Today has been quite a day. Carter is two and one-half years old today. He got his first proper haircut in a real barber chair today. Today he wanted to wear big-boy pants all day and made no mistakes! Big cheers all around for this most darling boy who is growing up so fast!

I made his new sweater with a mini-skein set from Stunning String Studio. The yarn is amazing! It's so soft that Carter was able to wear it right next to his skin. It is a light fingering weight of superwash merino wool and I would use it again in a heartbeat. Highly recommended!

You may recognize the pattern as I've made it so many times now and I think it might be the most popular sweater pattern on Ravelry: Flax Light. It's a free pattern and there is a Flax regular too, also free that uses worsted weight yarn. I've said this before but I'll say it again, I love the flax pattern but the neck is simply too wide and loose for a little one. On an adult woman the wide neck is pretty, but for a baby, child and even for a man, I don’t think a wide neck is desirable. Here’s what I did to remedy that:

Cast on for 2-3 sizes smaller and knit the ribbing with a needle 2-3 sizes smaller than the main body. After the neck ribbing was complete, I increased per pattern instructions until I achieved the chest size I wanted, then I split the arms and body. Then I just knit away until I had the desired length. It’s simple. I use this great pattern often as a basic recipe to get me started, then I customize the rest of the way.