My What a Big Head You Have!

I like to call this sweater "The Ego Sweater." If your head is too big, just unfasten the shoulder buttons and Voila! An easy fit.

I'd like to say that it was an easy pattern to knit, but for me it was quite a challenge. Little C. has been kind of a challenge as of late too (typical one year old behavior), so I guess it is fitting that this sweater is for him. The name of this sweater is also fitting for the little man because he literally has a large head (90th percentile!) and he comes from people with big heads (his father and me). When I was about 6 months pregnant and very nervous about what labor would entail, my husband and I took a child birth class. I don't remember most of what our instructor taught us, but I do remember that she was telling us about crowning, etc., and told us that the baby's head size was inherited from the father. She went around the room, noted my husband's head size, then looked at me and said, "I'm so sorry." Everyone laughed, but I had an icy wave of fear go right through me. Thanks, lady!

I also thought this name was appropriate because Little C. has certainly shown that he has a very healthy ego lately. He crawls frantically around the house screaming, "ME, ME, ME, ME...!" Initially worrying that I had a pint-sized Narcissus on my hands--I envisioned Little C. falling in love with his own reflection in the baby pool out back--it finally occurred to me that "ME" is short for "Mom-ME".  So he's obsessed with me, not himself. Suddenly that screaming went from obnoxious to endearing. As you can see, it's pretty easy to inflate my ego.

The original pattern is called "Chaos" which should have been warning enough, right? I used the pattern only as a guide and didn't make any of the haphazard cables; I have enough chaos in my life as it is. I really only knitted this because I have always liked the button shoulder design, but didn't know how to make it. This pattern was pretty frustrating for me and even though I'm basically happy with the end result I would never use it again (bulkiness of the body, too much seaming, something strange about the arms).  Still, it was a good learning experience. I don't think I ever realized how much engineering goes into constructing a garment. I don't know what skills are needed for this (logic? quantitative reasoning?) but it is not my strong suit. So, even though the pattern left much to be desired, in my opinion, I did come away with a better understanding of how all the parts fit together. I'm thinking of taking this knowledge back to my favorite sweater pattern and see if I can make button holes along the raglan seam.