V-Neck Raglan Bamboo Rib Alpaca Sweater
Different Styles Flatter Different Body Types.
Why not make your next sweater one that enhances your best features?
To do that, you need to discover your body type. MissusSmartyPants has an excellent system of five body types: A, B, C, D and E.
I always thought I was pretty average except for being tall. Turns out I’m a B–tall, bust and hips about equal, not much of a waistline, long legs. Other systems call me a column.
As a work-at-home person, I never paid much attention to style until MissusSmartyPants (MSP) gave examples of how to dress a B shape. MSP suggests a B looks great in a V neck top.
I took that bit of info to my mirror where I studied how I look in a V neck sweater. Pretty darn good. It DOES frame my face.
Making Intelligent Choices to Fit and Flatter Me
So you better believe the next sweater I knitted for myself had a V neck. It was a top-down raglan pullover out of superwash 100% alpaca yarn from Peru that I scored on eBay. I made it in the bamboo rib pattern so it would hug me a little.
Back View
I made it mid-hip length and long-sleeved. It was a denim blue and I liked it so much, I bought the same alpaca yarn in cranberry and made another one!
What I Learned From the First Sweater
Two things:
- the sleeve ends were a mite wide
- the alpaca had less elasticity than I expected in a rib
So for the cranberry sweater, I switched down a needle size for the last few inches of my sleeve so it fit my wrist a little neater. I also made it a dab longer in the body, because I discovered the alpaca yarn knitted in a ribbed pattern expands and shortens while I wear it. Good to know!
In the photos, I’ve worn the sweater five minutes. In a few hours, it will be shorter, thus too short in the back for sitting down. I hate my back exposed in chilly weather, don’t you?
Best,
Karen
P.S.
The alpaca is lightweight. The sweaters weigh almost nothing. And it’s warm–just what I wanted. Just don’t expect it to have the elasticity and memory of wool. Because of that, I didn’t knit the beanie hats I planned to knit out of the leftover yarn. I figured they wouldn’t grip my head and would slide right off my silky hair.
