Sweater Knitters: Yarn on First Sweater?

[sakura-panda]

What was the yarn that you used on the first sweater that you knitted?

Just idle curiosity. I'm an avid follower of the stash train and I've seen a reference or two in the forum (not necessarily there) about people who find yarn they love and buy it in "sweater quantities".

I don't even know what that is!

I need to make a sweater and find out!

Anyway, I'm thinking about planning a sweater and using a cotton blend -- maybe cotton/acrylic or something else machine washable -- and I am also thinking that I should just go cheap and use straight acrylic for my first attempt to get some practice in before I splurge on a nicer yarn.

Since I'm still in the thinking stages, I am no where near making any kind of decision, but it did get me to wondering what other people used when they attempted a sweater for the first time.

So, share please. What kind of yarn did you use the first time you knitted a sweater? How big was it? Adult, child, baby, doll? Do you have a favorite yarn or pattern now?

[Mike]

My first was Red Heart sport for a baby. Then a Moda Dea that was on clearance also for the same baby.

Then Lion Jiffy for myself.

At that point the plan was to do wool but I did a Caron Simply Soft sweater that is surprising for how it feels so after another Moda Dea baby sweater I have a couple more Simply Soft ones in the works/plans.

At this rate I may stick with Simply Soft for myself. I'm too much like Pig Pen to not have machine washable. Plus it only costing $12 per sweater is a bonus.
I'll make a wool one because I'm a fan of wool cloths but I bet I keep coming back to the Simply Soft because of the price and feel.

Patterns usually tell you how many yards it takes. If you're using the same weight yarn as a substitute the amount should be close to the same.
If you're making it up as you go (which you're probably not doing for the first sweater) it's a good reason to use a no dye lot acrylic.

[Jan in CA]

Sweater for myself or a baby?

My first sweater for myself was #9724 from Knitting Pure and Simple and I used Bernat Denimstyle in Stonewash. The yarn is pretty, very soft and washes well.

I'd only been knitting for 3 mos when I made it so even though I measured my gauge it's too large. I tend to overestimate my size. I've worn it anyway though.

I've made many kids charity sweaters which really helps you understand sweater construction and size doesn't matter since it'll fit someone.

You can estimate how many yards you need here:
http://www.fiber2yarn.com/info/how_much_yarn.htm

I usually get one or two skeins extra to be on the safe side. I can always use them for something.

[Plantgoddess+]

I used worsted weight wool. I usually figure about 8- 50g skeins and most times I have yarn leftover. I make womens size medium. I'm just finishing up a sweater with cables and it's going to take just over 4 100 gram skeins of Paton's Clasic wool. It's a woman's 38 1/2" bust hip length long sleeve.

[MoniDew]

all I can say is, when selecting the yarn for ANY FIRST project, pick something basic

no boucle's, no eyelash, no fringe, no thick & thin, not a multicolor, just plain, boring yarn

so you can actually SEE YOUR STITCHES. That way, if you drop one, you can find it. Or you ssk when you should have k2tog, you can see it.

Make any sense?

[sakura-panda]

What great responses! I love reading all how everyone made such varied choices and the reasons behind them. Thanks for sharing!

all I can say is, when selecting the yarn for ANY FIRST project, pick something basic

no boucle's, no eyelash, no fringe, no thick & thin, not a multicolor, just plain, boring yarn

so you can actually SEE YOUR STITCHES. That way, if you drop one, you can find it. Or you ssk when you should have k2tog, you can see it.

Make any sense?

Yes, although I actually prefer the boring kind of yarn because of the stitches.

I bought my baby DS a cute sweater from Old Navy and he's been wearing the heck out of it because it is so cute and I want him to wear it as much as possible before he outgrows it.



I have a similar cardigan for myself.

(This picture has nothing to do with this post. I just really love that sweater! )

I started knitting because I wanted to make sweaters and scarves and so far I've only done scarves.

The Michael's yarn closeout thread just got me thinking about whether I should consider a sweater stash if I go and the yarn is only $1 a skein!

[MoniDew]

well, he's such an adorable baby, I can't say that I blame you!

I'd love to luck into a great sale on yarn, too! But for the moment, I have more than enough irons in the fire!

[ArtLady1981]

I can't remember back that far!

But I think you would be wise to use a nice acrylic yarn, such as Red Heart Soft Yarn Solids. Or, Encore Worsted.

Not many cottons are machine washable, are they?
(Well, maybe some of the dish cloth cottons are washable, but have you seen a dishcloth after a few washings? It's ok for a dishcloth, but not a sweater, IMHO)

[suzeeq]

I've made summer tops with dishcloth cottons and they stand up to washing. One is kind of a bias knit so maybe that's why it holds its shape better. But the others stretch only a little with wearing, then go back to the right size after washing and drying, like jeans. If you machine wash it, machine dry it, at least till it's mostly dry and the cotton works just fine.

[sakura-panda]

I saw a cardigan in Creative Knitting that was made with a cotton blend, but I don't remember what it was blended with. And I thought -- but am not sure -- that I have seen other clothing made with cotton blends. Not straight cotton, but mixed with something machine washable.

Is a cardigan so much different than a sweater that I couldn't use the same type of yarns?

I haven't researched yarn at all and I may not want to do cotton once I do; thanks for the comments!