Rebecca Ruffled Jacket

After some anxious moments staring at the tiny, weird shaped pieces, thinking there was no way they were going to work out to be a sweater that fits and pondering if it was possible to rip out a mohair sweater, I present...

Pattern: Rebecca #30, Wrap Jacket with Flounce Edging (Pattern 37)
Yarn: GGH Soft Kid, about 5 1/2 balls (pattern calls for 7 for the small)
Needles: Size 5 Addis
Alterations: Very minor ones. My gauge was 22 rather than the pattern's 21. Since my row gauge with those needles was on, and row gauge mattered in this pattern and after calculating to make sure the fit would still be okay, I went with it. It blocked out to almost the same measurements. I slightly shortened the body, sleeves, and armholes.

Other notes:
*The pattern was very easy to decipher. Yes, it really was a Rebecca pattern!
*I love this yarn. It's wonderful to work with (not so if you want to rip out though) and makes a cuddly, warm, soft sweater. Too warm unless you're one of these that's always cold like me. I'm anxious to use it again.
*My ruffle isn't particularly ruffly. I think that's because I messed up the bind off. You're supposed to slip the 2 purl stitches while binding off, and I, forgetting that step, just bound off normally. I realized it about 2/3rds of the way through the almost 600 st bind-off and there was no way I was making the change. The shape of the sweater and yarn was what drew me in originally, and I was afraid the ruffle would be too much anyway. I even left off the ruffle on the sleeve. I may go back and add that later but even without it, the sleeves hang nicely, no rolling.
*There really aren't many changes I'd make. The pattern was sized almost perfectly for me. I'd add a couple of stitches onto the sleeves. The final measurement at the top is a bit over 11", and that's kind of small, even for a stretchy sleeve like this one.
*I am glad I didn't mess with the measurements of the back piece. The bottom of it starts out at 20" and decreases relatively quickly up to the waist. I wasn't sure that would work and thought it would leave a big hip-emphasizing peplum type thing hanging there but I decided to go with it. Glad I did, it's perfect
*Oh yeah, you may noticed mine crosses over on the opposite side from the original sweater. I seamed the first side, forgetting to add the slit. I just put it on the other side.

All in all, a huge success! It's the best fitting sweater I've done so far because I really took the time to deal with the armhole and shoulder sizing, which is where I run into the most problems with the fit of my handknits. Wrap sweaters seem to be the most difficult to get to fit properly, whether knit or store bought, and this one works better than any I've owned.

I'm really proud of this sweater. I had to figure this one out on my own since I haven't seen another one online. My finishing is getting better with every sweater (and fluffy mohair hides a lot of sins :). When deciding what garments to knit, I've realized that I stay out of "won't wear it" trouble if I knit things only if I would buy the same item in a store. This one would be one I'd definitely buy!