Honestly my philosophy for choosing yarn/needle size/size to knit lately has been this: first of all I choose a yarn that I like and is suitable for my weather in a similar yarn weight than recommended in the pattern. If the pattern uses mohair sometimes I just skip it (higher cost, too warm and sometimes too itchy). Then I swatch with 2 or 3 needle sizes and I focus mostly on the look, feel and drape of the finished fabric more than getting the right gauge. Then I calculate which size to make taking into consideration my gauge (often different than the one in the pattern) and how much positive ease I want. I often have to go for 2 or 3 sizes larger than the one that I want to end up with. Also, it's important to take into consideration that a little 10 cm swatch does not necessarily show how much a full heavy sweater is going to grow, so mid project blocks help A LOT when choosing where to join in the round for armhole depth, how long to knit the sleeves and body etc. Another thing if the pattern is not a raglan is to always knit the collar before choosing how long to knit the sleeves and the body as it affects the length. This doesn't apply in every scenario but has worked out for me so far. Also I agree that 40 cm of positive ease is way too much, it may look good in photos but ends up looking like someone else's sweater 🤣 I prefer 15-20 cm

@elisaknittingstories

5 ай бұрын

I agree with everything you said and I find your advice on gauge swatching very useful! It's a process and with every garment I am learning something to apply to the next one. With this Busan Sweater, the learning curve has definitely gone up a lot!

@rosai.4371

5 ай бұрын

Thank you for sharing your thought and knitting process! Very helpful

I have a few flops too… part of the journey sometimes but definitely disappointing! I’m obsessed with your sweater and want to make one for myself now 😂 it’s very oversized JW Anderson. Super chic but if you will be uncomfortable in it then modify or frog! Best of luck and thanks for a great video ❤😊

I have this pattern save up for some time now. I love the loose fit. Thank for sharing your experience with your Busan sweater. Now I can't wait to cast on mine.

I actually love the finished product and think you look really cool wearing it 😂 you’ve inspired me to cast one on in a similar colour

@elisaknittingstories

5 ай бұрын

Thank you! All I can say is: choose your size and yarn wisely, not like I did 😂 I think this sweater is cute, but not entirely my style and I worry I will end up not wearing it because of this. Frogging seems the best option for my preferences 🤞

Ah, I feel your pain! But you're right - flops are all part of the reality of making things by hand. I've been knitting garments for more than 30 years and just managed to screw up a straightforward cardigan, for all the same reasons as your sweater: gauge was theoretically OK but the fabric was so loose it grew huge once it was blocked and I probably didn't choose the right size in the first place (thought I wanted massively oversized but it just looks like it's somebody else's cardigan). So, sympathies! No shame in re-knitting things! Good luck and look forward to seeing your second version x

@elisaknittingstories

5 ай бұрын

Thank you for sharing your experience! Making mistakes is normal ☺️ I can't wait to have the Busan Sweater of my dreams ✨ I'm still choosing the mohair, but it's next on my queue 🤍

Thank you for sharing your knitting journey and flop. First, Personally, I would gift the sweater to someone who this would fit. It may be a flop on your body size, but a beautiful and perfect sweater on somebody else! Secondly I would look for a different pattern, seems like there are way too many adjustments you will have to make to this pattern to fit you. Just my opinion .😊. ( I went to the ravelry website and looked at this pattern… Looks like you made it just right! But it is crazy oversized, I totally agree!)

@elisaknittingstories

4 ай бұрын

Thank you for sharing your thoughts and suggestions! I've considered all of these options and I came to the conclusion that I really want this sweater because I love the yarn and I also enjoy the big cable in the middle. I think I'll try to modify the pattern, and if it doesn't work, I'll change the sweater I want to make 🥰

So refreshing to see an episode sharing your knitting flop! This was so useful as I feel like I’m the only knitter who has flops 😂 so thank you 🙏 PS. You still look lovely in the oversized sweater

@elisaknittingstories

5 ай бұрын

You're in good company! 😂 I'm happy you felt understood: this was exactly my goal in making this video 🥰

Thank you for sharing your experience, Elisa. It does help tremendously to learn and accept that our knitting experiences are just that. And it is so good to be able to learn from the not so successful projects too. I am in the process of knitting a Chestnut sweater atm, but so unsure about the colour choices I made😅. I will give it a go and if I a still unhappy with the finished result, I will have to think what to do with it. I think your sweater v2 will turn out beautiful. Love modifications you planned on. xx

@elisaknittingstories

5 ай бұрын

Thank you for the encouragement! I really hope my plans will work out 🤞🥰

I can imagine it’s probably not easy to frog it but it’s so interesting to hear what you’ve learned from this - good luck with your next attempt and I hope you’ll have a beautiful Busan sweater in your wardrobe soon ! 😊

@elisaknittingstories

5 ай бұрын

Thank you Hannah! I can't wait to cast it on again 🩷

This is a very nice sweater and I feel that it would make a fantastic gift knit to someone bigger in size..

