Rediscovering Homespun®: A Boxy Cropped Sweater WIP

Homespun® is a special kind of yarn. Since my last post I’ve noticed there are many people that love working with it. Most people that do say they use it for prayer shawls or afghans, both are definitely good projects. For those of you that noticed a problem with snagging and splitting I would suggest trying a larger crochet hook or more blunt knitting needles. Very often a “problem” with a yarn can be solved by using different tools. Just a thought for if you like the yarn and want to give it another go.

My Thing With Homespun®

For me Homespun® holds a lot of memories of family, love, and learning a new craft. It’s been around for as long as I personally have been aware of Lion Brand Yarns. I made my very first afghan using this yarn and following a Warm Up America pattern from LionBrand.com. I’m not sure if I could find the exact pattern again. It was probably 13 years ago. I remember it was a sampler of sorts. (I think it was THIS PATTERN.) I made it for a boyfriend in colors selected from my local Micheals store. A sure sign of my never ending devotion. We broke up before I finished. Oops. So I packed away the half finished blanket. The next poor fellow came along and I decided to regift the afghan. I proudly presented it to him for Christmas. We broke up within a month. After that I gave up on afghans for guys.

But I digress… Homespun® has a unique texture, which makes it perfect for afghans, blankets, sweaters, and jackets. It’s cuddly and soft. The texture makes simple stitches look interesting and gracefully covers up mistakes. The odd purl stitch within a garter piece or a missed decrease worked a row or two late… these things are forgiven with this yarn.

I haven’t revisited this yarn in a while, but when it came up for promotion on LionBrand.com (Feb. 15-21, 2019) I began looking through the free patterns that were available. I was drawn in by the Boxy Cropped Pullover. It has flexible sizing (the pattern is written for S/L and 1X/2X only). It calls for 3 (4) skeins worked on size 10.5 needles. No brainer. I decided to cast on.

Note: Make it longer by working extra length before beginning sleeve shaping. I like my sweaters to be around 20″ total length, which let them hit the waist of my jeans. So I added 2″ of knitting. Do be aware that added length means additional yardage!

I made a couple other modifications as well, which could be good or not so good. I’m waiting for that moment of truth when I slip the sweater over my head. When I hold my breath and run to the mirror to see if this latest creation is worthy of wearing in public or if I have another house sweater. (Not just this sweater. This is a game I play with every garment I make. Kind of a crafty Russian Roulette.) Since I don’t like pushing up my sweater sleeves, I shortened the length of the sleeves by one increase repeat.

Modifications make a piece your own. As a designer people have asked me over the years if I mind when people change up a pattern I wrote. My answer is always, not at all! Modifying patterns is how I began designing. The one thing to remember about mods is this, sometimes the designer writes the pattern a certain way on purpose. But if you’re not afraid of ripping things out and trying new ideas then 110% go for it! Your projects should also make you happy. And if another yarn color or stitch makes you happy, do it!