In February, the original intention was to finish the December Holidays blanket. After that, I planned to finish all of the half-finished hexagon pullovers I have in my big project bag.
Then, for some reason, I decided … it’s my birthday month. I wanted to crochet myself a birthday pullover.
However, I had a lot of ideas … different sleeves, different hook sizes, different … everything except the very basic: start with a granny square and make it a sweater.
So, what I did in February was finish the Christmas blanket as much as I had yarn in the yarn ball. That was the plan, not to finish the blanket entirely. Because I am working with a smaller than usual (for me) hook and worsted weight yarn…I even had to go up a hook size when I picked it back up to finish it out.
The December Holidays/Christmas Blanket:
For this blanket, I still have over twenty skeins of random Christmas yarn from about five different stores that I have collected ever since my oldest kids were little (some may be twenty years old, ok) … and I am not sure what I want to do with all of this yarn.
When I bought the yarn for this blanket back in 2023, not aware of all the other yarn I already had in my stash because it was so buried, I was thinking, ok, queen-sized blanket. No worries.
I started the blanket as DC back and forth, back and forth…but since I worked on it wadded up in my lap and at night, while tired, I completely screwed the pooch on that. To say my edges traveled was an absolute understatement. I frogged the entire thing, winding all of the yarn that I used (over a dozen skeins) into one big yarn ball.
Before I stored it away for later work, I re-started the blanket as a one large granny square project, on a 4.5mm/G hook.
When I picked it back up, that hook was too small and my hands hurt terribly every time I so much as looked at the blanket sitting in her project bag, lonely and worried she would never be finished. I went up to a 5mm/H hook and that has helped. I moved through the blanket a lot faster and easier, although I still had to limit my time working on it for the sake of my hands.
The original yarn pattern of the blanket is: it starts with a green center square, then we move into a regular Christmas pattern yarn, followed by a sparkle holiday yarn, followed by a different Christmas pattern yarn, followed by the sparkle yarn. Just skein after skein, one after the other.
And now…she is the size of a large throw…but…I 1 want the blanket to fit our queen-sized bed and 2 I have all this darn Christmas yarn. But, none of the remaining yarn is sparkle yarn. There are different shades of holiday colors, but that’s about it…I don’t ever want to buy anymore red, green, and white yarn, no matter what shades they come in—I have had enough.
I have to figure out how I want to use the yarn that I have. Do I change the pattern to stay with the yarn change? For example, do I do a V-stitch granny around? Or do I suck it up and just … grab a skein blindly out of the bag and work in the current pattern with the current hook and go for it?
Honestly, picking a skein of yarn semi-blindly and crocheting as is, with the same hook, is probably what I will do…but not until December 2025.
The Birthday Sweaters:
The first pullover: using a worsted weight print yarn, augmented with a solid yarn for the finishing, I made the granny at large pieces: two larger squares for the front and the back panels, and two smaller squares for the sleeves.
I used a 6.5mm/K hook for the whole project.
I did not have to add anything to the sleeves once I sewed the arms to the body of the pullover. I did add an HDC edging to the hem, the collar, and the cuffs in the solid color.
I love this sweater, but for some reason it feels heavy when I wear it. Maybe it’s me.
If I make this pullover again, I think I will forgo the solid color for the shoulder pieces and the edgings. Or maybe I would keep it just for the edges.
The second pullover: this was actually a fluke. We were at the store. I saw some really pretty chunky yarn that I had been wanting to try, so I grabbed every single bit of the one colorway I liked best. That turned out to be four skeins.
Two granny squares, using a 9mm/M, a front and a back panel. I created a foundation chain of a length I thought would be a great, slightly too-long size for the sleeve. I made the two sleeves lengthwise, before sewing them to the body of the pullover.
I can fold the cuffs back to my elbows and still have my wrists fully covered.
I also seamed the entire sweater with a white DK yarn from my stash that was handy. That worked great. I am actually impressed.
If I had to do it again, I would wait until I had at least six skeins of this yarn. I would do an edging. I would definitely make the arms much, much shorter—but still slightly long as that is how I like my sleeves.
The third pullover: (yes, I am OBSESSIVE!) worsted weight yarn and a 7mm hook. This time, I made the front panel, using 2 rounds of each color five times to make each panel for the front and the back. The sleeves I crocheted in the round, sticking to the pattern, making them slightly longer as is my wont. I did add my HDC edging to the neckline, the cuffs, and the hem.
This is my chocolate and cream pullover. I adore these colors together. It’s beautiful. It’s light. It’s airy. And…it is long.
Next time, I will not focus on making sure I get enough of my colors in the piece. I will measure the gauge of the project and plan accordingly.
I did not make a pullover. I made a mini dress. I am not kidding.
I got so focused on making sure there was enough cream and enough of the brown…that I didn’t think twenty rounds for one panel (front and back panels) would make my sweater a sweater dress.
But, it is a great little dress.
The final girl, I mean sweater: pink ombre and black, doing that same 2 rows of each color, five times each. Yes, another twenty round per panel for the front and the back panel, but I used a 6.5mm/K hook.
As I type this, I have not finished the sleeves yet, but currently I am thinking lengthwise in the same two round/alternating colors.
A simple HDC edging for the usual suspects: neckline, cuffs and hem.
The sweater is a bit over-sized, without being a dress, which is what I wanted. So, happy.
The problem: this pink and black was not the original theme of my birthday sweater long before the sweater itself began to be tested. I bought s beautiful muted rainbow Caron Cake yarn for that project. So, there’s that. Not to mention the other yarn I bought with this yarn in order to get free shipping, lol.
But—that is a future me problem, right? Well, March is here now…
Tabitha Low 