{FO} My Boy Lollipop

I'm coming in today with a fresh project off the needles- and not to brag, but this is the second sweater in a row that I've finished and immediately blocked AND sewed in the ends! 

 

Today I'd like to show you My Boy Lollipop designed by Nancy Ricci and knit in Plush DK in the colorway Dahlia. 

During the month of May Nancy hosted a KAL on her instragram @gettingpurlywithit. I have had this pattern in my queue since Nancy first released the design in October of 2018, but I kept talking myself out of knitting it because of the negative ease. In April, when Nancy announced that she was going to host a KAL after she outgrew her first sweater and needed to knit a new one, I knew it was my time. 

I started this sweater on May 13th, after I finished the sleeves on my Cottage Cardigan. Plush DK was a natural choice to use for this sweater because I just released the base on my website. I knew I wanted to use Dahlia because it would look so good with both my plum and chocolate Arthur Pants. I was able to get gauge on my first try, using the recommended needle size- which always feels like a victory! I choice the 8th size, 42" to give me 2" of negative ease like the pattern recommends. 

The body portion of the sweater came together REALLY quickly and was a fun and easy knit. I decided when I began that I wanted to add a peplum flair to the bottom portion of the sweater since I didn't think I would wear it as much as a cropped, tight sweater. My job is very physical so I prefer loose flowing tops that allow me to move around. Pulling down my shirt is a huge pet peeve. 

Knitting slowed down for me considerably once I hit the part of the design where I had to go rogue from the pattern, but I made some decisions and pushed through. 

 After the twisted rib I did a K1fb every other stitch to create the peplum. I knit for about three inches and then tried it on. I was nervous that I hadn't added enough stitches for the peplum to create the flounce I was going for. 

It was cute- but definitely not enough flounce, and also I wanted the ribbing to be a little higher and more snug (which would also create more flounce as my friend Caroline reminded me). My original idea was that the sweater would still be cropped, even with the peplum, but the good people on Instagram thought I should make the peplum longer. 

So I ripped back to the last body decrease and picked up my stitches. I decided to do the ribbing using a smaller needle, I went with a 5 and I also did a regular rib to get some elasticity in the ribbing. I did that for 1 3/4", then I switched back to the original needle. This time for the increases I knit the knit stiches from the ribbing and k1YOk1 into the purl stitches- increasing two stitches each purl stitch. I then continued knitting on the peplum for 11" and finished with 1" of seed stitch on the bottom hem. 

I finished the sleeves as written in the pattern. 

After blocking and sewing in the ends of the sweater I realized that I didn't have any negative ease, in fact, I have probably two inches of positive ease. My gauge is still on point, so it's just a case of knitting the sweater a size or two too big...this is a common mistake for me. I don't mind at all though, I think the fit is so cute and most importantly (to me), I am super comfortable in it!  

I'm not going to lie though, I do want to knit a second one with more negative ease and a cropped flounce.... time will tell though, because I need to refocus on finishing my other WIP, Plumeria by Wool & Pine Designs knit on Nimble Sock in Pressed Petal . 

If you are looking for a fun and flirty knit for the warmer months that is easy to make and doesn't require much yarn- I highly recommend My Boy Lollipop! 

And if you are interested in knitting it in Plush DK, you can find all of my colorways 👇🏻