sorted, I cast on the first sleeve in Terra in Coalwood. A few false starts – due to the gauge difference, the 1 x 1 ribbing wasn’t flowing into the brioche the way I had hoped, and I didn’t like the visual jog that occurred if I worked a few decreases at the transition – were remedied by the brilliant suggestion by Courtney to work the cuffs on a smaller needle in brioche to mimic a tighter ribbed cuff.

My plan (for now) is to use the shape of Lucinda as my guide. Like my Acadia version, the pieces will be knit flat and then seamed. I plan on working a crew neck, and picking up stitches for the large turtleneck.

I’m still chugging away on my Jim Vest, but my dreams of finishing in time for our trip were quickly dashed when a few deadlines crept up on me. Both pieces are perfect for travel knitting, though, so my plan is to make some great (but realistic) progress while away!