Sometimes most of the enjoyment from a handknit article comes from the actual knitting process. The finished item doesn't quite live up to our expectations so we rarely use it and we experience disappointment. All that knitting, not to mention the money for supplies, wasted.
This isn't one of those times.This is one of those rare items that turned out BETTER than expected! I LOVE my new "One Stitch Cardigan". Looking at the photo accompanying the
FREE pattern I was not sure I would like the fit and the style and was afraid to invest a lot of money finding out. If I had known it would turn out this well I would have spent the money for better quality supplies. Maybe next time I will make it in a nice, soft wool instead of ACKrylic.
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For an 100% acrylic yarn, this one isn't bad. It's
Phentex Worsted in "burgundy". I knit the entire sweater (size small) with less than two 16 oz (454 g) balls. I have about half of the second ball left. I knew I'd have leftovers but it was cheaper to buy two giant balls than to buy less yardage in smaller balls.
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The fit is great and it is really comfortable. Maybe someday (when enough time has passed for me to forget the miles and miles and miles of garter stitch) I'll knit this pattern again with better yarn and in a more neutral, goes-with-everything kind of color. It will have to wait a while though. The pain of all that boring garter stitch is still too fresh in my memory!
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My one splurge on this project was the handmade, enameled copper buttons. I picked them up at
Fireworks Enamelled Copper in Crawford Bay, B.C. I also bought coordinating earrings. They have the same color pattern but are a different shape.
I made a few alterations to the pattern.
- I knit it all in one piece rather than with a separate back and fronts so that I could eliminate the underarm/side seam. I placed stitch markers where the side seams would have been and then I increased one stitch on each side of the markers when directed to "increase one stitch at each end of every RS row".
- Because of the way the pattern is designed there would also be a seam on the top of the arm. I tried various seaming methods, including a 3 needle bind off, and was unhappy with the results. In the end I eliminated the seam altogether by leaving the stitches live (rather than casting them off) and then grafting the two edges together. Tedious and time consuming but WAY better looking!
- I really like the edging treatment and decided that, for a truly finished look, the edging needed to go around the cuffs, across the pockets, and all along the lower edge in addition to the front and neck edge specified in the pattern.
Other than that I did the pattern as written. Although the garter stitch got boring and seemed to go on forever, if you are looking for a "mindless" project for in front of the TV or for a long road trip, this might be the one for you. I might even make it again myself......a l-o-n-g time from now.