The Traveler by Andrea Mowry of Drea Renee Knits seemed to be out of reach as I fumbled through the files in my brain that hold my knitting skills. But daggone, that hoodie looked so comfy, so cozy, and the style is right up my alley. I gave it a shot, and hot damn am I so glad I did!
Here’s my video review, but keep reading for a full written review.
Features of this sweater:
- Knit from the bottom up
- Drop shoulder
- 2 neck options – hoodie or crew
New skills that I learned from this project:
- German twisted cast on
- Tubular bind off
- Construction of a bottom up sweater
- Drop shoulder construction
- Hoodie construction
Mods I made for my sweaters:
- The pattern states to use a tubular cast on. I chose a German twisted cast on instead.
- All ribbing portions were knit in twisted rib. I prefer the look of twisted rib on this particular sweater. It’s more tedious, yes, but I think the finished look is worth it!
The first version I made was the crew neck version.
I used my 4 inch Chiaogoo interchangeable needle set for this project, like most of my knits. I purchased this set years ago at the beginning of my knitting journey and let me tell you – it is worth its weight in gold! I rarely need to use any other needles.
Shocker – I did not swatch. Don’t come after me! I’d rather frog a project and begin again than to fool with knitting a swatch. Why? Because OCD has me by the balls (diagnosed, tyvm), and this entire thing would set off an avalanche of events in my brain that would take up my entire day (week). It seems like whenever I swatch, my gauge is slightly off but not by a ton, and then I go down a never ending rabbit hole of how to fix the issue, trying several different other swatches with different needle sizes, none of which match the gauge I’m sprinting after. This irritates me so much that it throws off my knitting mojo and will cause me to give up on a pattern. So, I’d just rather knit and then frog if the sizing is way off. I know this seems like it would be more time consuming that just knitting a freaking swatch, but for this girl, it’s the other way around. Please tell me I’m not the only one. PLEASE?!?!
Thankfully, this sweater fit. Both sizes. Yay for me!
- Size 4
- KnitPicks Wool of the Andes sport weight in the colorway Dove Heather. I used 12 skeins total.
- Crew neck because I was afraid of the hoodie and wanted to get my bearings before attempting that terrifying work of art.
- Needle sizes – US 3, 5, and 6 (for sleeves)
Wool of the Andes Sport (affiliate link)
Wool of the Andes is one of my all time favorite yarns to work with AND wear!
- Rustic but not itchy
- Affordable
- Comes in a TON of colors
- Long wearing
- Warm but breathable
If you choose to purchase some of this scrumptious yarn, if you wouldn’t mind, please use my links. At no extra cost to you, I receive a small commission that helps me continue producing content. Thank you, thank you, thank you for your support. I’m forever grateful.
Your girl is OBSESSED. Ok, so let’s talk the next version – the HOODIE!
https://www.ravelry.com/projects/hollybellknits/the-traveler-2
- Size 3
- KnitPicks Wool of the Andes sport weight (affiliate link) in the colorway Hollyberry. I used 13 skeins total.
- Hoodie!
I was feeling pretty confident in my ability to knit this sweater after I completed the crew neck version, so I stretched myself just a little more and dove right into the construction of the hoodie. I knew that if it was an epic failure, I could just frog it and start that portion over again. And, worst case scenario, I’d just finish another crew neck version. This sweater is so great that I didn’t mind either way.
But alas, Andrea held my hand through every step of the way and I knit the hoodie! Like everything else in life, I realized I was only anxious about tackling it because it was new to me. Once I got in there, took a deep breath (or a million), and focused on completing one row at a time, before I knew it, the hoodie was shaping up quite easily.
Andrea states in the pattern that the sweater will grow by about 15-18% following blocking. I found that to be spot on! I go over the actual numbers in the video at the top of this post.
I’m still amazed that these 2 hands could create such cool things with some yarn and a couple needles. I guess this is why I love making things so much. It stretches me beyond my comfort zone and pushes me towards things that I never thought I’d be able to accomplish.
Thanks for hanging out with me today, and happy making! xoxo
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