Shelda's swatch for the “More Than a Sweatshirt” Knit-along
The swatch as you see it is upside down from the direction it was knit. Like the sweater itself, it's knit from the top down. I started with the garter ridges that you see at the top, for stability, then did the slip-stitch 'V' pattern that rests at the neck of the sweater in the pattern. Then I knit a couple of inches in plain stockinette, and then tried the slip-stitch border and ribbing.
I'm using Silk City Softball 2.2N, which is an “Oddball” yarn from Elann. It's a sport weight, 90% cotton and 10% stretch nylon, and I'm using two different colors held together (Dubonnet & Maroon). I couldn't decide which I preferred, so I ended up ordering both so I could compare. I thought the Dubonnet was too light, and the Maroon too dark, and then inspiration struck and I'm using one strand of each. It makes a fun tweedy tone-on-tone look that I really like. On a 5mm needle I'm getting about 5 sts/inch and a fabric that feels good to me.
I'm going to launder the swatch and then do the math necessary to accommodate my gauge, which differs somewhat from the one specified in the pattern. I'll be detailing those calculations here, so stay tuned!