And there was much rejoicing
From me, anyway. I’d gotten really board with all that stockinette.
What am I talking about? Why, Aidan’s sweater, of course. Four months after I started it, I am done. DONE!
Last night, before I went to bed, I folded up the sweater neatly and left it as a surprise on the corner of his bed with a post-it note, telling him he should put on a sweater, if he woke up cold. When I got up this morning, I saw that he had taken my advice.
So glad he likes it 
Don’t look too, too closely at this sweater, as it is fraught with little problems. Structurally, it is fine (I hope) but there are some aesthetic issues that cropped up when I dropped and later recovered a stitch, or when I had some difficulty picking up stitches for the hood, or when I lost count of where I needed to be for the ribbing on the edge of the hood…
Oh, and there is one other minor issue: It’s HUGE on him. I don’t know where my gauge went wrong, but somehow I managed to mis-measure something. I mean, it is gigantic. I could wear this sweater. And let me tell you, short and skinny Aidan, and I, with my ample curves, are not even close in size to each other.
I’ve toyed with the idea of washing it and hoping for some shrinkage, but I don’t know if that’s a smart idea. Do any of you more experienced knitters have any thoughts you can share?
Leaving it as-is is certainly an option. Aidan likes his clothes big. Luckily. But it might be nice to lose an inch or two all around and make it a better fit.
The details
Pattern: Hooded Sweatshirt from Knits Men Want by Bruce Weinstein
Modifications: None that I did on purpose 
except Aidan chose to eliminate the contrasting stripe.
Yarn: Cascade 220 Heathers, color 9577
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He’ll grow! Nothing wrong with some room for layering, until then.
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Yay!!!! It looks great. =)
I haven’t tried felting Cascade, but a couple of searches netted a bunch of people who have. The best advice I saw was to knit up a swatch & felt that to see what changes. Or, you could just accept the fact that he’s a boy, and they do grow.
Either way, congrats on finishing!!
Boys love oversize! And there’s one thing for certain….he’s going to grow!
That sweater looks fantastic! And your boy is lovely too. Is it creepy to say in a blog comment that he totally looks like you? : /
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It came out fantastic! I love the color. Even though it’s big he’ll grow into it….wouldn’t it be fun when he’s 20 to still be wearing it and say “my mom made this X many years ago!”
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i think you should let him grow into it. the shrinkage will be disproportionate and make it too short. i think it looks good on him. i’m impressed that you did that in 4 months. it took me 3 months to make this pair of socks i’m wearing! but, i must admit, those were on #0 needles.
It’s great! Matt has almost grown out of his and I’m starting the second sleeve on Ryan’s today. I understand the boredom of the stockinette. I’m way over knitting this sweater. What I don’t do for love!
Thanks, everybody for your great comments! I think we’ll just roll up the sleeves and wait for a growth spurt
he will grow into it….if he doesn’t wear it out first
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That looks great!! I love big and baggy sweaters, so I’d leave it the way it is
I agree with not felting it and letting him grow into it. I have felted with Cascade 220 and it felts great. You will now be trying NOT to felt it when you wash it. I wash my handknits on the gentlest wash cycle with cold water and then lay flat to dry. In the mean time, snag it from him and wear it yourself!
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