Peter's Raglan Pullover

I try to knit the kids each a sweater every year, and although I started this sweater for Peter last spring, I just now got it done.  Thankfully I made it big so it should be a loose fit when the cooler weather finally starts in the fall.

The dimensions are from Ann Budd's Handy Book of Sweater Patterns, which is a formulaic way to design your own sweaters using the calculations in the book.  As math is not my strong suit, this ended up a bit bigger than I had anticipated, but as it took me much longer to finish then I anticipated, it was a happy coincidence.

(Perhaps my math skills and realistic knitting skills are communicating subconsciously).

Basically I designed a stockinette stitch raglan, but every time I changed the color I did one round of purl so that there would be a bit of texture.  I'm still not entirely sure I like the finished result.  Sometimes I make things too "interesting" and they end up looking home made and kitschy.

I love the colors though.  I used a brown and a lovely cloud blue from the brand "I Love This Yarn".  The yarn, although acrylic, is wonderfully soft.  I'm hoping it wears well too, especially after my disappointment with Peter's last pullover which I knit using Caron Simply Soft. (After only a few wears it pilled so badly I had to throw it away, even after trying to clean it up with a sweater stone.)

For the hem I knit a rolled cuff and then a few rows of ribbing stitch so that it wouldn't want to roll too far.  I really like that particular detail of the pullover, as hems and ribbings always give me a bit of bother with the way they look.

All in all I'm very pleased with the final result, and as long as it wears well I think I might make more patterns like this for the other kids.  I'm envisioning something fuchsia pink and lime green for Miss Boo in the exact same design.  What do you think?