The Single Malt sweater by Maxim Cyr is so beautiful. The pattern is simple and easy to memorize and the little design details really make it special. This is the third Single Malt sweater I’ve knit, and probably the most fun I’ve had knitting it. Keep reading for my Sorrel Single Malt sweater knitting experience:
YARN
I knit my first Single Malt sweater with American Corriedale by Stone Wool. I loved the color and texture from this yarn in the Rye 02 color, but I had a couple of small issues.
I didn’t notice until blocking, but even though all skeins were from the same dye lot, there was a clear color difference. It’s actually not too noticeable in real life with the sweater dry, but I wished I had alternated skeins. And the second issue I had was that there were so many knots within a skein. I’d never encountered so many knots within multiple skeins, and I considered not using this yarn again.
But I decided to give the American Corriedale another try. I really liked the stitch definition and the color had so much depth. This time I ordered eight skeins in Sorrel 02 online from Wool and Company.
This yarn looks so pretty and warm/rich. The skeins I received are from two different dye lots (which Wool & Company emailed me about in advance). I felt like they were so similar though and I already planned on alternating skeins. As a side note, Wool & Company has a great variety of yarn/brands, fast shipping, and I’m always impressed with their customer service. Definitely check them out if you shop for yarn online.
FOLDED OVER COLLAR
I love the look of a folded over collar. Last time I knit this sweater, I used a tubular cast on to get a softer look which was nice.
With this collar, I was hoping to get that round look and also give the collar some extra length/height. My husband loves the other Single Malts I’ve knit, but requested that this new one come up a little higher on the neck. I wanted this collar to come up high enough that his under layer shirt didn’t peek through the sides of the neckline.
Single Malt Cast On + Tubular Set-Up
Since I’d used this exact yarn in this exact pattern before, I didn’t do a swatch. I cast on for a size 5 sweater using my 14″ cable and US 6 needles. I used the German twisted cast on and knit to pattern.
Then, to make the fold in the collar more polished, I incorporated the tubular set up rows that I learned from my Moby Sweater:
Round 1: *K2, sl1wyif*
Round 2: *sl2wyif, P1*
Round 3: *K2, sl1wyif*
I knit the length of the collar in pattern a second time so that I could fold the collar over and join it together with the cast on edge.
Seaming
With these new tubular rows, I could clearly see the halfway point in the collar — where the fold would be. I counted stitches on either side of the fold so I would know which stitches to join to make the fold even. I took a US 2 needle on a new cable and picked up the stitches through the knit column on the WS that I would be joining to the cast on edge.
I used a darning needle to capture the cast on stitch together with the picked up stitch on that US 2 needle so that the seam would be even. I left long tails on either side of the seaming so that I would be able to secure the ends with enough ease. I didn’t want the neck to be too tight so I waited until my husband could try the sweater on before doing this.
The collar looked super nice, but a little like a turtleneck at this point. I was slightly concerned, but I knew that the Single Malt sweater’s neckline is more square and I felt confident that it would block out nicely.
BACK SHAPING + RAGLAN
I love how this sweater incorporates shaping into the back collar. It looks really clean and professional.
I switched to my larger US 8 needles on the same 14″ cable, but as the raglans grew, I moved to a 22″ cable.
The pattern is very well written and has specific instructions for setting up the raglan for each size. I was knitting the size 5 so I followed those directions when increasing and placing stitch markers.The raglan is so beautiful because it extends out of the collar ribbing and looks so polished.
Alternating Skeins
With two different dye lots of the Sorrel 02 and my experience knitting the first Single Malt sweater, I planned on alternating skeins to better blend the colors. The overall pattern texture of the Single Malt made it so that a technique like helical knitting wasn’t going to work for me.
Instead, I joined a second skein of yarn and worked the round. Then when I approached the first skein, I wrapped the yarn around the second skein to “lock it in” — similar to working intarsia (like in my Overthrow Wrap) — and then resumed working with the first skein. I repeated this process throughout, so essentially I worked with a different yarn each round. This allowed me to carry both yarns throughout and it didn’t appear to add much extra bulk.
Visually, I couldn’t see any color striping or changes between rounds which is definitely the goal. I was really happy with how my sweater was coming along.
SPLIT FOR SLEEVES
With all the increases, it was becoming a little uncomfortable to continue knitting on my 22″ cable. I could have swapped out to the 30″, but I was so close to splitting for the sleeves that I just stayed with the 22″ cable.
