I wanted to knit the Moby Sweater Mini for my niece using a fun yarn that I thought she would like. I love knitting for my niece because the knits are fun and quick, and she’s super appreciative. This sweater was so much fun to make! keep reading for my experience knitting the Moby Sweater Mini.
YARN
The pattern recommends Peer Gynt by Sandnes Garn or a couple other options. I looked for the recommended yarns, but either couldn’t find the colors/quantity I wanted or couldn’t find a shop that I wanted to buy from.
Instead, I went to yarnsub to find a comparable substitute. Hedgehog Fibres (HHF) Merino DK is a 92% match to Peer Gynt. I really enjoyed using HHF Merino Aran in my Shamrock Honeycomb Aran, and they have really fun colors so I started looking for a color my niece would like.
I narrowed it down to either pink or blue and my niece said she preferred pink! So I chose this gorgeous bright, bubblegum color — Harajuku. It’s vibrant but not blinding, and I thought it was light enough to show the shadowy depth of the cable textures.
GAUGE SWATCH
I selected a sample of the front panel to knit a gauge swatch. I am not really the best at understanding gauge, but I knew it would be important to ensure that my niece gets the best fit.
I used US 6 needles to cast on 34 stitches and give myself a two-stitch garter border on each side. I used the German twisted cast on and knit a few rows of garter to frame my pattern, and used Jenny’s surprisingly stretchy bind off to finish.
The pattern says to wash and block the swatch before measuring gauge which I did. I used blocking pins to stretch out the swatch to a width that I thought made the pattern design look good. The pattern instructions mentioned to stretch out the sweater to the appropriate width when measuring the body for length, so I just applied that logic to my swatch also.
Gauge Results
Once my swatch was 90% dry, I un-pinned it so it could relax to whatever size it was going to be before I measured for gauge. My gauge was 24 sts x 33 rows which is tighter than the 20 sts x 28 rows pattern gauge. Gauge is so frustrating for me. So, with this information I had three options — 1) block more aggressively and let it dry to gauge specifications, 2) go up a needle size and swatch again, or 3) get different, thicker yarn.
I bought this yarn specifically for this project, in the quantity needed. I really love the feel and the color. It’s supposed to be a 92% match to a recommended yarn, so I definitely didn’t want to use a different yarn. I liked the drape and density of the fabric of the swatch and I felt like going up a needle size would make the fabric too loose/see through. So my only option was to aggressively block the fabric to get gauge.
I thought that would be a fine option anyway because the sweater measurements seem a little generous. The 3-4 size was already going to give my niece 6+” of positive ease, so I thought it’d be fine if her sweater ended up a little smaller.
MOBY SWEATER MINI
The Moby Sweater Mini is a cute texture + cable sweater mini version of the Moby Sweater. It’s knit flat from the top down starting with shaping throughout the back yoke, and then joined in the round to finish the body. Sleeves are joined then knit in the round and the sweater is finished with rib edging and a folded collar.
I wanted to knit this sweater because the design is so pretty and I love knitting for my niece. I thought she would love this soft and classic sweater in a beautiful pink, especially after my failed attempt at modifying the Honeycomb Aran.
Cast On – Back Yoke
I cast on for the 3-4 size using my US 6 needles on a 22″ cable using the German twisted cast on. I joined the new yarn and worked the charted pattern over the required stitches.
This is my second time knitting a pattern from Petite Knit and I thought the directions were really clear and thorough. There is a lot going on in this pattern though, and I read through it many times before even casting on just to make sure I understood.
Chart Reading
I am not an experienced chart knitter, but I have knit from charts in my multiple Honeycomb Aran sweaters, and when knitting colorwork like in my Tundra sweater or my Astraeus sweater. I was glad I knit my gauge swatch though because it let me get some practice on the mock cable stitches which were new to me.
German Short Rows
I’ve knit German short rows before but I needed a refresher. The pattern directs you to the Petite Knit website for tutorials on techniques in the pattern, but it doesn’t link to any specific video. I ended up just using this video I found:
Shoulders
The shoulders are picked up and knit from the back yoke’s cast on edge. I found it pretty easy to pick up the required stitches and I think my pattern transition looks smooth. I picked up the shoulders with a new skein of yarn, so that the front would have a consistent color.
There is a video specifically for how to pick up the stitches, particularly the tbl stitches which is helpful:
I found the shoulder charts really clear and easy to understand. and the pattern transition is so thoughtful and clean. I love when a pattern has considered everything and all I have to do is follow directions.
Front Yoke
The pattern from the left and right shoulder panels join together to form the front panel. I worked the charts to establish the pattern as written.
Mock Cable Mistake
I noticed that I messed up one of the right leaning twists for a left leaning one. It wasn’t terribly noticeable but once I saw it, I couldn’t unsee it. It was on the front panel too which I thought would bother me unless I fixed it.
I attempted to drop down and correct it, like I learned how to do with regular cable errors. It was trickier because some of the stitches I was dropping were twisted together with an adjacent stitch. 🙁
I did manage to correct/adjust the twist’s lean, but it doesn’t look perfect. The error is less noticeable now though, so I am happy about that. I was hoping that is would smooth out with blocking.
