The Birkin Sweater

Last February I decided to knit the Birkin Sweater from Laine Magazine issue 2. I bought the magazine last year and loved the sweater ever since the first time my eyes gazed upon it but somehow I was hesitant to commit so many resources and time for this project because even though it looks beautiful I was always apprehensive about the lack of Yoke increases.

I used for the first time Brooklyn Tweed yarn and I truly love it. I was keen by Postcard shade and I knew that it would be my main color. After making that choice the other colors emerged intuitively.

After checking my gauge I realized it was completely off. I changed the needles and opted for three different sizes from the pattern in the trust that it would work. In my case it was impossible to knit this sweater on a good condition using only one size. And honestly after finishing and blocking I think I did a good job.

I’m a Portuguese knitter which means that the sweater was knit inside out (purlwise) this is the way we knit colorwork in the round. I notice that there isn’t many information how to do it in this style so next time I will try to document it. I opted for other modifications like twisted rib and despite I love bobbles I decided not to make them since I was working reverse.

I started the neck with 3.25 mm needles on XS size and change for 3.5 mm after the first increase on XS size. I did Japanese short rows, because they are my favorite way of doing short rows, and on the second increase I get the size S. The yoke was worked with 3.75 mm needles on size S and the third increase leads me to size M. I did the body, sleeves and their rib with 3.5 mm on M size. I also opted for longer sleeves instead of ¾, so I decreased until 68 stitches to get them a little wide.

I will share photos of how it fits dressed on the next post; I just wanted to share my experience with this design, what I did for my case in particular… and the hurdles I faced while the wool was still on the needles.