Pattern Review: Hexagon Sweater (And Tip!)

No, not that hexagon sweater. This Hexagon Sweater by Mon Petit Violon uses a flat hexagon with a split down one side for the front and another for the back.  The pattern is for a baby sweater, but there are lots of size options.  I made the smallest size, because that's how much yarn I had to work with.

The pattern is well-written and easy to follow, and it has lots of pictures to help you through the steps if you need them. The Hexagon Sweater was fun to make, and I'll probably make it again. That said, I did alter the pattern a little as I went.  

The ribbing worked on the cuffs and the bottom edge was too deep to look good, in my opinion, and I definitely didn't have enough yardage to do it as written anyway.  I wound up doing just three rounds of crocheted ribbing, instead of six, and I'm happy with that.

The other change I made was also on the bottom edge.  Calling this pattern a sweater is something of an oversimplification.  The finished garment is more like a poncho with sleeves added to it, so the bottom edge is very big and loose and doesn't have any side seams.  In the interests of my yardage limitations, but also to create something a little more streamlined, I made short side seams down the side below the sleeves and down to the next increase point on the front and back. In doing that, I folded the stitches under the arms in half, too, so the ribbing around the bottom edge only used the stitches across the bottom three sides of the front and back. The finished sweater is still very loose, but I like how it lays better.

Now for the tip.  This pattern does not use a traditional turning chain.  Most of the sweater is made in double crochet, which would normally involve two or three chains at the beginning of each round or row, and those chains would count as one double crochet. Instead, the designer uses a single chain, but that chain is drawn up to be the height of a double crochet, and it does not count as a stitch. For the front and back, I don't think there was much advantage to doing the turning chain one way or the other.  The elongated turning chain didn't change the appearance significantly or make it easier to work the edging around the neck. However, using the elongated turning chain on the sleeves, which were worked in the round, I think made a much less apparent seam along the underarm, and it's a little trick I think I will use again in the future.

This post has been linked to Busy Monday, Inspire Me Monday, Wonderful Wednesday, The Stitchin' Mommy, Senior Salon, and Thursday Favorite Things.