@elisaknittingstories

5 ай бұрын

You're right! 🥰

Grazie per questo video Elisa! Io sono attratta moltissimo da questo maglione ma sono perplessa dal enorme positive ease e la forma in generale, che sulla modella sembra un po' "a uovo". Il tuo video ha confermato i miei dubbi e ora sono molto interessata a vedere quale sarà lo sviluppo di questa vicenda! Sono in cerca di spunti per adattare questo magnifico maglione al mio stile

@elisaknittingstories

5 ай бұрын

Concordo! È sempre difficile valutare un maglione solo dalle foto che propone la designer perché ovviamente lì sembrano sempre perfetti! Non vedo l'ora di rifare il mio Busan seguendo le preferenze che ho scoperto di avere facendolo la prima volta 🤞🤍

@rosai.4371

5 ай бұрын

@@elisaknittingstories 🤩

Your brave to go back on fix it. I think thats a hard thing to do but it ultimately ends up with us having more garments we love and wear.

@elisaknittingstories

5 ай бұрын

I can't stand the idea of not wearing this sweater out. It's just too beautiful not to re-make it!❤️

Oh no! that IS really big Elisa, and not in a good way! You are just 'swimming' in it! thank you for sharing about it and the changes you will make when you re-knit it! I wonder why it initially fit ok but then grew so much after soaking... is that yarn superwash? superwash can tend to loose its shape and stretch out so I never use superwash yarns anymore... looking forward to Part 2 whenever you complete it!

@elisaknittingstories

5 ай бұрын

I know! The yarn isn't superwash... I think the problem here was the weight of the garment and the fact that the yarn is very bouncy. This is one of the reasons why I think holding mohair with it will help me a lot! It will probably counteract the bounciness of the yarn 🤞

Ah this is a little heartbreaking! This jumper is on my wish list but I will keep your experience in mind. I think these super oversized jumpers look good on photos but in real life they just don't work quite so well :/ maybe on models but for most people... pft.

@elisaknittingstories

5 ай бұрын

I'm happy you found this useful! The best advice I could give is to always take into account the weight of the garment and the bounciness of the yarn you're using: these will change the garment immensely!

I hate giant armholes. I have a very tiny upper body and very skinny arms. anytime I make a top-down sweater, in order to avoid the giant arms, I will try on the yolk to make sure it stops at the appropriate part of my shoulder. It's all about trying things on, as I go, for me.

@elisaknittingstories

5 ай бұрын

I should have done as you suggested here and I will definitely do it as soon as I frog and cast on my new Busan. I learnt so much about the knitting process and my garment preferences! Thank you for your feedback 🤍

I hope i don’t cause an offence but i just had to laugh when you said you had your dads sweater on 😂 i have this problem with super oversized. I often size down because otherwise i look like ive borrowed an older sisters sweater. In contrast my gauge is off with my latest tshirt knit and it looks like im knitting a child’s top although thankfully it does fit because the yarn is very stretchy. Knitters problems 😂

@elisaknittingstories

5 ай бұрын

Absolutely no offence taken! I hope your t-shirt will grow with blocking... Gauge is definitely the hardest part of knitting 😂

Firstly, you haven't used mohair, secondly, if you don't like oversized garments you should choose a smaller size

I knit my busan sweater with worsted wool/alpaca and mohair. It’s really, really heavy, which is fine, but I wish it had more drape like in the photo. It’s so hard to gauge taking into account the final weight of the project. My yarn had some alpaca but still little drape. I too should have knit size 1 but I followed the suggested ease then I decreased to size 1 at the hips and reduced the short rows at the bottom by half. Ravelry is veronicaInCalgary for a pic of my busan. I won’t wear it out. It’ll be for morning walks on the property.

@elisaknittingstories

5 ай бұрын

Sizing is definitely a huge detail in this design because of its shape! I'll have a look at your Busan and draw inspiration from it 🥰