Bethany's Colorwork Lumme Pullover

Name: Bethany
Your Instagram Handle: @‌the.creative.b
Pattern Name and Designer: Lumme Pullover by Sari Nordlund
Size Made: Size 5
Materials used: Heirloom Romney: MC soil, CC natural, Knit Picks' Premium Knitting Chart Keeper
Modifications: Omitted fold over neckband detail, instead just knitted collar to be 4 inches tall, decreased length of sweater by .75 inches before the ribbing

I’ve been knitting for nearly eight years now and have only just barely started to dive into the world of colorwork. Sweaters are probably my favorite thing to knit yet, I’ve never had the courage to tackle a colorwork sweater until now! With the launch of Fancy Tiger Crafts new generation of Heriloom Romney, I thought it was perfect opportunity to challenge myself to knit my first colorwork sweater. It didn't take long for me to settle on a pattern, I fell in love with Sari Nordlound's Lumme Pullover at first sight! The colorwork pattern was something that I felt fit into my personal style perfectly and I loved that the sweater had a slight oversized look to it. I’ve knitted a number of raglan sweater and seamed block sweaters but never a yoke sweater so this project was a series of many firsts for me! I was pretty nervous to tackle this project as the only other colorwork project I had done were a pair of mittens! Thankfully, this pattern very straight forward to read. When it came to reading the colorwork chart, I found that it was pretty easy to figure out and keep track of my place - just remember colorwork charts read right to left! The colorwork section had a number of repeating stitch sequences which made it pretty easy to get into a rhythm. I’m definitely someone who prefers knitting while watching or listening to something so I appreciated that I didn’t need to be hyper focused while tackling the colorwork. Admittedly, I did end up having to frog the yoke more than once - luckily it was towards the start of the pattern! That was more an error on my part for messing up some increases and not counting my stitches as diligently as I should have! I’d be lying if I said I was bummed that I finished this sweater right as the warm weather really kicked in. I already can’t wait to wear this next winter!  I loved working with working with Heirloom Romney. I was worried that doing a colorwork sweater with a worsted weight yarn would make the the sweater too heavy but that ended up not being not the case! I think this sweater will keep me just the right amount of warm during the cold months without being too bulky. Initially, I chose the  the contrast color be a pink color but I’m so glad I switched the contrast color to natural! The more neutral pallet makes this sweater super versatile so I’m excited to get a lot of wear out this sweater!This is a great project for anyone wanting to tackle their first big colorwork project! You’re only switching between two different colors of yarn so you’re way less likely to get your yarn tangled! If you’ve knit a top down sweater before, especially one with a yoke, you’ll most likely find the construction of this pattern very familiar. Since the body of the sweater is knit stockinette and it’s a worsted weight, once you make it past the color work section the rest of the sweater will knit up fast! I was worried that the small color work section on the sleeves would slow me down but I ended up breezing past these sections! I’m sure you’ve heard time and time again about how important it is to do a gauge swatch but I can’t emphasis enough how vital it is to do one for this project - or any color work project for that matter! I ended up having to go up one needle size for my color work and one needle size down for my regular stockinette section. I also got a magnetic chart keeper board from Knitpicks that I kept my color work chart on it. It’s definitely not necessary but it really helped me track which row I was on as I was making my way through the colorwork chart.This sweater reminded me so much of those gorgeous nordic sweaters. I’ve always admired these sweaters but could never find one that I loved enough that would make me overcome my fear of color work! What I really appreciate  about the fit of this sweater is that the pattern does two short-row sections. One right after the color work section and one before you begin the ribbing. This makes the back of the sweater ever so slightly longer longer than the front. I love this detail as I have a couple sweaters where I feel like I’m constantly adjusting it to keep the back from popping up higher than the front. I’m already planning on knitting this pattern again, just without the color work so I can use up some yarn that’s been sitting in my stash!