Steeked and Complete!

On Wednesday night I finished the knitting of Leon’s aran jumper, crocheted the steeks and cut them. This was not as nerve wracking as it could have been, as I did a practice run on my long suffering swatch. Even completely unsecured, the fabric held together. Bennet and Gregor wool: I cannot say enough good things aboutit . Perfect colours for Leon, a nice texture, soft but still manly and it provided good stitch definition too:

The biggest moment of fear was when I cut the neck, and it came out a very strange square shape. Still, after I knit up the neckline it came out like this.

The steeks look like this on the inside, after they have been sewn down and I am very happy with them. They are so visible only because I did them in a lighter wool.

It fits, it suits and it satisfied a deep craving for cables that I have been harbouring. It also got around Leon’s caveat that he only likes plain jumpers in boring colours. And the sleeves were simple enough that I knit them in public, and in the pub, while the body was largely confined to knitting in private.

I’m very happy with this jumper. The only change I would make would be to make the sleeve tops slightly smaller. I loved steeking, both the principle and in practice. Next jumper I make for Leon will be Elizabeth Zimmermann’s kangaroo pouch sweater, in handspun, in preparation for making a steeked v-neck cardigan for myself.

Now I'm off to knit something small and brightly coloured.