Brown Aran Jumper

“I’d like a handknitted jumper for Christmas, please. An aran jumper.”

He’s my last teen. My youngest. Self assured and knows what he likes. I used to knit so many jumpers and cardigans for my children when they were small, but that stopped around the time they discovered hoodies and sweatshirts. (Last jumper I knitted him)

This was my chance to knit something for him again. Requests like these are rarer than hen’s teeth and I wanted to get it right. We researched a pattern and agreed on a wool together. Discussing the pros and cons of each suggestion.

I knew that knitting an aran jumper for my 6 foot plus son was going to take considerably more hours, than the cute, little ones from his childhood. When you invest so much of your time knitting a jumper, it cuts the very soul out of your body to see it hidden in the back of a wardrobe unworn. Planning, as always, is the key.

The pattern is from a magazine. Pages I tore out thirty or more years ago. I cannot tell you the magazine or the year, but I do remember knitting it once before. The yarn is 100% Jacob, aran weight wool from West Yorkshire Spinners. The label tells me its “reared, sheared and spun in Britain”. I like that and it smells divine. The colour, of course, is the natural colour of the sheep. No dye involved.

The front and back of the jumper are fisherman’s rib, which was easy going. Certainly kept my legs warm, draped over them, as I knitted in the evening. The sleeves were more interesting as they had cable all the way to the neckband. I do love cable.

I adjusted the sizing as I went along. The number of times I held the unfinished jumper up to check the length against him, I lost count. I really didn’t want to get it wrong, otherwise he was unlikely to wear it. Images of the aran jumper abandoned in a dark corner flooded through my mind, as I worried about the sizing.

Once finished, I washed and blocked it to the shape and size he wanted. All ready for him to wear in the colder weather.

(Blocking involves pinning the damp jumper to something that looks like a child’s play mat, using pins which could be mistaken for sharp combs, in order to lengthen or shrink it)

Does he like it? Yes. Even more so as it keeps him warmer than any hoodie. We live in the country, in an old cottage and it is temperature challenged, despite central heating. It certainly toughens us up. Eldest, who is up north at uni, says that she is more acclimatised than her friends when it comes to the cold weather.

The jumper fits perfectly and he wears it.

I have to admit, the original request for a jumper was from the previous Christmas. I finished this one last autumn. What did he ask for this year? Another jumper.

Ah. Be still my beating heart. It’s on its way.