FO: Downtown Cap-Sleeved Cardigan

OMG, I'm finally finished with this one! I'm sure you're all tired of hearing about it as well, so I'm glad we can all finally move on.

PATTERN: Downtown Cap-Sleeved Cardigan from Webs, designed by Jen Ronning

I had a few issues with this pattern, as I've detailed elsewhere. Mainly, there was no schematic, and there were no finished measurements for each size either. That was really the biggest problem, although I really would have liked a chart or two of the stitch patterns. It also would have helped if there'd been an image of the design from the back. I probably wouldn't have bought this pattern if I'd known there was patterning on the back as well as the front. As it was, I thought about taking it off, but there were a lot of firsts for me with this one, so in the end I was too scared.



This is my first adult-sized cardigan pattern, my first with patterning on it, and my first with side shaping, which I'm not sure I liked. I think it ended up giving the sweater a kind of bell-shape at the bottom, which was probably my fault, because my gauge was off, and I ended up decreasing and then increasing really drastically. I might have been able to adjust for that, if there hadn't been all that patterning to keep in mind as well, and needing to have specific numbers of stitches.



YARN: Knit Picks' Merino Style in Hollyberry

I was really pleasantly surprised by the Merino Style. It's very soft and strong, and yet squooshy too. I used just 7 balls of the 10 I'd purchased for the 36" size, so I think I'm going to use the rest to make Stella a little sweater of her own, later. I have another sweater's worth of this, and I'm looking forward to knitting that up too. That batch will be used with a Knit Picks pattern, so I'll get a chance to compare those with Webs' patterns.



The only problem with this yarn that I found was that I couldn't get the gauge for the pattern, which I KNOW is the root of all my other sizing problems with the pattern, but it wasn't that much off, so I just went with it, and I'm satisfied with the result. Oh, also it bled pretty badly when I wet blocked it, both times and STILL smells like vinegar. I know I should probably try to stop the bleeding, but for right now, I'm just not going to wear it if there's any chance of rain...

NEEDLES: Size US 5 straight metal needles. I haven't used straights in a while, but I thought with all the patterning, I'd go for it, and it did get tedious and heavy after a while, but there were no real problems.

NOTES:
As I've also mentioned previously, there was just a lot of stress in my life while this was in construction. It all came to a head when I sewed in the sleeves stockinette-side out, rather than the reverse. I had to unseam them to take them out, and discovered I'd done such a good job on the seams, thank you very much, that I couldn't FIND them anymore. I think I might have actually done some structural damage to one of the front body pieces, so this sweater might not actually last that long in the end if it starts to come apart. Anyway, that sleeve ended up mangled, so I had to reknit it. Then I knit the button bands, and I'm sure I did the button holes just a bit too far toward the edge, as you can see in the pictures. Also, the first time I did one of them it was wavy, so I had to take it out and recalculate the picked-up stitches ratio.

The buttons I just got at M&J look all right, but I know that they're too big. I should have just gone with my gut and used the dark buttons I had, which were smaller... Anyway, maybe someday I'll switch them out, but these look ok. I just know in my heart they're too big. They stick out a little from the front, mainly because the wonky button-holes don't help them lay flat.

I know I sound like I really hate this sweater, but that's not true. I like it. I will wear it, when it isn't 90 degrees with 70% humidity. I'll even try to squeeze a long-sleeved t-shirt underneath it, which according to the pattern picture should be possible, but according to the sleeves I knit, will be a squeeze. It's comfy, and I'm proud of myself for sticking with it, even when I wasn't sure what the result was going to look like, and even whether it would fit. For all that angst, I think it looks pretty good. I even love the seams and the slits on the side. They give it an edge that keeps it from being too hokey or twee. If I keep everything else I'm wearing plain, it shouldn't be too much.