Completed Cardigan (despite the heat!)

Thankfully it's a little cooler here today, or at least less humid.  I've found it pretty unpleasant the last few days I must admit.  It seems we're never happy with the weather, whatever it's doing, are we?

It's still too hot for me to wear my new cardigan though, which is why you're seeing it on Rosie.  



It's sort of self designed.  I used stitch numbers from a plain cardigan pattern I found, can't remember which one it was now, and then used the stitch pattern from Esther Socks for the body.   The sleeves are plain stocking stitch, and are elbow length because I didn't have enough yarn to make them longer. All the ribbing is twisted rib, finished with an I-cord bind off.

When I was knitting it I thought it was going to be too small, but if anything it's a bit bigger than I would have liked.  I really struggle with getting knits the right size.  I should probably always knit one size smaller than I think I need.

Anyway, I'm looking forward to it being cool enough for me to wear this.

I'm now planning another cardigan, using some Colourmart Extra Fine Merino I bought a while ago because I loved the colour.


It's called "Geranio" and is a kind of pinky, orangy red.  I have about 1300 yards of it.

I'm torn between 2 patterns at the moment.  I'd really like to do Meridien by Joji Locatelli.


I don't have quite the amount of yarn the pattern calls for though, and no chance of getting any more.  It looks pretty long, so I might be able to shorten it a bit.  I'm not too far off the yardage required.

My alternative is Chance of Showers by Heidi Kirrmaier. 


I've definitely got enough yarn for this one. 

Goodness, I'm so indecisive!  Maybe I should knit this in the yarn I have and then buy some more for Meridien, does that sound like a good plan?

12 comments

  1. Love your cardi - beautiful. I don't have the patience to knit. That Meridien looks fabulous.

    ReplyDelete
  2. A very pretty cardigan Sam. It is hard to gauge what size a handknit will turn out - I tend to make the back first in the smaller size as I have a small back. Then if that is way to large, I know to make the front small as well. If it is about right, then I make the front in the next size up. Trouble is with knitting you never know what size you have until it is finished. Love the buttons on your cardigan.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. That's a really good idea, and one I've used before myself. However the body of this cardi was knitted all in one piece, so unfortunately not an option this time.

      Delete
  3. I really like the colour of your new cardi, really lovely. I think you absolutely should knit the second pattern and buy more yarn for the Meridien - you have my vote!

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Thanks Jacq. An excuse for more yarn is always good.

      Delete
  4. Love your cardigan, such a pretty stitch pattern and the shape is really nice. I would go with the pattern you have enough yarn for, but boyhood are great

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Thank you. I would definitely wear both, so I'll get round to them both at some stage.

      Delete
  5. YOur new cardigan is so sweet, Such a pretty lace leaf design and such perfect stitches :)

    ReplyDelete
  6. This is such a gorgeous cardigan- I love the lace pattern and it's good to know that you successfully used a pattern and added a different lace pattern as I have been wanting to do this using Rowan Nancy and a lace pattern from The Knitting Bible. Seems like a really good way to knit a duplicate of a cardigan that fits well whilst making it look really different. It's so hard to predict the fit of knitting projects like you say, I find the panels appear tiny before they are stitched together!
    Love the colour of your new merino yarn too! :)

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Thank you Ami. Sometimes when you add a lace pattern to a "plain" garment it changes the gauge a little - so you might need to go down a needle size or knit one size smaller than normal, but if you do a gauge swatch that should give you a good idea.

      Delete

Thank you so much for your comment, every one is read and appreciated. It means a lot to me that you take the time to read and comment on my posts.