Knitting for a Moving Target

My son Malcolm outgrows his sweaters almost faster than I can knit them. Fortunately, he wears his sweaters constantly, even when other people are comfortable in shirt sleeves.

I knit him a teal cotton sweater with cables a year ago last spring. It's a saddle-shoulder sweater with a Raveled Braid cable down the arms and a Countertwisted Oval cable down the front.




I think this is one of the most beautiful things I've ever knit. The cables look like they were carved out of the fabric, like a fancy Chinese rug.

He's already outgrown it and handed it down to his younger brother.

Last summer, I knit him a plaid sweater in greens, black, and bright blue. The plaid is a 6-row slip-stitch pattern that doesn't sound like it would make a plaid, but the stitches rearrange themselves neatly into little squares. Barbara Walker calls it "dice check," and it can knit up like a gingham (in blue, light blue, and white; red, pink, and white) or like a plaid.




This is Malcolm's dress sweater. He wears it to piano recitals and other occasions when he needs to look snazzy.




It's getting a bit short, but I think he can keep wearing it for a while.

Malcolm's unicorn and bohus sweaters are getting a bit short. He can probably wear the unicorn sweater for another year, but the bohus sweater needs to be replaced. I decided to knit him a textured sweater with Spanish Tile Cable down the front.



I originally knit the neck in, but it was too bulky, so I ripped it out and re-knit it.




Here's the Spanish Tile Cable up close:




I decided to use several different stitch patterns for the arms. This kept me amused while going around and around and around.

And here is an arm so you can see the different stitch patterns:




And here's Malcolm wearing the sweater with a re-worked neck.




There's plenty of room, so it should fit him for a while. I also have quite a bit of the yarn left over, so I can lengthen this sweater a couple of times if need be.