I placed my sleeves on hold using an 8″ cable for each sleeve. I like using a spare cable vs waste yarn so that when it’s time to knit, I can just screw on my needles and go. I connect the ends of the 8″ cables with a safety pin to keep my held stitches secure until I’m ready to knit.
BODY
I really enjoyed knitting the body of this Single Malt. Since this was my third time knitting this sweater, the pattern was very familiar. I was still alternating skeins and the sweater was looking great.
I used the original Single Malt I’d knit as a guide for where I wanted to end the body length. I placed stitch markers along the side to help me track progress and know when to begin the hem.
I knit this sweater slightly longer than the first Single Malt to compensate for the change I made to the neckline. I thought that the higher collar would pull the sweater up a little, so the longer length would give the overall length I wanted.
I knit until the desired length and then began the decrease round as instructed. I swapped to my smaller needles and began then hem. Having an interchangeable needle set makes all these little swaps so much faster and easier. I use the Chiaogoo set and I love it; the joins are smooth and I love the feel of the needles.
I finished the hem with Jeny’s Surprisingly Stretchy Bind Off (JSSBO). I like this bind off because it looks nice against the ribbed hem, it’s stretchy, and it bounces back. I’ve knit garments in the past and then “ruined” it by having such a tight bind off. It’s super frustrating to have to rip back a bind off. JSSBO is my go-to bind off for elasticity.
SLEEVES
I love how this pattern incorporates the same raglan detailing as the under arm “seam” in the sleeves. It really ties the design together and gives the sleeve some more interest.
I joined my regular 4″ US 8 needles to the 8″ cable holding my sleeve stitches. I left a long tail so that I could use it later to close up any under arm holes. I picked up the required stitches under the arm and began to knit the live stitches. I knit a few rounds in pattern with just the one yarn before adding the second skein and alternating. When joining this second skein, I joined about 10 stitches before the BOR marker. I had woven in the new tail as I knit for a few stitches, and then left the remaining tail end dangling near the picked up stitches. This gave me another tail to use to weave in any potential holes under the arm.
With the initial decreases, I swapped out to my 3″ US 8 needles from my Shorties set. I really enjoyed knitting the first sleeve and was surprised how quickly it knit up. I used the original Single Malt again as a template for how long to knit. This time though, I knit the sleeve pattern longer and the cuff portion shorter. I wanted the cuff’s ribbing to match the body’s ribbing (~10 rows), but the overall sleeve length matches the sleeve from the original sweater.
Cuffs
Once I got near the end of the sleeve, I switched to my 6″ cable and just one of the 2″ US 8 needles also from the Shorties set. I knit the final few rows before working the decrease row, and then knit the cuff with my US 6 needles (one 2″ and one 3″ also). I worked the JSSBO for the cuff.
With my final sleeve, I wound up my last skein of yarn and there was a join about halfway through the skein. Having one knot halfway through one skein of eight is totally acceptable to me (unlike my experience with this yarn in my original Single Malt).
The sleeves took me a week to finish, and I was ready for weaving in ends + blocking!
FINISHING AND BLOCKING
I had been weaving in my ends as I went when joining a new yarn, so I didn’t have much left to do. I cleaned up the tails at the bind offs, secured the tails around the folded collar, and tightened up the small holes left underneath the arms using a darning needle.
Once everything was secure, I soaked the sweater in a cool bath with some soap for about 15 minutes. I gently squeezed out the excess water with my hands and then rolled the sweater in two large towels.
I blocked the sweater on my blocking mats, using pins to help stretch it to the dimensions I wanted. I used the original Single Malt as a template guide for how far to block.
I let the sweater dry for a few days before trimming the yarn tails and gifting to my husband.
FINAL THOUGHTS
I was super happy that I finished this sweater before the holidays. I was able to complete this sweater in less than a month. Of course the US 8 needles and thick yarn helped, but I think I was just really grateful to be able to knit without pain again.
The Single Malt was so much fun to knit and my husband is really happy with his new sweater.
I love the color; it’s so vibrant, and has so much warmth and depth. I don’t notice any striping or color variegation so the alternating skeins was a success. Like I mentioned, there was just one knot in one of my skeins! And it was basically right in the middle of the skein which is preferred. So now I’m just really confused how my previous sweater quantity of Rye 02 was so terrible. I’m glad I gave this American Corriedale another chance.
Check out my Ravelry to take a look at the other projects I’m working on!
