The jumper is done! Just in time for the height of summer!
I am talking of course, about the Fair Isle jumper I detailed here. I sat down, I sewed, I cursed, I got it done.
I was kinda dubious about how this would turn out at one point. Unwashed wool is all stiff, springy and scratchy. Washed wool, not so much! In fact, it’s pretty great! I am still bemused by the soft drapey magic that results from a two-minute soak.
Setting in the sleeves went fine too. Sleeve setting isn’t hard when you’re armed with safety pins and an iron will. I backstitched them in place for extra strength.
As for the fit? Well it came out a tad baggier than I expected. I think my gauge wound up ever so slightly large after blocking. How embarrassing! The length is fine though. It’s a suitably vintage result…
- CLOSE ENOUGH
I think I could stand to add a few high-waisted A-line or pencil skirts to the ol’ wardrobe to go with this sweater. Said wardrobe does not contain many other vintage-y things and my skirts are all super-poofy. This jumper is boxy.
Boxy+Poofy = SACK FIGURE
Can’t argue with the maths.
Also I cannot shake the feeling that I should be wearing a bra that allows me to take people’s eyes out, for the true retro look.
The fair isle on this thing is so pretty. Wool is so easy to work with for this kind of stuff because it just sticks to itself like velcro. I’ve been admiring the fair isle more than I’ve been wearing the jumper so far.
Luckily I have 3 or so other projects lined up to fill the void this jumper has left. Maybe another vintage fair isle jumper? Why the heck not!
A pile of sheep 
Nice! That white yarn looks so cozy… (I think the Stitches version is made baggier than the original IMHO)
Thanks!! It’s undyed wool so you really feel like you’re wearing a genuine bit of sheep 😛 I do think the Stitches version is way too baggy. Maybe it was made with a different model in mind?
It looks very nice, almost the same fit as in the original picture. And your fair isle knitting is just perfect.
The “problem” with A Stitch In Time IMHO is, that the pieces were not made to fit the models and some of them look really odd on the pictures. This one especially is way too large whereas the “Made So Quickly” Jacket is too small for the model.
How right you are about your choice of bra! The round style, prevalent since the 1980’s, is no more honest than the pointy 50’s. Girls aren’t that shpe (unless they’ve had implants!). But in the 40’s 60’s and 70’s the silhouette was right, especially under knitwear. You can still achieve the shape today if you shop around: look for horizontal seams across the cups, e.g. Triumph Doreen, Berlei non-slip and some Playtex Cross-your-heart models. Yes they’re often referred to as granny bras, but under a jumper they make you look a thousand times better than if you wear modern moulded-cup bras.
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