i think it’s gonna work

When I posted about the yarn yesterday I really wasn’t sure what I was going to make out of it. I had knit and washed a gauge swatch and decided that I liked the yarn best at 3.5 spi*. I knit it at 4 spi and it bloomed to 3.5 after washing. That was a bulkier gauge than I expected from a yarn named “aran” but it was the fabric I liked best. As an aside, this yarn’s suggested gauge is only 4spi. Isn’t aran typically 4.5 spi?
So I pulled out my Rebecca and Phildar books, thinking they were the best options for finding a pattern so bulky. I found a couple I liked, but nothing that really pulled me in.
Then somehow I thought “What about a Klaralund-inspired pullover?”. I thought about it a little more and decided that was the way to go.
What stopped me from completing Klaralund last year was the lack of shaping. I need shaping or I look like I’m wearing a big sack. So my modified Klaralund has waist shaping.

   
I decreased 2 inches for the waist and then increased back up to full width for around the bust.
The other thing I did was to use a knitted on cast on. I love the way the rope-like edge fuses with garter stitch (click on the right pic for a larger view). It takes longer than a long-tail but I really like the way it looks.
I have one more mod planned for this sweater (another one to make it fit around my bust better) but I need to work on the measurements a bit more first.
* i’m not really complaining here. i knit, washed and blocked a whole body piece in a day!