Finished Knitting: Girl Friday Cardigan
I finished this cardigan about a week ago and I think I'll be less bummed by the weather turning cool now.
I used Rowan RYC Extra Fine Merino DK for the yarn and the pattern is free (yay!) by Mercedes Tarasovich-Clark. You can find it here in the Fall 2009 edition of Knitty magazine. And if you want to check out other versions, voila: the Ravelry link for you.
I made size M (37 inch chest), which is the same size as pictured at the Knitty website. There are a lot of sizes available, from S to 3X. I think it's a good size for me, but I did not block it. Blocking it would've added significant growth to the pattern pieces and I didn't want that, plus I liked the look of the lace pattern unblocked.
The pattern was easy to follow. I only had one slight hiccough and that was when I bound off the stitches at very end of the ribbing on the front panel. The directions say to bind off loosely and she is not kidding. I had to go back and do it again and I forced myself to be *really* loose. If you bind off too tightly the front will massively curl up (vertically).
Another thing I noticed is that the directions for the short rows in the shawl collar do not have you wrap the stitch at the turn. This will leave more visible holes than the wrap and turn method. But with the lace pattern I felt that the holes weren't so noticeable, so I left it as is. That would be an easy thing to modify though.
I used big blue plastic buttons that I already had in my stash. I'm happy with that look, but if I get bored by it I can easily swap out the buttons. I do need to change the placement of the top though; I think I sewed it slightly too far right.
As you can see, I was having fun using my hat as a prop. It gave me something to do with my hands. :) Although I originally put it on just to cover up my unwashed hair, ha!
It's been a while since I've had a win on a sweater project so I'm relieved and stoked that this turned out well. I definitely recommend the pattern. It took me nearly a year to complete, but only because I didn't touch it for 9 months. It's knit on size 8 needles (US) / 5 mm , so it does advance pretty quickly.
I still have quite a few other projects on my needles, including a tweed skirt that I just started. I was hesitant to actually knit a skirt (how long do you think it'll stay looking nice and not all saggy and pilly??) but the projects in Ravelry convinced me. :)
I used Rowan RYC Extra Fine Merino DK for the yarn and the pattern is free (yay!) by Mercedes Tarasovich-Clark. You can find it here in the Fall 2009 edition of Knitty magazine. And if you want to check out other versions, voila: the Ravelry link for you.
I made size M (37 inch chest), which is the same size as pictured at the Knitty website. There are a lot of sizes available, from S to 3X. I think it's a good size for me, but I did not block it. Blocking it would've added significant growth to the pattern pieces and I didn't want that, plus I liked the look of the lace pattern unblocked.
The pattern was easy to follow. I only had one slight hiccough and that was when I bound off the stitches at very end of the ribbing on the front panel. The directions say to bind off loosely and she is not kidding. I had to go back and do it again and I forced myself to be *really* loose. If you bind off too tightly the front will massively curl up (vertically).
Another thing I noticed is that the directions for the short rows in the shawl collar do not have you wrap the stitch at the turn. This will leave more visible holes than the wrap and turn method. But with the lace pattern I felt that the holes weren't so noticeable, so I left it as is. That would be an easy thing to modify though.
As you can see, I was having fun using my hat as a prop. It gave me something to do with my hands. :) Although I originally put it on just to cover up my unwashed hair, ha!
It's been a while since I've had a win on a sweater project so I'm relieved and stoked that this turned out well. I definitely recommend the pattern. It took me nearly a year to complete, but only because I didn't touch it for 9 months. It's knit on size 8 needles (US) / 5 mm , so it does advance pretty quickly.
I still have quite a few other projects on my needles, including a tweed skirt that I just started. I was hesitant to actually knit a skirt (how long do you think it'll stay looking nice and not all saggy and pilly??) but the projects in Ravelry convinced me. :)
oooh I like this,the grey with the blue buttons looks really good.
ReplyDeleteIt's a lovely cardigan. The stitching is very pretty. Well worth keeping on with!
ReplyDeleteIt looks lovely! I really like the unblocked look, so nice with the lace pattern. I also love the blue buttons, they go really well with the shade of grey!
ReplyDeleteThis is so pretty! I love it on you!
ReplyDeleteI love it - it looks so pretty and so very wearable. :)
ReplyDeleteCute cardigan! One day I want to knit like you :)
ReplyDeleteThe lace leaf pattern looks lovely! I really like it unblocked too; blocking tends to squash the pattern a bit. Cool peaked hat too, and yes, it's hard to know what to do with your hands in a picture sometimes ;)
ReplyDelete