Pattern Critique #26: Moss Stitch Pullover

Pattern Name: Moss Stitch Pullover
Designer: Janet Mysse
Source:  Tongue River Farm
Pattern Yarn: Tongue River Lopi

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Pattern Review and Personal Notes:

Until recently, I had not had the best luck with knitting projects for my husband, Bruce.  First, there was the gray cardigan that is still sitting in the UFO pile; that pile in the closet, meaning it will probably never get finished.  Then, there was the scarf from hand spun yarn purchased on a farm during a trip to Maine.  During one of the first wears, it snagged on something and there is a big hole.  It is sitting in the knitting closet very close to the cardigan.  It will not likely ever get mended.  Then, there was the v-neck sweater completed two years ago.  Great pattern, but not for the yarn choice, a blend of merino and linen; too stretchy.  Will it ever be ripped out and re-knit?  Not likely.

Last winter, I knit him a pair of felted mittens so his hands would be warm when he walks the dogs.  They fit and they were worn.  That enticed me to move on to socks.  I finished a pair of plain ribbed socks in washable Opal Merino last week.  He called me from Philadelphia after walking in them all day, just to tell me he loved them.  When he arrived home from that trip, his new sweater was finished. 

This man has accompanied me to many a yarn store, and many a wool festival.  At Rhinebeck last year, we wandered the buildings together.  I showed Bruce several sweaters as options and he selected this one, the Moss Stitch Pullover.  I worried that the yarn would be too scratchy, but he fondled the sample at the Tongue River booth enough times that I was satisfied that he would be satisfied.  

As the name implies, the body is all knit in moss stitch, which is sometimes also referred to as seed stitch.  It is a k1, p1 on one row, followed by the opposite order of knits and purls on the alternative rows.  The alternating of knits and purls gives it the "seed" look. 

All of the parts - front, back and sleeves - begin with 2-1/2 inches of k1, p1 ribbing on needles about 1-3 sizes smaller than those used for the body of the sweater.  After the ribbing, the moss stitch pattern begins.  For the sleeves, several stitches are increased using the larger needle size, to provide some fullness.   Simply switching to the larger needle size after the ribbing gives the front and back pieces enough additional fullness.

The back is knit in moss stitch until the piece measures 15-16 inches, at which point the armhole decrease  of stitches occurs on each edge, over eight rows.  Once the desired full back length is reached, the remaining stitches are put on holders.  The outer stitches are for the shoulders, while the inner live stitches will be picked up later for the neck. 

The front is identical, until the neckline is reached.  There, the live front neck stitches are put on a holder while the neck sides are knit with decreases for tapering the neckline.  When the same length as the back piece is reached, the right and left front sides are put on holders.

The sleeves involve equal placements of increases as they progress for 70 rows.  Bind offs and decreases follow for the shoulder shaping.  The completed sleeve piece ends with binding off all of the stitches.

Knitting this reminded me how much I love the look of the 3-needle bind off.  It is the pattern technique for grafting the shoulder stitches together, which you knew from the fact that those stitches were put on holders! 

The side and sleeve seams are sewn.  The set-in sleeves are sewn.  Then, a combination of the live stitches from the front and back, plus 16-18 stitches picked up from both neck sides are all put on a circular needle or dpns, in the smaller needle size.  K1, p1 ribbing is done for 3 inches and bound off.  The ribbing folds in half, is stitched loosely so as to stay put, and that's it!  You are done! 

The yarn is so sturdy that there is not any need to block it.  It is ready to wear at this point.

Rating:

With bulky weight yarn and size 10 needles, this was a really fast knit. It took me less than two weeks, and I  knit on some other projects during that time.  Some knitters do not care for this moss/seed stitch pattern, but I tend to like it.  It is not as monotonous as garter stitch, yet I can still knit it without paying a lot of attention.

Most importantly to this post, the pattern is written extremely well - clear and complete.  There is absolutely nothing left to second guessing. 

This would be an excellent beginner knitter's first sweater.  The bulkiness would hide any little mistakes, even if different wool were used. 

Bruce put this sweater on and it fit him perfectly!  This weekend, our temperatures are expected to drop into the teens and I expect that Bruce will wear his new sweater proudly.  I'm on a roll here, and hope to begin even yet another project for him very soon.

           

If you have knit this pattern, please rate it and submit as comments. Thank you