First of all, since usually even the smallest sizes are too big for me, I knitted it in the smallest size on a slightly smaller needle. It came out way too small, and I had to rip it all back to nothing.
The silver lining was that I was able to correct 95% of the mistakes I had made the first time around: I had done the yoke incorrectly, it was too short, I didn't like the colours I'd chosen for the yoke, I messed up the collar.
So it's looking much better - the length is good now, I'm happy with my colour choices (though they're far less than the pattern calls for), the fit is right:
There are so many nice details:
But I still made a mistake and will have to rip it back. At least, this time I don't have to undo the whole thing, just the border. I didn't read the pattern carefully enough, so I missed that picking up stitches for the border starts at the yoke, not at the top of the body. So, as you can see here, the front buckles. Also, I think I may have to make the border bigger, as it is still not quite wide enough across the front. I'm still going to start the border at the top of the body, just with more stitches this time. I'm also not sure I like the green bit under the collar.
I'm hoping to finish it in time for an upcoming trip to NYC... We'll see. I'm psyching myself up to undo the hem, haven't been able to face it yet...
In the meantime, between knitting the first draft of this piece and the second, I finished R's beau in time for Christmas, which he likes a lot (the jumper, not the holiday). He's worn it almost every day.
I hope everyone had a great Christmas!
