first successful cardigan!
In a surprising turn of events, I have actually finished an adult-sized garment! I bought the pattern--the Eyelet Cardi from Chicknits-- sometime last year, but never even attempted it. Then, this summer, Miss L and I went yarn shopping and I bought three skeins of Fleece Artist's Washable Merino in Burgundy, intending to make the Hourglass Sweater from Last Minute Knitted Gifts. However, I soon realized that the yarn's gauge just would not be suitable for that project, so I decided to attempt the Eyelet Cardi. A mere two weeks later, voila--it is done!
The cardigan was great to knit: the pattern instructions are very clear; the knitting is fairly easy but has enough going on that I didn't get bored while knitting; the construction absolutely rocks, because instead of sewing on the sleeves, you reserve the live stitches at the top and then knit them on to the body. This means that the only seaming you have to do is at the armpits. I only had to sew 16 stitches under each arm and sew on a button. As you can probably guess, sewing up is not my strong point, so this pattern was ideal.
The edges did seem to curl, but wet blocking took care of that, and in fact, I was able to get the 3/4 length sleeves (which I did not like) to relax into full-length sleeves (whew). I think this cardigan will be versatile and I plan to wear it a lot in the fall, where it will be a good part of my work wardrobe. The college has an odd heating/cooling system; different classrooms seem to have different climates, as do the offices, so layers are always good.
A word about the colour discrepancy in the pictures below: I realize now, looking at these photos, that the colour is vastly different in the pictures taken inside and the one taken outside. I'd say the picture taken outdoors is a more accurate representation of what the colour looks like, even indoors. The wool is, as its name suggests, more burgundy and less purple.
The cardigan was great to knit: the pattern instructions are very clear; the knitting is fairly easy but has enough going on that I didn't get bored while knitting; the construction absolutely rocks, because instead of sewing on the sleeves, you reserve the live stitches at the top and then knit them on to the body. This means that the only seaming you have to do is at the armpits. I only had to sew 16 stitches under each arm and sew on a button. As you can probably guess, sewing up is not my strong point, so this pattern was ideal.
The edges did seem to curl, but wet blocking took care of that, and in fact, I was able to get the 3/4 length sleeves (which I did not like) to relax into full-length sleeves (whew). I think this cardigan will be versatile and I plan to wear it a lot in the fall, where it will be a good part of my work wardrobe. The college has an odd heating/cooling system; different classrooms seem to have different climates, as do the offices, so layers are always good.
A word about the colour discrepancy in the pictures below: I realize now, looking at these photos, that the colour is vastly different in the pictures taken inside and the one taken outside. I'd say the picture taken outdoors is a more accurate representation of what the colour looks like, even indoors. The wool is, as its name suggests, more burgundy and less purple.
Labels: knitting
posted by Melinda at 4:41 PM
1 comments
