Finished: Short-Sleeved Cardigan with Ribbing by Stefanie Japel

One of the best things about Ravelry is the fact that it lets you compile a list of patterns that you intend to knit (a so-called "queue"). This yellow cardigan had been sittin' pretty at the top of my queue for awhile - in fact, ever since I got Stefanie Japel's book, Fitted Knits. I remember clicking "Not Interested" time and time again when Amazon suggested this book to me, but in the end I gave up and bought it. And just as well, as while several of my knitting pattern books have maybe two or three patterns of interest to me, I currently have four more projects from this book in my queue. Waiting patiently, as those in queues do (my queue is currently 40 items long, so it could be a long wait).

Thus, last week when I got home from Tampere (where I attend university two days a week) and having finished Rowan Minn on the train, I jumped at the opportunity to finally start this cardigan. The weather in Finland has turned decidedly autumny of late and I wanted something warm and snuggly. I got the yarn in June and it's been sitting in my yarn box, singing sweet yarn siren songs (the mythical creature kind, not the fire alarm kind). To be fair, the pattern yarn, Cascade 128 (100% Peruvian Highland wool), is not amazing. It's chunky and coarse, but my, it is indeed warm. Mental note: wear a t-shirt underneath.

The main mod I did was lengthening the sleeves, obviously. The thought of knitting a heavy cardigan out of bulky wool and leaving the sleeves short - and I do mean t-shirt short - just didn't make any sense to me. Originally I was going to make them full length, but as I went along, the 3/4 length seemed more appropriate. Dare I say the sleeves have a slight 1940s vibe to them?

SLEEVE MODS FOR 3/4 LENGTH:

Rnds 1-13 as per pattern
Rnds 14-40 knit
Change to smaller needles.
Rnds 41-48 purling and knitting rows as per pattern
Rnd 49 k11, k2tog, k11, k2tog, knit to end = 36 sts
Rnds 50-65 k2, p2 ribbing (one rnd more than in pattern)
Rnd 66 knit
Rnds 67-74 purling and knitting rows as per pattern
BO.

A row counter is extremely useful in making sure the sleeves match (also to get the right number of ribbing rows).
The finished sleeve length is 32cm from underarm to sleeve edge (20cm in original pattern) and falls to match the bottom edge of the body. Doing the sleeves like this will add approximately half a skein to the yarn requirements.

Once again, I am not 100% satisfied with my product. To be sure, it is better than the Favorite Cardigan, so I'm getting there! However, the cardigan is a wee bit baggy just above the waist ribbing, which does bother me. I might try and see if I can come up with a way to tighten it across the back.

When I started this project, I kept thinking "Oh, I should make an entry in the blog about this" and track the progress. However, this being another top-down project and of bulky yarn too, it was such a quick'un that I really didn't have a chance.
My next project will be different again: the yellow theme continues, but the size and weight will be much smaller. Wait and see!