I've been lusting after Gudrun Johnston's Laar for a long time. I still have Larch on my needles but since I finished Alpine Glow I wanted to cast on for a lace weight sweater that I could wear during the summer and fall seasons. Last year I knitted Featherweight Cardigan by Hanna Fettig for the fall and I wear it a lot but it's green and I wanted something a little more neutral in color.

© Gudrun Johnston/Jared Flood

© Gudrun Johnston/Jared Flood

I love the lace on top with the simple stockinette stitch on the bottom. The picot edging is adorable too.

I cast for Laar on July 30th. I'm using Knitpicks Shadow in the colorway Oregon Coast. It's a tan-ish color with reds and blues mixed in. It's not variegated, it just has bits of color mixed in random places. It's really pretty.

I never noticed on the pictures of Laar but there are pleats in the front. I've done pleats in previous projects but this used a construction like the one Gudrun does.

Let me tell you, the picot cast on was time consuming. It took almost entire evening to cast on. Honestly I wasn't sure I wanted it and I wasn't sure it was going to look good but it came out really cute.


Right now I'm working on the first sleeve. I hate my 8" DPN's. I love Knitpicks Harmony needles. The points are very sharp, perfect for working with lace weight yarn but 8 inches is too long for DPNs in my opinion. I'm used to working with 7" needles or shorter. 8" is too long, they get hung up in the fabric, they get hung up in the sleeves my shirt if I'm wearing long sleeves. Ugh. I hate them so much.


The sleeves are picked up from the front and back and worked in short rows. It was really difficult to work short rows with 8" needles. Thankfully the sleeves are only 3/4 length so it shouldn't be that bad...I hope.