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!

Finished: Favorite Cardigan by Wendy Bernard

As I mentioned in my last post, I have mostly knitted socks and small things in the past. In fact, I have yet to finish anything that is worn on the actual body. Until today.

Two weeks ago, I was grocery shopping at a supermarket when I noticed they had yarn on special (cue mad dash). Despite having a strict yarn shopping list, I picked up seven skeins of Novita Luxus Cloud (65% wool / 35% bamboo) in a delicious scarlet shade, without a clue about what I was going to knit out of it. When I found out at the checkout that they were only 2€ a skein (normally 5€), I went back the next day and got seven skeins more, all that they had in stock.

When I got home, I went through my knitting books and found the perfect use for the Cloud (or so I thought at the time) - the Favorite Cardigan by Wendy Bernard, from her book Custom Knits. See the model photo at left. The gauge matched, it offered a gentle introduction to top-down knitting, which I was keen to try, and last but not least: I really wanted a scarlet cardigan. So off I went.

I am not usually what they call a project knitter, but I really liked working on this one. I cannot explain why - it must have been the top-down construction - but it was an incredibly quick knit. Consider that I have another cardigan in the works that I started a year ago... Whatever the reason, I took a strong liking to top-down projects, trying it on as I worked was great!

I made several mods to the pattern, as encouraged by the book: My gauge was off by two stitches per 10cm so I changed the needles from 4.5mm to 5.5mm. Since I fell between sizes, I CO'd size S and added an extra row of raglan increases for a larger bust, then decreased back to size S for the waist (two extra decreasing rounds). I moved the front cables two stitches further out for a nice knitted edge, I also moved the sleeve cables by a stitch to match them with the collar ribbing. Sleeves were size M minus two stitches, so I skipped the first round of decreases and then worked as per size M, making them longer until I felt they were right. Lengthened the body from 12½" to 14½" before the bottom ribbing. Tossed the buttonhole instructions out of the window as they produced the most god-awful "buttonholes" I've ever seen. Did regular "BO 2 sts, next round CO 2 sts" buttonholes, used seven buttons instead of eight. Phew, I think that's all!

The final result can be seen at right (click for a bigger photo). I wish I could say that I positively adore the first torso-wearable thing that has come off my needles, but I don't quite. It's certainly OK or even fine, but the fit is slightly odd - too short to start with, despite the extra two inches. The big annoyance is the yarn; although it's incredibly soft and a dream to work with, it has already started pilling... bad. The cardigan certainly doesn't look as though it was finished today. On the other hand, it does look like a favourite cardigan, slightly worn out. It could be worse, I guess!

If nothing else, I am proud of actually finishing this thing, and in two weeks to boot! It has given me confidence about starting "big" projects that I have so far always discarded halfway through, bored and/or disillusioned. I've got several more cardigans/sweaters/jumpers on my to-do list now. Gotta dream big! For my next project however, I'll think small - my niece requested a pink sweater, so a pink sweater she will get. She loves Hello Kitty, so I'm scheming intarsia (another first for me) in fluffy white yarn. We'll see how it turns out. Luckily her birthday is not until December!