My First Cardigan

I have knit many elaborate afghans.  I consider myself a fairly accomplished knitter.  But I have never knit a sweater and I have always wanted to try one.

Now that we have a granddaughter, I thought I could start with a child's sweater.  She would be less critical than an adult and she would outgrow it before too long so wouldn't be stuck wearing a poorly knitted item for a long time.

Rachel is wearing size 3 clothing, but I used a size 4 pattern.  I wasn't sure how long it would take to finish this first project.  I chose to knit a cardigan. That is a sweater that buttons up, rather than a jumper that pulls over the head.

  

The pattern was quite simple.  You knit the back, the two front pieces and the sleeves.

  

Next you sew the front shoulders to the back.  Then the sleeves are sewn in.  After the sleeves are in you sew from the bottom to the armpit, closing the body of the cardigan.  Knit the wrist to the armpit, closing the sleeves.  I used place holders to make sure the pieces lined up correctly.

  

The part that was the scariest was knitting in the front placket.  To do this, you pick up stitches from the edge of the front of the opening in the cardigan and sew up and around until it is an inch wide.  I needed to go back to Yarn Explosion and view YouTube videos to figure out the whole process.

  

I also needed YouTube help to knit in the buttonholes.  The pattern I purchased was woefully inadequate for a novice sweater knitter.

  

The ladies at Yarn Explosion suggested cutting a square of felt to use as a backing when sewing on the buttons.

  

After sewing, I cut the excess away, so there was stability behind the button, but it wasn't visible .

  

I like the finished product. I hope Rachel does.

  

Now I am inspired to do a grown-up version.   Maybe one with cables and a more elaborate pattern.  It is fun and rewarding.

But next I am going to try working with a lathe to learn to make wooden bowls.

One More Project

Every year we ask our grown children for a list of things they want for Christmas.  We don't want to buy them a book they already have or get them clothes that don't fit or they don't like.  We buy a few things off the list and a few other things and a great time is had by all.

Getting lists from is sometimes a problem.  I DO NOT participate in any mall shopping the weekend after Thanksgiving.  I don't need anything badly enough to suffer through that type of madness.  By the time I got the lists, it was well into December.

I have gotten a good start, but one thing caught my eye.  It seems my favorite (and only, at this time) son-in-law has lost a hand made scarf given to him by a friend and he may want another one.  I didn't know if I had time to finish one before Christmas, so the plan was to buy a scarf.  But I really wanted to make him one.

I don't make hand made things from yarn at discount stores.  If I make something and put all those hours in, I want some great yarn.  That means I have to plan  trip into Roanoke, to the closest yarn shop I know, Yarn Explosion.  It is an old house converted to rooms full of amazing yarns. 

 

It also means I need to get a simple pattern that will work up quickly.  Who wants a foot long scarf? I found one with just knit and pearl, so that I really don't need the pattern  But I may want to make the hat and the salesperson was so nice and helpful.  I bought the pattern.

 

One thing that worries me is it calls for blocking wires to press the scarf.  I have never pressed anything I have knit or crocheted.  I'm hoping I can get away without doing that.  Does any knitter out there have any suggestions?

 

I picked out a yarn I liked, but they didn't have enough for the scarf and it was too close to Christmas to get more.  Then I found some llama indigo yarn mixed with linen and silk.  It is soft and has interesting nubs and bits of other color from a natural cream to black.

 

The nice thing is it has wisps of fibers mixed in with the yarn, so you can't tell if I knit in some cat hair by mistake.  And I will.  You know I will, right?

I started when we got home and I spent a couple of hours getting a decent length to see if I was going to like it as a scarf.  Then I rubbed it on my bare arms to make sure it was soft and not itchy.  No point in making up the whole thing and end up with something too scratchy.

 

After two evenings of work, I think I can finish before Christmas.  At least I can put the unfinished piece in a bag and finish it before they go back to England.  Where you really need a scarf in winter.  And spring.  And fall.  Hardly ever in summer.