I have made my first sweater from a Mary Maxim pattern!

Thanks to this forum here I was introduced to Mary Maxim patterns and just fell in love with their many fun motifs - so I decided to make one for my cousin's little boy. I got the Choo Choo Train pattern (original - no download ) on Etsy and then started to work out what wool and needles I would need - which was a bit of trial and error to say the least, but in the end I got there, and thankfully there's a pretty good wool shop in my corner of town, so it was easy to get more wool when needed. I'm not the most experienced knitter, and I had no concept at all of how much wool I'd need. I have used Lana Grossa Superbingo, which is pure merino wool and feels very nice and it is washable. And today I finally got the right zipper and finished it - I haven't lined it though as the pattern suggests, I think that would be a little too much for here. Now I only hope he'll like it, and that it will really fit (it should according to the size my cousin says he currently wears).




And in the mean time... I have ordered the pirate cardigan pattern (I hope in a few years this'll be something super cool for him if he likes this one) and one for myself . They are pretty good to knit in front of the TV, and I've gotten used to working with thicker wool and big needles now...

 

Adorable...you did a great job, Karin!

 

Thank you all! My mom is actually the much more experienced knitter between us. I learned the basics from her and in school I learned to knit socks in addition but I've never done that again... the rest of it is just making something here or there over the years, and if I don't know how something works, I look it up or just try til it works. I always say, if I have good instructions, I'll make anything . Not sure though I would have had the patience for that Schiaparelli, because that's a different technique and mom says it was quite time consuming. Mary Maxim patterns are not that hard to follow, the graphs make it so easy. Except for the bands and the collar it's just stockinette stitch, so that's pretty fast work, even if you work with different colors like on this one. It's patterns that require all kinds of different stitches that take much more time.

 

Karin, that is so adorable!
You did an incredible job.
You & your Mom are very talented with needles.

 

so adorable, Karin! absolutely love it, and i bet he will, too! so impressed with your skills!

 

The pattern number is no. 483, Choo Choo Train. The pattern can be made with set-in or raglan sleeves, it has bot options. Also, you can make it with buttons and buttonholes, or with a zipper. The zipper version is easy to make, just make sure you buy the right length zipper and baste it first before sewing it on - by hand.