Michelle, ma belle... tres bien ensemble
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Michelle ma belle, sont des mots qui vont très bien ensemble,

Tres bien ensemble

Boys Are Back In Town.

1/7/2016

25 Comments

 
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Man, oh man, oh man! Do I have a treat for you! Feast your eyes on those sweaters. The guys wearing them aren't bad either. ;-D 
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Even before we had finished our Paris project, the gals and I started plotting our next group endeavor. We wanted to switch back to knitting, but with a spin; we decided to knit for the gents instead of ourselves. Up to this point neither Liz nor Meg had knit for their guys, but they were ready to give it a try! 
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We'd all favorited the Lumberjack sweater by Marzena Krzewinska the same day it was published on Ravlery and thought it would be perfect. It was classic, simple, and it looked easy enough to modify to each of the guys' builds.
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Now, I must confess, with sweaters like this, I consider the pattern more of a suggestion than instruction. I've knit dozens of sweaters for myself and several for Mike, so sweaters as simple as this are relatively intuitive for me. Besides, stitch totals and the collar, I didn't pay a lot of attention to what was happening in the written portion of the pattern. That is, I didn't pay attention to it until Meg and Liz started pointing out all the issues they encountered while reading and following the instructions. 
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The gauge didn't match the stitch counts provided, there were short cuts in the writing, and the proportions were.... unusual. The sizing is bizarre. Mike is a thin guy, and I had to knit him the XL in order to have a sweater that would allow positive ease. His chest measurement is 40", which usually translates to a men's size Medium. 
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Also, Mike is 6'1", so I usually lengthen the sleeves and body of his sweaters, but I actually shortened both by several inches each from what the pattern instructed. If you look at the pattern page for this sweater, you'll notice how excessively long the designer intends these elements to be. It could be classified as a design choice, I suppose, but as Mike not so subtly stated when I asked him about his preferences, he would feel like he was wearing a dress in a sweater that covered his 'junk'.  And, he felt it would be irritating to have a bunchy midsection and sleeves in the alternative.

The removal of the extra length probably explains why we ALL had extra yarn left after we finished knitting. Like, skeins extra. I was actually very irritated by this. I bought yarn specifically for this sweater based on the pattern suggestion, and I had two (plus) skeins of Mulberry Merino left over. That's $48 I could have put toward another project that will now linger in the stash. Not. Cool. 
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Additionally, I added four sets of decreases(16 sts total) every twelve rows from the underarm towards the waist. I feel this shaping is as important in a man's sweater as waist and bust shaping are in a woman's sweater. Unless your guy is sporting dad bod, he's probably wider at the shoulders than he is at the waist/hip, and shaping give the silhouette of a man's sweater a taper than is figure flattering. Because, yes, guys totally feel self-conscious in ill-fitting, boxy clothing, just like the ladies. 
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As further indication that I barely skimmed the pattern, I have my collar the opposite direction. I've always used the mnemonic device, " Girls are always right, and boy are left over" to remember that women's garments close right side over, while men's close with the left side over. I don't know if it's applicable in a sweater like this, but like I said... intuitive knitting. I did what I know. All that said, this is the classic sweater we set-out to knit.  I would not, suggest this pattern to a knitter looking to knit his/her first menswear garment, but if you have experience with knitting for men, and/or men's sizing it's a perfectly fine outline and it's easy to modify.  
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At the end of the day, we had three good looking sweaters. As a fun and totally unplanned coincidence, we realized that we had taken photos of our first sweater collaboration at the Lincoln Park Conservatory at the same time of year that we were taking photos of the guys' first group project. With a bit of prodding, they recreated the above photo from that first photoshoot. They're impersonations of us are shockingly spot on, no? LOL.
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I think it was a little strange for the guys to be on the opposite side of the camera after all the behind the scenes work they're used to doing with regards to blog photos. And speaking of behinds.... 
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Pattern: Lumberjack
Yarn: Purl Soho Mulberry Silk in Dark Loam
25 Comments
Meg
1/7/2016 06:53:29 am

HAHAHA "Speaking of behinds" LOVE IT. This was fun. We have good looking men, who have good senses of humor. Go us!

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Michelle link
1/13/2016 01:58:42 pm

They were great! It's easy to sew/knit for these guys. :-D

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Liz link
1/7/2016 07:42:04 am

I always have such fun knitting with you gals - despite the less than fun pattern issues.

