All Done (The Sweater Song)

sweater
Originally uploaded by Madam.

First, a picture post for all of the visual learners out there :)

This is young master Max, wearing a very stylish pullover. To quote his dad in the thank-you e-mail accompanying this photo, "It's unusually cold and rainy for May, but it doesn't matter to this young lad as he warms his feet by a roaring fire in his stylish, hand-knit V-neck."

I decided to eliminate the button on the placket, partially because it looked pretty well finished as-is and partially because I stink at buttons.* I guess the sizing was a little wonky, because I aimed for the 9-12 month range (working by measurements and not rows, no less), but here he is at what I was told was an "average-to-small six months old." But since the weather's been crappy here, he gets to wear it right away, and danged if he doesn't look happy to do so. Matches his socks :) The picture looks a little more olive than the actual color.

Thoughts on the pattern:
Overall, I found this a fairly quick knit with an easy-to-follow rhythm and a clean product with less-than-tedious finishing. However, I did run into some pattern-related issues, cleared up when I finally checked out the errata. For example, if you had never knit a bottom-up raglan sweater before, you might wonder how the sleeves and body got put together. The short story is that the edition of Last-Minute Knitted Gifts that I have neglects to mention that the underarm stitches get grafted together at the end. Which I kind of assumed, but seeing ZERO mention of those eight stitches at any time following "put them on holders" made me spend two days trying to decipher the instructions and make highly technical diagrams (reminding me, suspiciously, of health class and the female reproductive system) in hopes that I could get someone online to help me figure the danged thing out. (And now my picture's shrunken. Woe!) To wit:



Now, see, that's just sad.

*Yeah, I know they're easy, but sewing onto larger-gauge knit fabric is a little different than, say, fixing one on the cuff of an oxford shirt. As evidenced by my mom's gorgeous vest, which would be perfect if three of the eight buttons weren't accidentally sewn through the button AND hole sides when attempting to hide the tail securely :P Anyone have a tried-and-true reference book for improving your finishing? I know there are multiple options...