The Magic Hour Sweater

I didn’t intent to cast on and finish a sweater during a heatwave in July in Florida, but lo and behold, that’s just what I did.

The Magic Hour Sweater by Two Of Wands

July was ROUGH y’all. I fell into a depressive bout in early July and while I definitely had some good days, it has taken me a few weeks to crawl out of it. A lot of people who don’t intimately know depression assume that it’s feeling sad a lot. And yes, there are and can be feelings of sadness. But for me, my depression often manifests in brain fog, extreme lethargy, self loathing, despondency, and a lack of interest in work/hobbies/activities I usually enjoy doing. In the past, a depressive bout may have meant that I would spend weeks in bed. And while I did spend some time this round napping and watching movies/reading books to turn off my brain, I was able to utilize self care strategies and find ways to actively care for myself, feel the feelings, and combat the apathy. One big strategy that helped me this month was not forcing myself to work on projects I wasn’t finding joy in and to make whatever DID spark even the tiniest bit of joy.

I’ve had these skeins of Lion Brand Mandala Ombre in color Serene in my stash for almost a year. The different hues of pinks and orange remind me so much of sunrise on the beach here in Florida and the delightfully soft and squishy texture of this yarn genuinely makes me smile. I bought a sweater’s quantity of the yarn without having any real idea of what I would make with it. Then, early this year in the winter, I stumbled across Alexi of Two of Wands Magic Hour Sweater. The beautiful deep vneck and oversized, lightweight, squishy and comfy vibes spoke to me and I mentally set aside the Mandala Ombre for it. I was thinking maybe I’d cast it on in the winter or early spring of next year.

As I sat in my office mid July (during the thick of this depressive bout), I stared in tears at my current WIP pile and stash yarn, hoping something, ANYTHING would call out to me and keep me from crawling back in bed. My eyes kept drifting over to the Mandala yarn. At first, I scolded myself for wanting to cast on something new, especially a SWEATER when it’s been 95+ degrees out, but then I realized that wanting to make something, even a long sleeve sweater in a heat wave, was a creative spark. I knew this sweater was knit flat with rows and rows of soothing garter stitch. I didn’t have a ton of mental or physical energy, and this design wouldn’t require me to give much. I’d be able to meditate, listen to music, watch a movie, or listen to a book while making this. If I could gather my energy and encourage myself out of the house, it’d be a WIP I could work on while talking with friends or the hubby. So I cast it on and the impact was immediate. I was excited!!! I loved how the yarn felt, I loved the sound my metal needles were making as I knit garter stitch row after garter stitch row. Working on the sweater that first day had me feeling like more myself and that lead to me getting some work done on a break from my new WIP and even deciding to go out for dinner with my hubby. When I went to bed, I was looking forward to working on it the next day.

I continued to work on this project over the next few weeks. I took it to the beach for some tandem WIPping with a friend. I finished 4 audiobooks while making it. I even felt energetic enough to post the progress to my IG stories. Some of the things I loved about making this sweater? Not stressing about the color changes. At first, I did try to match up the color changes in each panel, but I quickly gave up as I’d have to keep breaking the yarn and fudge with it too much. I love the effect that was created with the natural progression of the color changes. I also LOVE the neckline, but before and after adding the ribbing. The ribbed neckline is a smidge higher than my preference, but I still really like it. And seeing the neckline without ribbing in my progress photos has re-inspired me for one of my designs that is currently in the time-out bin.

All in all, this sweater was the perfect therapeutic make for July, heat wave and all. Am I saying that this sweater brought me completely out of my depressive bout and cured me? Nope. I still had quite a few bad days in the 3 weeks that I made this sweater. But it helped me remember why I love knitting so much, and that yarny crafts are an amazing tool to utilize in my mental health toolkit. I have a lot of love and gratitude and peaceful, calm intentions knit into this sweater. Making it felt like an act of self love and I hope that wearing it will instill that feeling as well.

Don’t ever feel guilty for wanting to cast on a new project, y’all. There’s no moral righteousness in being a monogamous WIPper (but it’s ok if you like that!). If casting on a new project brings you some joy in this fucked up world, you go right ahead and do it. I give you permission ;)

Here are some technical details about my Magic Hour Sweater:

I followed the instructions for the size Large sweater. I have a 42” bust, 35” waist, and 48” hips.

Yarn: Lion Brand Mandala Ombre in colorway Serene.

Needles: I used size US 11 (8.0mm) for the body and US 10.5 (6.5 mm) for the ribbing.

Gauge: I didn’t really swatch (EEK!) Don’t judge me, I didn’t have the energy to do it. hahaha. It worked out though, I love the fit. My steam blocked gauge ended up being 11 st x 22 rows in 4'“ in garter. Patter gauge was 12 st x 20 rows in 4” in garter.

Yardage: I used 393 grams of yarn or 899 yards (not including all the ends I wove in).

Modifications: Instead of binding off and seaming the shoulders, I left shoulder stitches live and used 3 needle bind off. I made the body length for both panels a bit longer than suggested. I also picked up more sts along the neckline for the ribbing than was suggested. Pattern suggested 104, I picked up 126 sts.

Pattern Notes: I found the pattern super easy to follow and understand. There wasn’t a suggestion for seaming methods so I opted for mattress stitch as it’s my favorite. I’ve never done matress stitch with garter stitches before and I struggled a bit to find my groove. A lot of tutorials said to pick up the lower bump on the final stitch of the left panel and the upper bump on the final st of the right, but that looked super wonky to me. I ended up finding another tutorial that suggested picking up the bumps on the second to stitches and also the “bar” like you would when matress seaming stockinette. I LOVE how that technique worked for me and I will probably use that for now on.

Sweater measurements: Front body panel - 22”. Back body panel-23.5”. Body width- 24.5” (this is less ease than suggested in pattern. Pattern suggests 12-14” ease. I had only 7”). Vneck Depth: 12”. Upper arm width - 7”.

I absolutely LOVE my sweater and know I’ll get a ton of wear out of it. If I were to make this pattern again (and I might!), I think I would gauge swatch so I get the correct amount of ease (lol) or I might just size up and make the XL. I’d definitely at least knit the arms in a size up as I was a little suprised at how little ease they had and I’d probably deepen my armhole depth too to give a wider, more oversized fit for the arms.

If you’re looking for a meditative make or just want to twin with me, you can snag the Magic Hour Sweater by Two Of Wands HERE or on Ravelry HERE.

Thanks so much for reading y’all!!!

XOXOXO