Thursday, September 16, 2010

The Shawl Collar

It is apparent from shopping the men's department in Bloomingdale's with my husband, that the shawl collar cardigan is the "it" sweater for the fall. They were chock full of them. It is a really good thing then that I already started knitting him one - hopefully to be finished for his birthday in mid-October.

I seriously can't get enough of the shawl collar! Up next, I am going to knit myself this cardigan, which I have had my eye on since it appeared in the Fall 2006 issue of Vogue Knitting.

And I am completely in love with this cowl from Never Not Knitting. Now I just need to find a cute little shawl collar sweater pattern for my son. If any of you knitters out there know of one for a 4 year old, let me know!

Wednesday, September 8, 2010

FO: Draped Cardigan

Well, I have finally finished this cardigan I started in April! At least I can wear it in the cooler fall weather.

Pattern: Draped Cardigan from the Spring/Summer 2010 Debbie Bliss Magazine
Yarn: Debbie Bliss Rialto 4 ply in Lilac
Needles: size US 3

I really like the way this turned out but I am a little disappointed that it isn't slightly more fitted. I know that it is supposed to be a little oversized but the armholes are very big and the sleeves are a little too long. Other than those minor points, this is a great stylish sweater I can throw on to run errands and still be cozy.

This sweater has an interesting construction, which intrigued me to knit it. It is knit side to side (instead of bottom up) and for this reason I did not make any mods to the pattern - I really didn't need to - the length turned out to be fine, which is usually my number one concern. The sleeves however could have used an adjustment.

I am a huge crybaby when I mess up my knitting and I shed a lot of tears over this sweater. This is part of the reason It took me so long to finish this. I messed up on the number of stitches I needed to cast on for the collar and because this is knit side to side, I ended up ripping out about 3 days worth of knitting on tiny size 3 needles. I cried - a lot. I also had to rip out an entire sleeve and re-knit it because my gauge was completely off - I have no idea how- and the sleeve was ginormous. Again with the crying. But in the end it turned out right so the do-overs were worth it. I just wish I hadn't messed up in the first place!

I am happy this is finally done. I like it - and the yarn is very nice as well. Even though it is fingering weight, it is 100% wool so it is still nice and warm. Perfect for the cooler days to come.