I am over the moon about my Oranje. I’ve been working on it off and on since October, and was nervous for weeks about steeking yarn as tricky as Bugga! Now that I’m on the other side of steeking, I actually have a hard time thinking of what to say about it…all my thoughts devolve into ZOMGYOUGUYSITSSOPRETTYANDISTEEKEDIT.
The steeking really wasn’t bad, once I had J sequestered in the bedroom under strict instructions not to make any loud noises. To clean up the edges, I followed Elinor’s tutorial here (very helpful). And now, I’m thrilled with the results. It’s much warmer than I thought it would be given the weight; perfect for winter!
To install the zipper, I used the same method from Grumperina that has worked really well for me in the past, molding the zipper to your form and fitting the sweater to your body (you aren’t a straight line! Your zipper shouldn’t be either!)
The yarn is wonderful, as everyone pretty much knows. No surprises there. I wanted initially to have an orange as the main color, like in the original, and bought the red after I couldn’t find an orange that worked. Now, though, I think I like the color combo I got even better. Red, black, and white is just such a classic combination.
Ravelry link here. It is a great pattern; I’m amazed it’s free! The only mods I made were to knit the first four inches as ribbing (as some others have) and reduce the turtleneck a little–I’m not a huge fan of wearing turtlenecks, so I ended it at a mandarin collar. Other than that, exactly as written!
As I said already on your Rav project page, this is beautiful! Question: What about Bugga is tricky for steeking?
Bugga! has nylon and cashmere in it, so it’s really slippery. Even with sewing the steek area before cutting, I was worried about it coming undone!
Your Oranje is gorgeous! I finished mine two days ago and it’s definitely my favorite sweater. I’m already planning another in different colors!
You are braver than I am–I think one is enough for me!