Mike's sweater looks great, as always Michelle. Maybe you could make a scarf for him to coordinate with the sweater with what remains??

It was so awkward for me to be taking the photos instead of Felix - I forgot to focus the camera in like 50% of my photos. Whoops. Guess I need more practice and Man-projects to make. :D

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Michelle link
1/13/2016 01:59:47 pm

A scarf is a good idea. Or a hat.... or maybe I'll steal it for myself. He does have good taste in yarn. I'm a little jealous of the yarn he picked.

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Breenah link
1/7/2016 10:07:39 am

Forgetting about the amazing knitting you did, the copying poses just is the best.

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Michelle link
1/13/2016 02:00:51 pm

LOL. They were a riot. It was hilarious trying to get them to stand still long enough to take pictures.

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Jessica link
1/7/2016 10:13:34 am

This looks like a good pattern to mash up with Amy Herzog's custom fit software. I love the collar, but ugh! Those directions sound like a nightmare!

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Michelle link
1/13/2016 02:01:38 pm

YES! It totally would be! I completely forgot about that software. Thanks for putting it back on my radar.

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crab&bee link
1/7/2016 03:42:13 pm

Since I don't knit (yet - going to start my first project next with a friend!), I read this post for the fun photos. They look like promos for an awesome buddy movie involving coordinated sweaters!

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Michelle link
1/13/2016 02:02:41 pm

HAHAHAHA. YES! It would be a horribly disjointed movie that didn't have a linear plot or make sense.

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florapie
1/7/2016 03:59:47 pm

I see you don't have a project page linked to this pattern yet-your notes would be very valuable to others trying to make this!

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Michelle link
1/13/2016 02:03:46 pm

I do still need to link up a Ravelry page to this post! i'll be sure to. I love Ravelry for that very purpose. It's so nice to read other people's experiences with a pattern.

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katie metzroth link
1/8/2016 11:50:31 am

Sorry about the extra yarn. Bummer! my LYS let's you return full hanks of unused yarn if it's within a year. perhaps you could return it?

Well done, ladies! The sweaters look great! and yay for the guys being such good sports! the re-creation photo is my favorite!!!! : )

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Michelle link
1/13/2016 02:05:29 pm

I could try to send the yarn back, but I'm not sure it's worth the energy. It would make a good hat or mittens, so maybe that's what it's destined for.

And, these guys are great. They were fun to photograph.

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katie metzroth link
1/23/2016 09:18:52 am

Maybe a hat with a Pom Pom? Bc Pom poms make everything better! :)

Laurie Hull link
1/9/2016 06:26:05 am

The sweaters turned out great despite the terrible directions. What lucky guys! Love the recreation photo!

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Michelle link
1/13/2016 02:06:10 pm

Thanks! I agree. They all turned out in the end. :-D

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Heather link
1/9/2016 10:57:28 am

These all look fantastic and I love the photo shoot!! You guys are so great to do suck unselfish knitting!

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Michelle link
1/13/2016 02:07:47 pm

They're worthy recipients. :-D

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kristieinbc link
1/10/2016 07:22:50 am

The sweaters all look terrific! What I find interesting is that the three guys are all very different builds, but the sweater works for all of them. It's too bad the pattern was so poorly written though. It's so frustrating to have a pattern like that.

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Michelle link
1/13/2016 02:08:57 pm

I love seeing how a pattern works for different people. It's really fun to be able to customize things to fit.

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stephanie young link
1/12/2016 11:41:30 am

I LOVE that you all knit together like this.....the sweaters that you all made for yourselves were great, but this is over the top!!! (I'm knitting one for my hubby now....how fun it would be if I had some buddies also knitting it!!!) The guys really look like they had a good time. So fun to have such great friends!!

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Michelle link
1/13/2016 02:10:59 pm

I do feel really lucky to have Liz and Meg to knit with. They're tons of fun and we constantly push each other in different directions and towards new projects. Knitting is, in a way, much more social than sewing.

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Loran Watkins link
2/8/2016 10:33:17 am

Just getting caught up on your adventures and WOW! Between Italy and gorgeous sweaters for fabulous guys....wow!

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Jody R
4/29/2017 06:15:38 pm

My daughter picked this sweater out for her first sweater because she really likes the style of the shawl collar. Would you, by chance, have a recommendation for a different pattern with the same type styling that would be easier for her. We purchased this one, so don't worry about us not contributing to the author : ). We won't mind buying a second one if it makes her first sweater journey a fun one!
Thank you

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