The Finished Object – The Thoroughbred Sweater is Finally Finished, Blocked and Ready to Wear
The Thoroughbred / Coat of Many Lengths is complete. It was
a long time coming, but the main reason it took me so long to finish the jacket was
my inability to read and follow the directions. Instead of reading a line in
the pattern and doing what the directions indicated, I would try to visualize
the directions which lead to me putting down the sweater until I could figure
out what the pattern wanted me to do. I
ended up putting down the sleeves for over a month because I couldn’t see how
the decreases were to be worked. It turned out that the instructions were
really easy, and I was overthinking them.
I liked this pattern. If I were to make it again, I would
try a lighter weight yarn. The finished sweater weighs in at a little over 2
pounds. As you might recall, I used the vintage Red Heart Super Saver yarn for
this project. It was in my stash and yelling at me that it needed to be made
into this sweater. One of the reasons I wanted to make this pattern was that it
used a worsted weight yarn. Many (or most) vintage patterns use lightweight
yarns. That is what was available in the 1930s, 40s and 50s.
I talked Alison into modeling the sweater with me, so we
could show that different body types look so dang cute in the sweater. If we
were to make it for her, I would shorten the sleeves 3 or 4 inches. 
I finished the sweater just as it started to warm up in our
little part of the world. I’ve worn the sweater to work a couple of times, but
it’s been too heavy for everyday wear right now. I don’t want to jinx our summer
and make it too hot this year, but I am really looking forward to the Fall and
wearing the jacket often.
Happy knitting!
