A Tale of Four Necklines

Gentle Readers, I love knowing that I can always count on you to weigh in with an honest opinion.  After my cavalier announcement that I was going to "modernize" the neckline on the Jane Wolff Scott cardigan, some of you implored me not to fix what isn't broken.  Thank you for the reminder that the high neckline on the original is no small part of its charm.  You are right: a dramatic change to the depth of it would really alter the tone of the whole design.  Rest assured, I promise not to "scoop" anything.

That said, here is my challenge:  The back of the neckline in the original has a problem.  To wit:

Sample #1, ca. 1960:  2 x 2 back neckline ribbing stretched nearly beyond recognition  (This piece was carefully washed and re-blocked yesterday - you should have seen it before TLC).

Note also the top of the back raglan triangle shows noticeable stretching - it's not just the ribbing.

Sample #2, ca. 1965: 1 x 1 ribbing, also markedly stretched.

Sample #3: ca. 2013.  My first prototype.
 

Having noticed the neckline problem on my mom's versions, I did my best to avoid a reoccurrence.  However, the change I made in gauge for this one pretty much negated my attempts to keep the neckline relaxed.  Note that the knitting is starting to strain below the ribbing, just like in Sample 1.

So hopefully now you can see why I feel the need to address the neckline, before I give this pattern back to knitting.  I decided to add some more real estate to the back of the neckline.  A mere 5 stitches, to be exact.  

Here's Prototype 2.0 in progress.  I have yet to see for sure what happens with the neckline, but it seems better, already.  You can see that I've stopped working on the body and moved on to the sleeves here.  Unsure how my yarn yardage is going to work out, I decided to base the body length on whatever's left after the sleeves are done.  One of the magical things about this pattern is that you can make it to fit exactly the amount of yarn that you have. O the Stashbusting Glory!

And speaking of yarn, I need to tell you that this yarn has got everything in the world going for it.  So smooshy, but with a little backbone.  So robust, but with lots of air spun in to keep it light.  And the color?  The ink from a thousand love letters.  The deep, impossible azure where blue sky meets deep space.  Get yours HERE.  My sweater is about 42" at the chest, and it's going to use 2 skeins, if you're wondering.