I have 2,200 yards (2,000 meters) (2 kilometers!) of navy blue fingering-weight wool, which I bought with plans to knit the wrap sweater Arisaig. (Remember the sweeve I made?) Well, I've lost interest in that. No particular reason -- although I do suspect that I wouldn't get a ton of wear out of it. So I've been looking around for other sweaters designed for fingering-weight yarn, and I've decided that there aren't enough! Thanks to cosmicpluto Laura, however, there are these two fabulous patterns: the lace cardigan Serrano and the waffle-stitch pullover Thermal.

There are also some very nice patterns in a pattern booklet that I have: Lux Knitting Book, published in Toronto in 1938. In fact, there are two cardigans and four pullovers that I want to make. Two of the pullovers are Pacific and Atlantic:

But of course, there is also the problem of sizes with vintage patterns. Each pattern is given in only one size, and no schematics are provided. The Pacific pullover, for example, will turn out with the following measurements: bust, 34 inches; waist, 26 inches; sleeve seam, 18 inches; side seam, 12.5 inches. [The pattern includes a skirt, though, so the waist measurement may be only for the skirt and not the sweater.] Wait, I'll get my tape measure... OK, here are my measurements: bust, 37 inches; waist, 33 inches; and my sleeve and side seam requirements fit the pattern. Hmmm. So I'm bigger than the ideal Lux lady, and I have no discernable waist. Another pattern, Jasper (a "pullover cardigan"), specifies that the bust measurement is 36 inches after blocking; no waist measurement is given. (Maybe an inch of negative ease would be perfect?)

If I really want to knit one of these vintage patterns, I suppose the thing to do is to read all of the instructions and try to come up with a basic schematic based on numbers and increases and decreases given. Then I should be able to see whether one of them could be made to fit me without too much fussing. But of course, I want to knit now, and I don't have much spare time these days (and won't till late May), so maybe I should put off any project that is too ambitious and just work on one of Laura's ready-made patterns instead.
What do you think? WSBK? You can simply vote, or if you have other suggestions for fingering-weight sweaters (or if you think I should stick to socks until I've finished the three 25-page papers I have to write in the next month), leave a comment instead. Thanks in advance!
03/29/07: Poll closed. Thanks for voting! Final results are posted here.