First Sweater (Circa 1988)

For a long time, I've had this sweater sitting on a shelf in my closet. It's way too big, but I keep it because it's the first sweater I ever made.

I learned to knit from a friend's mother. I'd been wanting to learn for a while, but my mom didn't knit nor did anyone I knew. Then in 1986, after my sophomore year in college, I flew to Connecticut to visit a friend then keep him company as he drove back to Colorado for the fall semester. His mom taught me to knit. I don't remember asking her, but I must have, because she taught me. I still have the mitten (one) I made. I learned to knit, but I really didn't for a while. I was in college--there were too many other things to distract me and a lack of money for yarn. But I did buy a lot of knitting magazines. I have an extensive collection of Vogue Knitting from those days. I remember looking at this particular magazine (not Vogue) and loving a lot of the sweaters. I'd look at it during boring parts of my Latin American history class (a "humanities" elective I took my senior year 1988, last semester, at my engineering school). After I graduated and started working, I had a bit of money, some free time, and I was in Houston far away from my family. So I decided to knit myself a sweater.

The pattern is from Simplicity Knitting, Spring/Summer 1988. I think I chose it because it was simple and pretty and basically just two squares, seamed at the sides and top with holes left open for my arms to go through and a hole for my head. I could handle that! I still didn't know anyone who knit so if I had a problem, I was stuck. I taught myself how to do a yarn-over and knit 2 together and slip a stitch and pass slipped stitch over. In the past few years I've read a lot about knitting lace. I think I was doing it in 1988 without realizing it.

Here's a close up of the stitch pattern. It scalloped on its own and that amazed me.

This sweater is 44" in circumference. I am not now, nor was I ever, 44" around. I obviously didn't get the concept of gauge. I wore the sweater, despite it being too big, for a long time. I remember telling myself if I knit it again, I'd make a smaller size. This is me, a few weeks ago, modeling the sweater. When my arms aren't stuck out, you can tell how big the sweater is.

I still like this sweater. It's funny, but as I look at the magazine now, the sweaters that appealed to me then still appeal to me now. Don't take that to mean I am stuck in a fashion rut though!