Le Lapin Noir: Pattern Mods

Here I'll be listing all the mods I made, specifics of how I worked I the pattern, and few tips you might find helpful if you'll be knitting this sweater. The FO post is here.

Size: The garment schematic shows that the 32-34" size (the one I made) measures 27" around, which means that for a 34" bust, you'd have 7" neg ease. I decided to make that size even though I knew it would have a lot of neg ease, it fits nicely, but I think the next size up would have been best. It really depends on what you'll be wearing the sweater with, I like to wear a tank top underneath for extra length so that made the fit a tighter.

Construction: Rather than working each piece separately, I worked the ribbing in the round to 7" (a inch more than the pattern suggests) then divided off for the back and the front. I increased one stitch on each side for a selvedge.
When I seamed the garment together, I first grafted the shoulder seams, then I worked the neckline, then I sewed in the arms (I used backstitching) and finally I sewed up the sides using the mattress stitch.

Front: I worked the front until the piece measured 15" from cast on edge (pattern suggests 13.5). 3.5 repeats. If I were to make this again I would definitely make it longer either in the ribbing or the argyle section.

Back: I worked the back in stockinette st until it measured 15" from cast on edge I then cast off for armholes and worked armhole shaping ONLY for another two inches, I then put sts on a holder for the neckline and worked neckline shaping.

Armhole Shaping: I worked the decrease pattern given until I reached 12sts per shoulder. I think 14-16 might have been a bit better. You might notice the argyle pattern isn't centered on each shoulder, I didn't pay enough attention during the decreases and I made the pattern go a bit off center.

Neckline: I picked up 2sts for every 3rows. I worked 3 rows in 1x1 rib then decd 2 sts at each shoulder seam. I worked 3 more rows then decd 2sts at each neckline corner. I don't think that was really necessary, but I wanted to be sure there was no gaping.

Arms: This is where I made a significant amount of mods. I cast the appropriate number and worked 1" of 1x1 rib, then I worked in stockinette stitch until the sleeve measured 5" from cast on. At first I made both sleeve caps the way the pattern suggests, but when I basted them in I had large puckers at the top of the shoulder. I frogged the sleeve until I had hit the 26st point then I cast off again. The original created a very thin rounded shoulder, after frogging, the sleeve was a bit wider (less decreases) and more square. I'd definitely recommend basting the sleeves before seaming, sleeves are a bit finicky, so you may have to made different mods.

Intarsia: I used large lengths of yarn (about 1-2yds) and split-spliced when I had almost reached the end of piece. I tried butterflies, but they unwound and got tangle up. A friend suggested popsicle sticks, which appeared to work, but made a most annoying noise upon the turning of my work and again allowed the yarn to unwind a bit. Use what works for you.

Colour: I used black in Knit Picks Palette, it wasn't too difficult to seam since the yarn doesn't have a lot of "fuzz", but you'll definitely need a lot of light to seam successfully. Speaking of yarn, I think KP Palette was a great choice for this sweater, it's a really basic, soft and inexpensive wool. Lots of colour choices too.