Hey there! Brittany from B.hooked and I’m excited to begin my guest blogging journey at Yarnspirations. Each month you’ll read about my adventure with one of the latest free Yarnspirations patterns. Teaching is kind of my jam, so you’ll not only get to read about my experience with the pattern, but you’ll also get to see it in action too! This month I chose to work on the Women’s Curvy Crochet Cowl Pullover as it fit perfectly with my monthly personal goal of exploring the world of garment making. There is something truly rewarding when you plan, execute and WEAR something that you made with your own two hands. Where I’m from, the winters are rather unpredictable and almost always well below freezing. This means I spend most of my days and nights wearing layers of cozy clothes – even indoors. When your yarn takes up more room in your closet than your clothes do, it’s time to start knitting and crocheting some cozy things to wear! When I saw this project, I was drawn to it for three reasons: style, texture and yarn. Three ingredients that often persuade me to dive hook first into a project. First, let’s talk about the style. I find it rather interesting, really. It’s very much like a sweet mix of poncho and sweater. What that spells is C-O-M-F-O-R-T. When I’m lounging around the house, the last thing I want is a long sleeve shirt smothering me even if I’m cold. Therefore, I tend to gravitate towards loose-fitting clothes. This one fits the bill! Now for that texture – just look at it! Any time I have the chance to play with a blend of stitches, I’m a happy camper. Would you believe the main stitch pattern only uses two stitches? It looks complicated but is quite simple. Basically, it’s going to make you look like you’re a pro even if you’re just getting your feet wet. And now for the yarn! Roving yarn is by far my favorite to work with. It may not always be fun to frog, but it will always give you beautiful stitch definition and organic texture. Bernat Roving is one of my favorite roving yarns to work with mainly because it’s much more durable than any other roving yarn I’ve used. If you make a mistake with this pattern, I can say from experience that it will survive when you rip out your stitches! The other thing I really like about this yarn choice is how soft it is even though it has some wool content. Like many of us, I’m particular about the quality of wool I put on my skin, so the scratchier yarns will almost always be hats or projects that aren’t on the skin. Bernat Roving is soft enough that this gal feels comfortable wearing it. I worked on my pullover for about 25 hours. I know that sounds like a lot of crochet time but it was time well spent in my book! I’d say I crochet with “average” speed so you can expect this sort of time investment for your project too. The pattern is broken into four panels – a back, front and two sleeves. Then they are sewn together and finally, the addition of the collar. I love this approach to garment making because it breaks the project down into bite-sized chunks making it feel more manageable. If you’ve never made a sweater, you must try it at least once! Don’t worry if you feel like you don’t have the skills yet. The best way to get the skills is through trial and error and as I always say — time spent learning is not time wasted. I’m here to make sure you succeed in your attempts! To help you through this pattern, I have taken the main techniques you need to know for completing this pullover and put them into a video tutorial. I’ll show you how to master the stitch pattern, fasten off, add a new ball of yarn, understand the increases and decreases and share some assembly tips. I hope you have a wonderful time working this project. Be sure to share your photos with me on Instagram using #bhooked – I can’t wait to share this journey with you! Featured Yarn
