The Winter Knitalong is still going strong, but Alison has finished knitting her Helen sweater-dress! The finished project is absolutely stunning, because Alison truly made it her own.
The original Helen, a sweater knitting pattern designed by Amy Christoffers, is a hip-length sweater with a stranded knitting pattern at the yoke. The pattern calls for Ultra Alpaca, one of our favorite yarns, but Alison started her modifications by choosing Lang’s Yak yarn to knit her Helen. Like alpaca, yak is a soft, luxurious fiber, but has slightly different drape when blended with wool.
Knitting from the top down, as the pattern calls for, Alison added an extra horizontal repeat to the color work yoke for a slightly wider color band. After separating for the body and sleeves, Alison worked more hip increases into the body to account for her full hip measurements. She then knit extra length to the body before beginning a ribbing pattern at the bottom edge (the Helen pattern calls for a turned hem).
Working the sleeves, Alison revised the Helen color work chart a bit (see Alison’s chart below) to give a little extra flair to her sleeves. She also worked a turned hem at the cuffs, resulting in slightly belled sleeves. The resulting dress is fabulous! If you’re knitting along with the Helen/Ellen Winter Knitalong, you still have plenty of time to complete your sweater or cardigan. We’d love to see your finished project and hear about how you modified it to fit you or your style. And if you want to join in now, just head over to the Berroco Lovers Ravelry group! 
I love it! I’ve wanted to knit a tunic…maybe I’ll try this as well! Thanks for the inspiration!