Crochet Project: Maryland Sweater

I finished my Maryland sweater last night! I started it while we were in MD at the beginning of April, so it only took me about 3 and a half weeks to complete. I used 2 skeins of Marble Chunky yarn in the Berries colorway, which I bought at All About Yarn in Columbia, MD.

I used an L hook and the Cozy Classic Pullover free pattern from Lion Brand, but I made a lot of changes. I had to go up a hook size from the one suggested to get gauge, but I also knew I'd be about 60 yards short on yarn. I made the front and back an inch shorter, tapered the sleeves so they wouldn't be so wide at the elbows, and added triangles at the side hems to create an Empire waist. I did 2 border rounds on the neck and 3 on the hem, as suggested, but did 4 on each sleeve.

Maryland sweater, completed!

close up of the Marble Chunky yarn in Berries colorway

Stitches close up
Back, back sleeve shaping, and right neck of sweater

sweater seamed, without borders

left side triangle, added to create Empire waist

right sleeve seamed, shows the sleeve tapering

I adore my sweater, and can't wait to wear it next Fall. I love the color and softness of the yarn, but there were some problems. The yarn strand is made up of two different color plies wound together, and twice, I came to places in the skein where one ply had snapped and unwound. This meant I had to pull stitches back and cut out those broken sections, leading to more ends to weave in. I also found a spot in the skeins where two ends had been tied together, again, needing to be cut out. I think the broken plies have something to do with the way the skein is wound, in a huge oddly-shaped ball, that sometimes caught on itself.

The yarn was easy to work with, and very soft, even before washing. The sweater is a but fuzzy post-washing, but it is acrylic, so it won't felt. I will make more projects with this yarn in the future, because it is soft, pretty, and a great deal ($12.99 for 341 yards). I have some grey/white Marble DK in my stash waiting to be made into matching hats and scarves for Hubby & I. Maybe I should move those up in the queue. Hmm.