I have finally accepted that a favourite old handknit top of mine needs to go in the bin. I love it to bits but it has been regularly worn, machine washed and tumble dried and has now shrunk to the point where it is a crop top showing way too much belly!

Here is my poor old friend in an “infront of the mirror” shot….

…(spot the feline supervisor 🙂 )

I love the stitch pattern on this – it’s a very easy 6 row pattern repeat but looks much harder. If you’ve got the Vogue Stitchionary – Volume 1, it’s pattern 188, “Chevron Panels”.

The pattern is an old Jaeger leaflet – the copyright on the back is 1997 but it doesn’t seem to have dated at all. It’s a beautifully thought out pattern – all the shaping puts seams in the gaps between the the chevrons so you don’t get that messy half a pattern effect. This is the pattern guilty of switching me on to Jaeger and Rowan designs and away from nasty acrylic, shapeless sacks!! 😀

It’s Jaeger JH 0029 The Hildegard Sweater…

I made my Hildegard in Jaeger Pure Cotton DK in a rich burnt orange colour – a beautiful mercerised cotton that has stood up well to some serious maltreatment – it’s faded quite a bit! When I made it (in about 2002!) I really didn’t make it long enough – I think I was too eager to get it done and didn’t knit it quite to the measurements. It’s also a clingy top that gets shorter when the pattern is stretched over my curves – We live and learn huh? 😳
I don’t often knit the same pattern twice. I like new challenges and the excitement of seeing a new pattern emerge. This is the exception. When I first made it, my Mum liked it so much I made her one for Christmas. Now, I’m making my third Hildegard.

I thought this one deserved some luxurious yarn and some more respectful treatment. Out came my jealously stashed Jaeger Pure Silk in a dusky pink…..

I’ve just finished the back and I think it’s looking sumptuous…

I’ve just realised that, in the photos, my new Hildegard looks almost the same colour as my old one! 😯 I wonder if that’s a subconscious way of trying to keep my old friend??

I’ll give you a Completed Knit Report for my first Hildegard – then I’ll get on with knitting my new one!!