The Birthday Sweater

It’s mid-January. I am still working to finish that Christmas blanket I started in December 2023. I am nearly done with it, but still…still slogging away on it and loving every stitch of it.

However, at the end of February, it’s my birthday.

I have developed a habit of making myself a birthday sweater.

Maybe it’s because I just wore last year’s birthday sweater — the very first birthday sweater I made for myself — out and about — for the very first time.

It’s been cold here and I am typically very hot-natured lately. Even though last year’s birthday sweater is a hexagon T-shirt with mid-length sleeves, it is still yarny and warm.

I love this sweater. You can check out my project notes here on Ravelry, if you are so inclined.

My birthday is coming up. I want to make myself another sweater. I am thinking something like this, a bit oversized.

I saw a YouTube short, here, that I just love and that is the type of sweater I want to make.

So, the front and back will both be one big granny square, with minimal additional stripes. I might make a neckline or I might leave it a boat neckline—just the two squares slapped together, a basic single crochet around the neck for stability and finishing.

Sleeves, I have to give a good long think about. I love long sleeves that go past my fingertips. But I prefer to wear mid-length sleeves, so right above or right below my elbows.

All of this with the thought of, oh, what yarn will I be using? I want either a weight four or weight three yarn (worsted or DK). I want lots of color, but I don’t like to weave in ends, so a color-changing yarn would be the thing.

Do I stash dive or do I buy yarn?

Ideally, I would stash dive. However, I know what yarn I want for this sweater, or at least one version of this sweater: here

Mostly cotton, with just enough wool and acrylic to make it decent on my hands, hopefully.

The only reason I haven’t purchased this yarn yet is because … even though the description says for an adult sweater you need seven to eight balls of yarn, there is no clear definition of how many yards of yarn per skein. I like to be sure of these things.

Maybe I will make one long-sleeved—and then do my mid-length sleeve in another colorway. I have plenty of yarns to play with.

I think I will stash dive and see what I can come up with before I decide to take the plunge and purchase any more yarn. I have enough yarn. I ought to be able to find something.

I can’t make any other decisions until I have the yarn in hand so I can see what size hook the yarn label calls for.

So, I will keep you updated as I move forward with this project.

Until next time.