This Winter, I knitted myself a Raunioiset Sweater, a lovely short-sleeve tee by Suvi Lyytikäinen of Wallebeck Wool that’s perfect for Spring. Unfortunately, I live in New England and the weather never does what you want. As I write this post, it’s already April 26th, and I’m still waiting for it to be warm enough to wear a tee!
But I did pop it on for a few minutes to snag this photo:
Usually, I pick a pattern first and then go shopping for yarn, but this project is one of those times where the yarn picked the pattern. I had some beautiful wheat-colored Woolen Cotton yarn left over from my Dude Scarf, and the cotton-wool blend seemed perfect for a spring sweater. I went shopping on Ravelry for patterns and scrolled across the Raunioiset Sweater. The stitches on the yoke immediately reminded me of wheat stalks, which is sort of the color of my yarn. I felt all the vibes and knew it was the one.
I’d almost give myself credit for stashbusting here, but the truth is that I only had one skein of the yarn on hand, so I had to hop over to Knit Picks and pick up three more for the project. About two years had passed between the original purchase and this one, so I had no illusions that I’d end up with the same dye lot, but I decided to roll the dice and mix lots. Well, I crapped out on that roll and ended up with a stripe in the middle of my sweater where the dye lots changed:
The stripe is super subtle, though. I didn’t even notice it until I had the finished sweater on a hanger in direct light. My grandmother used to say something about not noticing mistakes from the back of a galloping horse. I never really understood that phrase, but I can say with certainty that no one will ever notice it in my little box on Zoom, so I’ll be fine. (Work from home life for the win!)
The real drama with this project wasn’t the dye lot issue, it was due to my own silliness when I decided to go rogue on the hem. I love the way split hems fit on my body, so I thought I’d try combining the straight i-cord hem from the pattern with a split hem.
My idea was to work the front and back separately for a few rows at the bottom, then rejoin them and knit the i-cord edging all around, hoping it would give a clean finish with the split at the sides. To try to shape things, I threw in some short-rows to even out the join, but they ended up messy and crooked. The transition between the split and the i-cord didn’t sit right and created a weird, bulky flare at the sides. I finished the entire sweater, even blocked it, but every time I looked at the hem, I just knew it wasn’t working. I couldn’t live with what I’d done, so I ripped it all out and reknit the hem.
After frogging, I still wanted a different hem, but I was discouraged, so I yielded and just did the straight i-cord finish from the pattern. It turned out lovely, but I’m still not sure I like the bulk of the i-cord across the widest part of my body. I’m not losing sleep over it though, because again, no one will see the hem of my sweater over Zoom.
I met another knitter on Bluesky, Beth in Minnesota, who was knitting the same sweater and she decided to do a ribbed hem and it looks absolutely lovely! She did ribbing on the neckline and sleeves as well so it would all match:
I have a bit of FOMO that I didn’t do the same, but I will admit that I like the look of the i-cord neckline because you don’t see those a lot so it makes it a unique piece. So, I guess all’s well that ends well.
This was a bit of a meandering post, but in conclusion: this is a lovely sweater, whether you knit it as written or customize it as you like. And, if you don’t like your customization… rip it out! (Or don’t, as long as it’s not in the Zoom frame! lol). Now, here are my usual project details:
yarn details
Knit Picks Woolen Cotton in Shaun Heather
DK Weight
50% Merino Wool, 50% Pima Cotton
Hand Wash Cold / Lay Flat to Dry
218 yards / 100 grams
project details
pattern: “Raunioiset Sweater” by Suvi Lyytikäinen / Wallebeck Wool (purchase on Ravelry)
size knit: Size 4 (Large)
needles: US size 6 (4.0 mm), wood circular needles from my Sunstruck Set – the interchangeable circular needles worked out really well here so I could change the cable size as the raglan shape grew.
gauge: 19.5 stitches and 29 rows over 4” in stockinette (blocked)
yarn used: 815 yards (374 grams) – 3.74 skeins
finished size: Bust: 41”; Length (front neckline to hem): 22”
duration: September 2025 – March 2026
notes
- See WIP pics and more project notes from my project page here.
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