After several days of being in gardening clothes or pyjamas, I got up and got dressed properly yesterday, determined to get proper photos of my finally finished (second) Featherweight Cardigan. We drove out through country roads to Bungendore, had tea and coffee in a cafe and then wandered around town looking for a backdrop. Sean found this big old tree and I posed.
So, here it is. Begun on 24 December 2010 as something to knit while driving to our Christmas day destination, it’s finally done. I put it down far too often in the last few months, otherwise it would have been finished earlier. But I set a deadline for Easter and I finished it on Good Friday!
If you know the Featherweight pattern you’ll know it’s quite different. I made this in 4ply for a start, not laceweight. It wasn’t at all hard to modify it from laceweight to 4ply. It’s knit top down so I basically just cast on as written and then increased until it fitted around my shoulders and arms as I wanted it to, sectioned off the arm stitches, kept knitting until it was the right length, added some feather and fan rows at the bottom. Many thanks to MicheleLB from PDXKnitterati for that suggestion!
The sleeves were done fairly intuitively. Randomly I just decided to decrease at a rate of two stitches every sixth row, kept going til i was happy with it and then added feather and fan around the cuffs.
On reflection I might have narrowed the cuffs a little more but I’m not sufficiently bothered by it to undo them, even though as top down sleeves it would be pretty simple. I can live with them.
I kept the stocking stitch band as written and knew I’d be fastening it with a silver brooch which was a gift from RoseRed a couple of years ago. It’s a shawl pin but I think it works equally well as a cardigan clasp.
All in all I’m really happy with it. I wanted a simple pale blue cardigan to replace an ageing shop bought one that is nearing the end of its life. I got what I wanted. The yarn is so very soft. It’s a light, soft and yet still warm piece.
I bought the yarn in a big unmarked bag last April at Wangaratta Woollen mills. At the time I thought it was probably Patons Feathersoft, which is 100% baby wool. The first time I came to doing a spit splice, the yarn wouldn’t splice! Uh oh! I worried immediately I’d bought something nasty (despite how soft it was). I did a burn test and it behaved sort of life wool, sort of like nylon – a bit melty. I did some research and decided the unmarked bag had in fact contained a heap of Cocoon, which is 30% nylon. I didn’t mind at all really, even though I prefer all natural fibres. It should help with durability and it’s kept its shape nicely post-washing and blocking.
This process showed me that a basic top down pattern is highly versatile and can be modified easily. Well, I knew that already but actually doing it was confidence boosting.
Want to know what I’m obsessively knitting now? A jacket. It’s for my lovely nephew Willem who is seven and is long overdue a knitted garment. It’s called the Alex Jacket and my Teddy Bear posed in it for me this morning.
It’s really nice to be knitting something in worsted weight – it’s growing so much more quickly than the 4ply featherweight! I hope very much to have this off the needles in record time!
Bells
Lovely colour, pretty feather and fan edging.
Cocoon makes lovely soft socks.
Lovely blue colour and lovely f&f edging. I love a pattern where you can add your own little touches to create something you’ll wear all the time but which is uniquely yours.
Pretty blue, lovely detail with the feather and fan edging, and lovely fit too – great photos
You look great in the FW. I like your 4ply version & that shawl pin is perfect on the cardigan.
Your version is absolutely lovely and I think I like it better than the original.
That is a very nice cardi, i should think that it feels more sturdy in the 4 ply than laceweight. Love the edges!
Love it. Everything about it is just super.
Oh Bells, you are such a fabulous knitter! I just love that cardi! Lovely colour and the lace at the bottom and sleeves is gorgeous!
I have a Paddington Bear who models all my baby stuff… Although his ears present problems with hats.
Lovely cardigan!
Simply stunning.
Your cardi turned out beautifully! I like the addition of the feather and fan detail very much. Congrats on meetng your deadline!
I loved the idea of you dressing up and going out for a photo shoot. The sweater is worth the attention! It’s gorgeous.
the featherweight is just lovely, and looks great on you. love how you personalised it with different yarn and the edging. sounds like a great pattern you could use in endless variations. i was recently thinking it would be good to find a basic top down cardi pattern with v-neck shaping – maybe this is it! will’s hoodie looks great, can’t wait to see his beaming face as he models it!
the shawl pin is a gorgeous cardigan closure! I will now re-invent all those shawl pins I own
beautiful knit – colour and style – on you, Bells
xx
You look lovely in those shots, I like your hair a bit lighter too. I must say that the colour, pale blue, really suits you.
It looks great on you Bells. Beautiful colour and the feather and fan edging is a great idea.
Oh, it looks great, Helen; really beautiful! Good job! The jacket looks cute, too – can’t wait to see it modeled, too. (I am alternating knitting between a Habu Sea Tangles sweater and an Cascade Eco Wool Fireside, and it just cracks me up how different it is to knit something that actually progresses!)
The drape of the cardigan is lovely – beautiful fit and it looks like it hangs so softly and smoothly. Perhaps the nylon will also help it to keep it’s shape?
It looks lovely on you, I’m sure you are happy to have that off the needles!
Here’s to many years of comfortable wearing
WOW! I was never much of a fan of the featherweight in laceweight.. but it looks awesome in 4ply! Nice work!
It looks very pretty and suits you so well. I love the feather and fan on the cuffs and edging. Willem’s jacket looks great too.
nice work! there is nothing quite like a basic top down raglan for making something just how you want it. the bands look great, and the pin is gorgeous. and at least you know it wont pill like the last one! and how good does that chocolate and blue look together. thats just the best looking little jacket, love the hoodie!
Cute knitted hoodie! It will be time for me to knit the girl one of those soon, I think. I love them. The new cardigan looks lovely, and I get a real kick out of imagining you doing the glamour shot thing with your hair being tousled by the wind while Sean photographs you. I wonder what passersby think?!
We were in a park on the outskirts of town – near a toilet block of all things! A Muslim couple walked past and looked a few times and that was it! I’d not want to do it around crowds that’s for sure!
I was going to say, nice shawl pin, heh! It works very well as a cardi closure, and I really like how the band is rolling, with the pin as well. The cardi just looks great. And really goes well with a demin skirt!
And hey, nice colour choice for Willem’s jacket! I love the blue hood and the thin blue stripe, that looks great.
My feather weight is still in a bag waiting for blocking. I’ll have to look to see how long ago it was finished. It, too, has lace at the bottom, but I don’t remember what pattern. I feel like a neglectful mother, having forgotten all about it!
I love how it turned out; it looks great on you! And a little feather and fan is just perfect.
Both are very cute and awesome