Leo(n)

Technical: The pattern is Leo, from knitty. I made some modifications to the pattern. I knit the body and sleeves in the round, because I prefer knitting in the round and don’t like seaming. I left off the roll on the neckline, because Leon said he would prefer it that way.

I took ten centimetres off the diameter, so that it would fit. When I did this, I failed to realise that I should use a number that divided evenly by two. I have 29 repeats, which meant that, when I went to divide I had an uneven number of repeats, and ended up with 14 on the back and 15 on the front. In order to get that wonderful effect of a centred line down the front and back a number of repeats that divide evenly by two, but is an odd number would have been more appropriate (so 30 pattern repeats would have been ideal). That said, I don’t think the unevenness shows, and, because there is an odd number of repeats on the front, I still got that flowy effect that makes the original pattern so special.

I used just under ten balls of wool (of the 15 I bought). Since I bought them unlabeled from the ACS mill in Wangaratta don’t know what length they are. I am tempted to skein up a ball on my niddy noddy to measure, but would rather allocate my time doing actual crafting activities.

Other: I love this jumper. It’s the third jumper that I have made for Leon and the first that I have cast off and said straight away “this is great”. The fabric feels great, soft and stretchy and drapey. I enjoyed knitting it, and it always felt like it was growing swiftly. I knit one sleeve first to check my tension, which meant that after finishing the body I only had one sleeve to go. That is definitely a technique I will use again. I love the colour, I love the fit, I love the pattern. And, as much to the point, so does Leon.