Show Us Your Iains!

At last I've come to the "Show Us" post I've been wanting to write for years! So many fantastic sweaters have been made from my Iain pattern that it was almost impossible to choose, but I went with the best pictures. Sometimes it was a case of good picture AND good story. I love reading all the notes and even the twists and turns and calamities of your projects. It helps me so much!

The Iain Hoodie Pullover pattern was first published back in 2008 as hard copy sold in yarn shops only. In 2010 I started selling my patterns as PDF downloads, and in 2013 I published an upgrade to the Iain, followed by another upgrade in 2016. 

Let's look at some of the Iain projects completed in the past eight years.

photo credit: Andi

Andrea knit this Iain for her boyfriend, and she used Cascade Eco Wool. She had few notes on her Ravelry page, but wrote three blog posts about it.  It's beautiful, Andrea!

photo credit: knittingocd

The dapper fellow on the right is Cathy's husband and he's posing with his brothers, who certainly must wish they had an Iain like Mike. Cathy made Mike's sweater with Cascade Eco Wool in Gray.  It looks great on Mike!

photo credit: Callalily

This Iain was knit by my tech editor Tracey after she knit the Iain, Jr. for her daughter. Tracey started out test knitting with me, and then transitioned to one of the best tech editors ever. I am so lucky to be able to work with her. Your Iain looks great on Renzie, Tracey, even though he never gets to wear it down in Florida. It's made with cozy Patons Classic Wool Merino in oatmeal.

photo credit: bethstar

This lovely Iain was knit by a knitter who does not give her name on Ravelry, but let's call her Beth. Her project page says she knit it for MaryAnn, so I have to assume that is who is in the picture. If so, it looks great on you, MaryAnn! (Sometimes this stuff requires detective work.) This Iain was made with Cascade Eco Wool and "Beth" says she would make another one. Yea!

photo credit: AbsintheYarn

Here's Kathy's husband, who she calls "Captain Romance," in his Iain made with Cascade Eco Wool in Charcoal. Kathy made lots of notes on her project page, so if you want to read those, follow that link. I think it looks just fabulous on Captain Romance, don't you?

photo credit: wish2knit

Elena's project page says this was made for Ross. Well, hello, Ross! You look great in your Iain made with Cascade Eco Wool in natural. Elena has no notes nor blog posts on her project page, so the details of the project remain a mystery. Looks like a success to me, though!

photo credit: knitacat

Louise gets props for most imaginative picture, and I hope Kermit likes his Iain! You can see that Louise subbed ribbing for the garter stitch as edging and it looks fine. This awesome Iain was made with Knit Picks City Tweed HW.

photo credit: christen

And now we come to the best Iain story of all time, and I doubt that it will ever, ever be bested. This is Christen's first Iain, which was for her husband. She completed it in 2009, but the next year he wanted another one, so she complied (true love!) and made another one, but in a lighter color.  Then she got the insane idea to make a third one for her husband's brother later that year. He saw his brother's Iain and wanted one, too. Saying no was just not an option, I guess. The real problem came when she decided to make Iains for her husband's other two brothers as well. Yep, she ended up making FIVE Iains in the course of just two years--two for her husband and one each for brothers-in-law Steven, Daniel, and Kevin. She said she wanted to burn the pattern and never make another one after that. But then I sent her the 2016 update and she has it parked in her Ravelry library. She is thinking she might have to make her husband another one if he gains weight. She's a saint! Oh, and I'm still waiting for that group shot, Christen. Just sayin'...

As you can see, most knitters use Cascade Eco Wool to make the Iain, like the original version. It's because it's the best yarn for this sweater! It's been used in 49 of the reported 73 projects on Ravelry. All the other yarns used except Cascade 220, which is a little too lightweight for this sweater, have only been used once each.  The pattern has 109 projects reported on Ravelry, but some folks neglect to add yarn info on their project page. I urge you knitters on Ravelry to flesh out your project pages--it helps all of us when you add all the pertinent information!

I want to make another one myself someday. And if I do, I'll use Cascade Eco again. 

Bravo to these knitters!