Gauge Issue
The pattern continues the front panel until it’s exactly 8 rows longer than the back panel. ‘Exactly’ is in bold too, so I figured that this was an important call out. Because the pattern is charted, it’s super easy to know what row you’re on and what 8 rows longer would be.
My problem was that “exactly 8 rows longer” wasn’t the same, leaving me at a different place in the pattern than my back panel. I’m sure this was because my gauge was off. I decided that matching the patterns up on the front and the back was more important than being exactly 8 rows longer. My front panel is only 6 rows longer than the back panel but both my patterns match.
Joining the Body
I insert a life line into each panel before joining in the round. I placed a BOR stitch marker as called for in the pattern and also a halfway marker, so that I could know when to start the back panel pattern. I used my same US 6 needles on a 14″ cable. I love my interchangeable needles because it makes it super easy to swap to whatever configuration you need.
The front and back patterns merge seamlessly together and look so good. I like how the texture of the double moss stitch really complements the cables and fill in the space well.
Body + Bind Off
As I knit more on the body, I noticed that there was a slight color difference where I joined a new skein on the back panel. It was hard to detect in person, but more visible in photos. I knew that hand-dyed yarn can have those slight color variances, but I didn’t want to alternate skeins each row since the sweater is so small. I thought I could get through the body with one skein, and the arms with another which could reduce any striping. I hoped that any color variances could bleed/blend together when washing.
I started to get in the groove with the pattern repeats and knitting the body went by really fast. I had calculated what row I needed to knit to in order to reach the required length, which took a lot of the measuring guesswork away. Each round took me ~7 minutes, and I was almost to the hem by the time the first clue came out for the Westknits MKAL. The MKAL was my priority, but I did manage to work on the Moby Sweater Mini here and there to complete the body.
The body ends with k1/p1 ribbing into an Italian Bind Off. I had done this bind off before in the Honey Clutch, but I didn’t divide the stitches like last time. Instead, I followed the linked video and learned a better technique:
Sleeves
I used my Chiaogoo shorties in US 6 on a 8″ cable to pick up for the sleeves. I used stitch markers to divide the quadrants so I could be sure to evenly pick up the stitches.
I was really happy with the pick up and how well the double moss stitch blended the transition. I didn’t have any large gaps under the arm at the join, and the sleeves went by quickly.
I had to switch to my shorter 6″ cable as the decreases started. Overall, the shorties were really comfortable and made the sleeves super easy.
The sleeve pattern was easy to memorize. The only difference between the two is the direction of the top cable. The sleeves end with the same ribbing and bind off as the body.
Neckband
The neckband is picked up and knit in k1/p1 ribbing. I used my stitch markers to help divide the left and right so I could get as even placement as possible. The pattern calls for a US 2.5 needle, but I didn’t have that size so I used a US 3 on a 14″ cable.
The neckband is folded over and sewn, but there is a special instruction for the halfway point to give more structure. I watched the linked video to help with the seaming, and I think this sweater turned out so good.
To finish, the pattern says to feed in a thin elastic string through the folded neckband to help it keep its shape. I wasn’t sure how much my niece would be wearing the sweater, so I didn’t do the elastic at first. But after I saw her wearing it and could see the neckband start to stretch, I did add the elastic. I had some thicker elastic string that I use for making bracelets already at home, so that’s what I used. The elastic is a subtle finish that definitely makes a difference.
Blocking the Finished Moby Mini Sweater
I soaked my sweater and let it sit for a while to possibly help with the color variation. Some color did bleed out during the wash and I was hopeful that that could help even out any color changes in the sweater.
I set my sweater out on the blocking mats and stretched it width-wise and pinned it in place. I wanted the cable pattern to really pop. I knew from my gauge swatch that I needed to let the sweater dry completely while pinned so it could retain the shape.
Midway through blocking, I did rearrange my pins so that it wasn’t as aggressively stretched. I wanted the front lattice pattern to look slightly more relaxed. Once the sweater was dry, I was so excited to give it to my niece. It was perfect!
Moby Sweater Mini – Overall Thoughts
The Moby Sweater Mini pattern was well-written and easy to follow. This is the second pattern I’ve knit from Petite Knit and I am really pleased with the detail and polish of her designs. This little sweater is the most “professional” item I’ve made and it’s because of the great design.
From the charted design and the cable patterns lining up at the shoulders and around the body, to the finishes like a tubular bind off and elastic in the neckband — this sweater looks like it could be found in a boutique. I’m super happy with everything about this sweater.
Petite Knit lists the pattern as 5 out of 5 difficulty which she says means, “These pattern are for the skilled knitter and will either contain difficult techniques, an uncommon construction or similar. You will need to be able to keep a level head and an overview over the instructions in the pattern.”
I would agree that this sweater probably isn’t great as a first sweater or if you need to rely on written pattern instructions. The Moby Sweater Mini uses charts for most of the instruction. There is written instruction for certain stitches, but it’s not written out line by line.
I loved working with this HHF yarn again. It’s super soft which my niece loves and the color is amazing. I ended up with just 26g left over from my original three 100g skeins, so a pretty accurate yardage recommendation.
Check out my Ravelry page to see what other projects I’m working on.
