Back in March, I remember grabbing my needles and having no clue about the yarn I should buy, quantity needed for each project, realiable yarn shops (in the middle of a pandemic with the whole country in lockdown) and of course my biggest question: how to make projects from start to end for me.
I knew the minimum basics and I was learning my way through, so I decided to invest in some yarn from We Are Knitters and give this kit a try. I bought it over April-May and since the weather was getting warmer (and no possibility to be outside of our home to really use it) I didn’t try the kit until this October.
I divided this review into different sections so it’s easy to follow and try to answer all your doubts before buying the kit.
LET’S TALK A BIT ABOUT THE KIT:
I think this WAK kit is one of their classics, perfect for starting to knit or people who would like an easy and quick project.
It’s a begginers level knitting kit, which is available in 12 languages, 31 colors and 6 sizes (S till XXXL).
You can only purchase it on their website and the kit price starts from 89€ and will vary depending on the number of skeins needed for your size and if you include the needles (you can choose circular or flat needles).
For my kit I chose the spotted mauve skeins (it was love at first sight!) and I included the circular 15mm knitting needles.
WHAT DOES THE KIT INCLUDE?:
- As listed on the website you will receive:
- The Wool skeins (200gr/80m) – 5 skeins for sizes S/M, 6 for L/XL, 8 for XXL/XXL.
- Pattern booklet in paper with the different languages.
- Sewing needle.
- WAK label.
- 15mm knitting needles (circular or flat – this one is optional, their price is 10€).
- WAK packaging: brown paper box with a picture of the pattern sticker containing all materials listed above.
HOW IT’S DONE:
This sweater is divided in 4 sections: front, back and sleeves. It is such an easy pattern to follow since you will only need to know the following techniques:
- Cast on
- Knit
- Purl
- Bind off
You will work in rib stitch and garter stitch (if you are a begginer and not familiar with these, you will find WAK video tutorials to help you along the way!) and since it’s a chunky sweater knitted with 15mm needles you will find that in a blink of an eye you will have your sweater almost finished!
It’s very important that you check your gauge before starting knitting the sweater so you make sure you will get the measurements you are looking for (you can find my post about the importance of gauge and how you can obtain it if you click here). In my case my gauge was very different than the pattern one so I had to adapt it for the 15mm needles to obtain the measurements I wanted (the closest needles I had where 10mm which wouldn’t fix that problem).
DID I MAKE ANY CHANGES TO THE PATTERN?
Since it was an easy pattern, I decided to adapt it to my preferences:
- Neckline: to both front and back
- Sleeves: I used 10mm needles for the rib stitch cuffs so they were tighter.
FINAL RESULT:
As you can see in the pictures down below, you will obtain a cozy, warm perfect for winter chunky sweater in no time.
OVERALL IMPRESSION:
I think it’s a sweater that looks very good in people (check the nolita sweater instagram hashtag to check more options!) but, it was a big boomer for me, I think it’s not my style in this ocassion because:
- I love the boxy fit and I have a lot of sweaters with this fit but I think in this case (and based on my body shape) it is too chunky and thick for me, which makes me feel way bulkier than I am (also the chunky seams might have a part on this).
- I was afraid and a bit uncertain, so I chose to go up a size (I was looking for a bit oversize sweater and chose size L).
I have been wearing it a lot since it’s very cozy and suuuper warm, which makes me love it but I’m still not 100% into it. Whenever I knit or crochet something I like to be 100% into it and make it one of my go-to items in my wardrobe, so maybe I will go down a size or try the same stitch but top-down structure (which with garter stitch will still be bulkier but at least a bit less), still need to give it a thought. If you are thinking about buying it, I came up with this checklist with aspects you need to have in mind:
- You are okay with a chunky boxy fit – when I mean chunky… I mean as the chunky sweater you would bring to a skiing trip!
- Price: I bought it during a 30% sale, which made a huge difference, but it still is an investment to consider. I think it is great if you don’t want to think about yarn dupes, yarn conversion, gauge, etc and you just want to enjoy knitting and having everything handed in a silver platter and learn how to knit an easy sweater.
- You are looking for an easy project to start knitting and/or build up your confidence (you will see how your project grows very fast without much effort or time).
If all of the above check yes I think you have found your project! If not, maybe you can wait for WAK to do another pattern sale where you can get the pattern for 4,90€ and use a yarn dupe to knit your project Up to you!
Would I reuse the pattern and knit another project with it? Probably, but with a less chunkier yarn for sure!